E.T. cartridges unearthed 30 years on at legendary Atari dump site

The fabled Atari dump site where it was alleged the console firm dumped thousands of E.T. game cartridges following the title’s catastrophic failure has finally been dug up 30 years later.

A team of filmmakers, along with Microsoft, received permission earlier this month to excavate the site in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

It had been believed that Atari dumped 14 truckloads of discarded cartridges and computer equipment at the site in 1983, which local media were said to have reported at the time.

Not long after the dig began, the crew discovered the rumours were true and Atari had in fact dumped “thousands upon thousands” of unsold cartridges.

The dig has been organised and filmed by Xbox Entertainment Studios, Fuel Entertainment and Lightbox Entertainment as part of a documentary on Atari called “Atari: Game Over”.

You can view an image of one of the findings, courtesy of the Xbox News Wire, below.