# Say there IS an Atari dump site. So what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003 "2014-04-26T00:17:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/21 "2014-04-26T22:15:29Z")
Its just confirming a mildly interesting story. And it gives them something to throw into a documentary about videogame history. No ones planning on making big bucks over the issue. Plus the story comes up occasionally in lectures about economic bubbles, so its kind od nice to be able to use it without worrying if you’re spreading an urban legend or not. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/22 "2014-04-26T23:42:47Z")
Is it possible these documentary guys have been promoting the myth a bit on the recent past? Giving it an air of mystery, and making it appear a hotter story then it ever was? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/23 "2014-04-27T00:36:07Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Holy cow. I bet the Angry Video Game Nerd is even more angry now that [his film](http://avgn.wikia.com/wiki/Angry_Video_Game_Nerd:_The_Movie) has completed shooting. > > AFAIK, the plot revolves around going to find this dump site. [Here is his response.](http://cinemassacre.com/2014/04/26/e-t-atari-landfill-unearthed/) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/24 "2014-04-29T16:38:12Z")
I’m a little confused. Was this considered an actual “urban legend”? I always thought it was fact. What made it “urban legendy”? Or is there just doubt that it was done at the scale reported? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/25 "2014-04-29T16:59:50Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#): > > Still waiting to hear what’s the point actually. So they found them. What’s next? > > 1. Retrieve atari from landfill. > 2. (we will explain later) > 3. Profit! I bet hipster glasses frames made from authentic Atari landfill crushed ET cartridge plastic would make you mad bank. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/26 "2014-04-29T17:07:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m a little confused. Was this considered an actual “urban legend”? I always thought it was fact. What made it “urban legendy”? Or is there just doubt that it was done at the scale reported? For many it was an urban legend. I think because it was done almost covertly and no one seemed to want to admit to it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/27 "2014-04-29T17:09:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m a little confused. Was this considered an actual “urban legend”? I always thought it was fact. What made it “urban legendy”? Or is there just doubt that it was done at the scale reported? According to the [Snopes article](http://www.snopes.com/business/market/atari.asp), it seems that the legend is that “_ET_ is such a bad game that no one bought it/everyone returned it and Atari had to throw away millions of copies into a landfill.” I think also part of it is that “_ET_ ruined Atari.” Looks like the truth is that yes, Atari did send 14 trucks full of garbage to a landfill. And yes, Atari did have to sell 4mm copies of _ET_ to get back the money they spent on licensing. But that doesn’t mean they printed 4mm copies, and that millions went unsold or returned. And 14 trucks of garbage could have been anything, not just copies of ET. And Atari had a lot of problems not related to _ET_, so _ET_ isn’t what killed Atari. The fact that only a few hundred copies of the game have been unearthed so far - along with the fact that you can readily buy a copy for $5 on eBay - suggests that there weren’t 14 trucks full of _ET_ carts but yes, they did get thrown away. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/28 "2014-04-29T17:47:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The fact that only a few hundred copies of the game have been unearthed so far… [CNN article](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/27/tech/gaming-gadgets/atari-et-video-game/) > [@](#): > > Not so fast, Atari historian Curt Vendel said Monday. “E.T.” cartridges were just one of more than 20 titles found over the weekend, and may not make up more than a fifth of the estimated 700,000-plus units the ailing Atari discarded in 1983, he said. As far as he’s concerned, the great “E.T.” caper remains “a myth.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/29 "2014-04-29T17:52:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [CNN article](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/27/tech/gaming-gadgets/atari-et-video-game/) Ok, so 120,000. Still not 4,000,000 right? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/30 "2014-04-29T17:58:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Ok, so 120,000. Still not 4,000,000 right? OK, so it’s not so much there was a dump, but rather the scale, in particular the _ET_ cart. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/31 "2014-04-29T18:20:18Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#): > > The thing is, I don’t find the story that interesting. Well… I do not find Ballet, Cricket, Gardening, Word Working, Crab Fishing, Accounting, Rom Coms, Entomology or Antiquing interesting. So they should never be spoken about or put on TV/Video. It is so decreed… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/32 "2014-04-29T18:53:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, so it’s not so much there was a dump, but rather the scale, in particular the _ET_ cart. Yeah. The legend is that there are millions of _ET_ game carts in a landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/33 "2014-04-29T19:26:13Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Thing is, it’s not just the carts - there’s other crap in there because we dumped returned product. And ‘returned product’ shipments from the major retailers generally have a significant portion of their weight consisting of dog food (Walmart was particularly bad about this), dirty diapers (I’m looking at YOU, Toys R US) and anything else that could be combined to weigh the right amount for the return request. I bought both Atari cartridges and diapers from Toys R Us at the time, and was unaware that you could return dirty ones to them. From a consumer point of view, PacMan was the turning of the tide, the first game which was significantly worse than the arcade version. Never fell for ET. I got an emulator with the games loaded in a joy stick which you could plug into your TV - Adventure is still fun, in a mindless kind of way. First ever Easter Egg for those who don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/34 "2014-04-30T21:11:16Z")
Sometimes (not often) urban legends have a core of verifiable fact, around which grows much supposition and baloney. This is one of these cases. Ars Technica: [Why are we so interested in some buried hunks of plastic and silicon?](http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/04/digging-up-meaning-from-the-rubble-of-an-excavated-atari-landfill/) My take is that for a certain generation, the 1983 event conjures up images of buried treasure, as opposed to routine corporate behavior. Those older don’t care. Those younger don’t care. Many of the same age never cared, some formerly cared and the remainder are nostalgic. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003/35 "2014-04-30T21:32:58Z")
That game was a big part of Atari and video games going down the tubes until the revival of video games by the NES. Its a piece of history, a part of the legacy of video games. The fact that some in Atari have been kind of dodgy and defensive about it over the years makes it more interesting for people to poke around. That’s why its interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-there-is-an-atari-dump-site-so-what/687003.md?page=1)