In 1983, Atari dumped 14 truckloads of games like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Atari 2600 and others in a landfill in New Mexico. In 2014 more than 800 of them were sold for more than $100,000

In September 1983, Atari disposed of truckloads of video-game cartridges and computer equipment at a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Among the discarded material were cartridges of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Atari 2600 game that later became closely tied to the company’s struggles. More than three decades later, an excavation at the site recovered about 1,300 cartridges, turning a long-running industry story into physical evidence. Some of the recovered games were subsequently auctioned for hundreds of dollars, while E.T. cartridges fetched more than $1,500.

A report published on September 28, 1983, said Atari had dumped 14 truckloads of video-game and computer equipment at the New Mexico landfill. The material was reportedly transported from the company’s El Paso, Texas, operation. At the time, an Atari spokesperson said the items were defective components being discarded.

However, that explanation did not reflect the broader circumstances surrounding the disposal. Reports later indicated that the landfill had become a destination for millions of functional but unsold retail returns that Atari could no longer afford to store. Among the games reportedly sent to the site were E.T., Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man.


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How E.T. became associated with Atari’s troubles

Atari released its video-game adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film during the crucial Christmas shopping season. According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, programmer Howard Scott Warshaw had just five and a half weeks to complete the game, far shorter than the six-to-nine-month development period normally required.

The company reportedly needed to sell about four million cartridges to recover the cost of its licensing deal, but sales fell well below that target.

Atari was already dealing with broader problems in the video-game market, and the poor performance of E.T. added to those difficulties. The Smithsonian notes that the Atari VCS, later known as the Atari 2600, was facing competition from Mattel’s Intellivision and Coleco’s ColecoVision. Independent publishers were also flooding the market with new titles.

The broader video-game crash of 1983 had multiple causes, meaning E.T. was not solely responsible for Atari’s problems. However, the game became one of the most visible symbols of the company’s difficulties.

By 1983, Atari was also dealing with a large amount of unwanted inventory. WIRED’s account of the later Alamogordo excavation said retailers had begun returning unsold products, while Atari’s El Paso facility lacked the resources to refurbish or otherwise process all of them.

The company eventually moved pallets of games and computer equipment from El Paso to Alamogordo, where the landfill was considered less vulnerable to scavengers.

From reported Atari dump to 2014 excavation

Over the following decades, the story of the landfill grew into gaming folklore. By the time the site was excavated in 2014, the incident had evolved in the public imagination into a tale of Atari burying vast quantities of E.T. cartridges.

However, WIRED reported during the excavation that contemporary accounts pointed to a broader disposal effort involving multiple Atari games and hardware rather than E.T. alone. The uncertainty surrounding the exact contents helped turn the dump into one of gaming history’s most persistent legends.

Fuel Entertainment sought to investigate the story in 2013 as part of a documentary project. Joe Lewandowski, a local garbage contractor familiar with the landfill’s history, helped researchers identify the likely burial site.

The excavation eventually took place on April 26, 2014, with filmmakers, archaeologists and other professionals searching through the landfill.

E.T., Pac-Man and other Atari games recovered

The excavation uncovered Atari 2600 cartridges including E.T., Asteroids, Pac-Man and other titles. Atari hardware was also recovered, providing evidence that the site had been used for a much broader Atari disposal operation rather than being dedicated exclusively to E.T. cartridges.

The City of Alamogordo later reported that around 1,300 cartridges had been recovered. In September 2014, the city voted to auction 800 of them.

The provenance of the games added to their appeal among collectors, as the recovered cartridges could be linked directly to the famous Alamogordo excavation.

Discarded cartridges become collectable history

The transformation of the discarded cartridges into collectables began soon after the excavation. In November 2014, the Tularosa Basin Historical Society listed around 100 recovered games for sale on eBay, including E.T., Centipede and Defender.

Reports said bidding on the games started at between $50 and $100, while one particularly sought-after E.T. cartridge had attracted bids above $400 before the auctions ended. The games were also accompanied by certificates of authenticity connecting them to the Alamogordo excavation.

The recovered cartridges continued to attract significant interest. In August 2015, Ars Technica reported that 881 Atari cartridges had been sold through a series of eBay auctions for a combined $107,930.15.

The City of Alamogordo received about $65,000 from the sales, while the Tularosa Basin Historical Society also received a share of the proceeds.

The most expensive cartridge in that auction series was a copy of E.T., which sold for $1,535. What had once been discarded as unwanted inventory had become a valuable piece of video-game history.