The early 1980s marked a pivotal moment in the history of entertainment. During that time video games transitioned from arcade sensations to home console staples. The Atari 2600, with its simple yet addictive gameplay… Became a household name, propelling the industry into an era of unprecedented growth. Titles like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong captivated audiences, and it seemed as though the potential for the video game market was limitless. However, the rapid expansion of the industry soon sowed the seeds of its own demise… Ending in what was known as the infamous Atari game burial.
The Video Game Crash During 1983
Back when video games first came out, they were very popular. While the popularity hardly lived up to the hype games created nowadays… As a novelty, people were still rushing into stores to get their copies of their favorite games before they were sold out.
Console manufacturers, eager to capitalize on the burgeoning market, flooded stores with new systems, often with little regard for quality or innovation. The rush to meet consumer demand led to a proliferation of hastily developed games. Many of which were plagued by poor gameplay, technical issues, and a general lack of originality. This always reminds me of the endless flood of mobile games that are coming out everyday. Those are more often than not very poorly designed and simply made to be some sort of cash grab. Be it through ads or various in-game purchases the player has to make.
As the market became saturated with subpar products, consumer interest began to wane. Disillusioned players, burned by countless disappointing tiles, started to lose faith in the game industry as a whole because of the bad reputation it was gaining. This decline in consumer confidence, coupled with overproduction and a stagnant economy, created a toxic environment that would ultimately lead to what is commonly known as the video game crash of 1983.
The Infamous Atari Video Game Burial
Atari, a once dominant force in the gaming industry, found itself at the epicenter of the crisis. With warehouses overflowing with unsold consoles and cartridges, the company faced a daunting challenge. In a desperate attempt to clear out their inventory and cut their losses… Atari made a questionable decision that would become the stuff of legend: they buried it.
In the desolate expanse of the New Mexico desert, near the town of Alamogordo… Thousands of unsold Atari 2600 consoles, cartridges, and even computers were unceremoniously dumped into a landfill. This mass burial was a stark symbol of the industry’s collapse and a testament to the sheer volume of unsold merchandise that had accumulated.
While the exact contents of the landfill remain shrouded in mystery… One game in particular has become synonymous with the Atari crash: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Based on the popular Steven Spielberg film, the game was rushed into production to meet the holiday shopping season deadline. The result was a critically panned title that is often blamed for exacerbating the industry’s decline. Many believe that a significant portion of the buried inventory consisted of E.T. cartridges, although this has never been definitively confirmed.
The Documentation-Excavation
When the burial was first reported, there had been a lot of doubts as to its veracity and scope. Which is why it was frequently dismissed as an urban legend. The event became a cultural icon and a reminder of the video game crash of 1983. Though it was believed that millions of copies of E.T. were buried… Atari officials later verified the number to ‘only’ be around 700k cartridges of various games, not only E.T. alone.
In 2013, media companies Fuel Entertainment and Lightbox acquired the right to create a documentary about the video game crash. This gave them the perfect motivation to dig up the Atari dump site… If it could be found in the first place. In 2014, after a short struggle with the New Mexico government, Andrew Reinhard together with other experts like Richard Rothaus of Trefoil Cultural and Environmental and Bill Caraher of the University of North Dakota, veterans of excavations in the Mediterranean and the Americas, as well as casino video game historian Raiford Guins of Stony Brook University and historian Bret Weber also of the University of North Dakota where finally able to start the excavation for the “Atari: Game Over” documentary.
On April the 26th, 2014, the excavation revealed discarded games and hardware alike. Only a small fraction, around 1,300 cartridges, were recovered in the digging. Sadly the year’s worst sandstorm stopped the excavation early, but the artifacts were safely bagged for analysis and cataloging later on. After they were examinated, some of them were given for curation while the rest were auctioned to raise money for a museum to commemorate the burial.
The Downfall Of Atari
While the Atari burial may never be fully explained, it remains a captivating chapter in the history of video games. It is a story of ambition, failure, and redemption. It serves as a reminder of the challenges and triumphs that have shaped the industry we know and love today. But how did it happen in the first place?
Poor Quality Port
Back in the days Atari was known for its excellent ports from arcade games to home consoles. Those included games like Frogger, Donkey Kong or Dig Dug. So, it was no surprise that Pac-Man would follow suit as one of the most popular arcade games. While Pac-Man became the most-sold game for the Atari 2600 with around 7 million copies, it was still a financial flop. Not only did Atari produce 12 million cartridges, thinking they would sell every single one of them despite them only having sold 10 million consoles but the port itself was also flawed. Apparently, the gameplay was terrible and couldn’t compare to the arcade version of Pac-Man. This made customers rush back to the stores to get a well-deserved refund for their game.
Rushed Games
The next crucial mistake Ataria made was during the development of the adaptation of the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. After the success of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, Atari landed a deal with Warner Communications and Steven Spielberg to turn the movie into a game as well and follow up with the hype it created.
Sadly, because of a long set of delays when it came to the licensing rights…. The leading developer of the game Howard Scott Warshaw only had about 5 weeks to develop the game to hit the upcoming holiday period. Because of that, the development was very rushed and resulted in extremely bad gameplay and boring levels which earned E.T. the title of the ‘Worst Game Ever Made’. On top of that, just like they did with Pac-Man, they wrongly calculated their sales again by a long shot. From the manufactured 5 million cartridges of the game only 1.5 million were sold, leading to even fuller storages than they already had.
Bad Financial Situation
After all their failed projects and a lot of bad choices, Atari wasn’t in a good financial position. Even prior to the Pac-Man and E.T. disaster, it had been reported that their share prices fell by a whole 56% in 1982. While other companies might have been able to rescue themselves with their saved resources… Atari had neither the money nor the power to do so. So in a last desperate attempt, they tried to bury their corpses in the Mexican landfill to free up space and get rid of unsold cartridges in secret which clearly backfired.
The After-Math Of The Atari Burial
The story of the Atari burial has captured the public imagination for decades. It is serving as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked growth and the importance of quality control. It has also become a symbol of the cyclical nature of the video game industry… Reminding us that even the most successful companies can experience dramatic setbacks. This perfect storm of factors contributed to the industry’s impending crash in 1983 which ended in Atari, Inc. being sold off by its parent company Warner Communications.
In the years following the crash, the video game industry underwent a period of rebuilding and consolidation. New companies emerged and technological advancements paved the way for a resurgence in popularity. The lessons learned from the 1983 crash helped to prevent a similar disaster from occurring again, and the industry has since developed a greater emphasis on quality, innovation, and consumer satisfaction.
While the Atari video game burial may seem like a relic of a bygone era… Its impact on the gaming landscape is still felt today. It serves as a reminder of the risks associated with rapid expansion and the importance of maintaining a strong connection with consumers. The story of the Atari burial is a cautionary tale that should not be forgotten. It offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that continue to shape the video game industry.
Since you looked into the sad past of the Atari video game burial, you might also be interested in modern-day tragedies like this one:
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