E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Dump Faces Excavation

Steve the Pocket

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Evil Smurf said:
Was the game that bad?
It's not the worst game ever made, or even the worst one made at the time. (It's definitely not worse than most of what the Angry Video Game Nerd has played.) The bigger problem was that they produced a buttload of copies and hyped it like crazy. Imagine being promised something like Skyrim and getting something more on par with Kinect Star Wars. The same thing happened with the 2600's port of Pac-Man. I think I read that for both games, they produced more cartridges than there were actually 2600s in people's homes (keep in mind that the 2600 had been out for quite some time by this point), counting on people being so interested in playing the games that they would be willing to actually buy one to play them on.

TV Tropes has a useful article on the situation. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983]
 

CriticalMiss

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This cannot end well. We already know what is going to happen when they open that can of bees...

 

RicoADF

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Evil Smurf said:
alfinchkid said:
Evil Smurf said:
Was the game that bad?
It was bad in all the ways Superman 64 was bad.

It Had a rushed development time
Based on a well-loved license, while doing that license a huge injustice
Had little to no actual story
Game gave you no sense of direction or accomplishment
Controls were sloppy and hard to use
Aesthetics were terribad, even for the day's standards
Game was incredibly buggy, which when compiled with the above meant it was hard to tell if something was going on was because of a bug or because of actual accomplishment

Add on top of this the notoriety that THIS game was what everyone and their mom was betting on to save the crumbling gaming scene, followed by it failing massively and bankrupting everyone involved (thereby almost ending gaming as it existed), and yeah, it was kinda terrible.
that sounds awful, why are they digging it up? ROMs of it exist I'm sure.
I've never played it and wouldnt mind a look, having said that if it's as bad as people say then they must dig it up and restore a few copies for future prosperity torment. Also as a perfect "what NOT to do" list.
 

DuelLadyS

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Evil Smurf said:
that sounds awful, why are they digging it up? ROMs of it exist I'm sure.
There's still a fair number or the original carts kicking around (I own one), so even if there isn't a ROM right now, there could be.

They're digging it up for the same reason we dig anything up- it's a legend, it's folkfore, it's something people care about. It's a way to cash in on gaming nostalgia by focusing on the greatest failure in gaming history and the crazy story of how it concluded.

If there was enough info to go around, I'm sure there would be a documentary on Polybius too. Hell, someone might do that anyway- if we can get sequels to fake mermaid specials, why not?
 

BloodRed Pixel

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I also already see 'some certain few, a bit elder game developers' in their secluded rooms on their knees sweating any praying "Please Lord, don't let them..."
 

CyberMachinist

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FizzyIzze said:
I find the timing of this scavenger hunt and its proximity to the launch of the next generation of consoles extremely disturbing. E.T. the video game is exactly why the industry crashed all those years ago. The symbolism is the stuff of nightmares.
By god! what if it's true! That the spirit of insanity that possessed the businessmen behind all those horrible business practices of Atari and helped cause the great videogame crash of "83" has possessed today's console businessmen!
 

RJ 17

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Nov 27, 2011
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oooooooo! This story reminds me that the Angry Videogame Nerd's movie will be coming out soon!
 

Frezzato

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CyberMachinist said:
FizzyIzze said:
I find the timing of this scavenger hunt and its proximity to the launch of the next generation of consoles extremely disturbing. E.T. the video game is exactly why the industry crashed all those years ago. The symbolism is the stuff of nightmares.
By god! what if it's true! That the spirit of insanity that possessed the businessmen behind all those horrible business practices of Atari and helped cause the great videogame crash of "83" has possessed today's console businessmen!
It's a plot straight out of a horror movie.

As far as their reasoning for literally digging up the past, I don't see the point of making a documentary about it. Maybe if they have some real insight from the guys responsible, like the film Something Ventured.
 

Dfskelleton

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Long ago, in the distant time of 1983... this land was plagued by an unspeakable evil.
The demon called itself... E.T. for the Atari 2600.
It's foul conception was from the greedy womb of a dying company.
No one foresaw the coming of the Beast, for it dwelled in the hopes of children.
When it arose from the depths, it came in an inconcieveable quantity.
Many men tried to fight it, tried to send it back from whence it came... all failed.
For a time, all seemed lost.

But then, taken up by the company that created it, the beast was drawn into the desert.
The brave Atari cast the evil into a stalwart tomb, and buried it deep within the sandy wastes, never to escape.
Having redeemed themselves, Atari collapsed upon the desert soil, and was taken up in the embrace of bankrupcy.
Many others suffered similar fates, but hope, like a spring flower in full bloom, rose again.
The evil of the Great Crash came to pass, and the industry was born anew.
However, the demon still lays deep beneath the sand, waiting for a foolish mortal to free it from it's prison...


That day has come at last...
 

Tartarga

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I expect to hear stories about everyone involved in the excavation dying mysterious deaths. Come to think of it this is basically the plot to Amnesia the Dark Decent, some guys dig up an ancient artifact and unleash an unspeakable evil that kills all who cross it's path.

The fools know not what they do.
 

Imp_Emissary

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Evil Smurf said:
Was the game that bad?
As many have said so far, yes. It bad.

My guess of what this all means for us players, and developers?
0_0 When they find and unearth it, the next video game crash people have been talking about will happen at that same moment.

Think about it. It would be the E.T. game's ultimate revenge!
 

-Dragmire-

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alfinchkid said:
Evil Smurf said:
Was the game that bad?
It was bad in all the ways Superman 64 was bad.

It Had a rushed development time
Based on a well-loved license, while doing that license a huge injustice
Had little to no actual story
Game gave you no sense of direction or accomplishment
Controls were sloppy and hard to use
Aesthetics were terribad, even for the day's standards
Game was incredibly buggy, which when compiled with the above meant it was hard to tell if something was going on was because of a bug or because of actual accomplishment

Add on top of this the notoriety that THIS game was what everyone and their mom was betting on to save the crumbling gaming scene, followed by it failing massively and bankrupting everyone involved (thereby almost ending gaming as it existed), and yeah, it was kinda terrible.
Is it still bad from the standpoint of going in knowing it's bad, that it's looked at as the worst game ever made? Expectations that large are hard to meet, especially for people who enjoy playing and watching terrible games and movies.
 

llafnwod

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Andy Chalk said:
Released in 1982 for the Atari 2600, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - heretofore referred to as simply E.T.
Heretofore means before, not after.
 

Andy Chalk

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llafnwod said:
Andy Chalk said:
Released in 1982 for the Atari 2600, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - heretofore referred to as simply E.T.
Heretofore means before, not after.
So it does! I've learned something. 30 years later, some good finally comes out of this E.T. fiasco. ;)
 

Formica Archonis

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Deathfish15 said:
I'm hoping that the toxic sewage that was the E.T. game created a giant sink hole down into the mantle below the Earth's crust.
God, I hope not. Pits were so damn annoying to get out of in that game.
 

Eric the Orange

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Apr 29, 2008
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Evil Smurf said:
alfinchkid said:
Evil Smurf said:
Was the game that bad?
It was bad in all the ways Superman 64 was bad.

It Had a rushed development time
Based on a well-loved license, while doing that license a huge injustice
Had little to no actual story
Game gave you no sense of direction or accomplishment
Controls were sloppy and hard to use
Aesthetics were terribad, even for the day's standards
Game was incredibly buggy, which when compiled with the above meant it was hard to tell if something was going on was because of a bug or because of actual accomplishment

Add on top of this the notoriety that THIS game was what everyone and their mom was betting on to save the crumbling gaming scene, followed by it failing massively and bankrupting everyone involved (thereby almost ending gaming as it existed), and yeah, it was kinda terrible.
that sounds awful, why are they digging it up? ROMs of it exist I'm sure.
It's more of a historical thing, to see if it really exists, and if so to document it. Physical copies of the game exist as well as roms so it's not like they need the actual games.