Atari's Landfill: Alamogordo to auction off 800 unearthed cartridges

[bukeus]

I have 8166,8167, 8171, 8176, 8216 and 8228 if anyone decides to create a registry.....

[bojay1997]

I have 8166,8167, 8171, 8176, 8216 and 8228 if anyone decides to create a registry.....

So you spent $1200 on games that weren't even ET and bought multiples of Warlords? Are you doing this to try and speculate for resale or something? I'm honestly not following the motivation.

[bukeus]

LOL, easy there bojay. This is the reason I dont like to post often in atariage. Defender and asteroids averaged 275 per game and went first. when warlords came time to end in the auction i wasnt anticipating winning all three, but those games averaged 220 and then the non remaining et's followed suit, so I caught myslef overbidding on more than one copy ( aiming to win only one). I was hoping for one of each game. I think I did well with getting 4 titles. And yes, not that I am speculating, but I probably will sell the two warlords if all else fails. I was hoping more on a trade for a game that I didnt win ( I would like star raiders if anyone actually is reading this who won and is willing to trade)

 

I thought this was a site for gamers and collectors of atari - Not for people to bash it...... I enjoy having rare titles in my display - I thought this a great alternative to buying air raiders or music machine, or similar high priced games. Half of my rare games and titles I have found in the wild - which pride myself on........

 

I find the history tied to all of this fascinating. An important piece to the evolution of the video game as it stands today......... Why is ET getting the attention? Obviously we can now point to several games that may have caused the demise of Atari in 83......

[bojay1997]

LOL, easy there bojay. This is the reason I dont like to post often in atariage. Defender and asteroids averaged 275 per game and went first. when warlords came time to end in the auction i wasnt anticipating winning all three, but those games averaged 220 and then the non remaining et's followed suit, so I caught myslef overbidding on more than one copy ( aiming to win only one). I was hoping for one of each game. I think I did well with getting 4 titles. And yes, not that I am speculating, but I probably will sell the two warlords if all else fails. I was hoping more on a trade for a game that I didnt win ( I would like star raiders if anyone actually is reading this who won and is willing to trade)

 

I thought this was a site for gamers and collectors of atari - Not for people to bash it...... I enjoy having rare titles in my display - I thought this a great alternative to buying air raiders or music machine, or similar high priced games. Half of my rare games and titles I have found in the wild - which pride myself on........

 

I find the history tied to all of this fascinating. An important piece to the evolution of the video game as it stands today......... Why is ET getting the attention? Obviously we can now point to several games that may have caused the demise of Atari in 83......

I wasn't trying to bash you. I honestly just don't understand the motivation for spending $1200 on these particular games or to be honest, any of the games from this landfill right now, especially knowing that they have almost 700 more copies to sell over the coming months. I get why a museum might want to have a representative sample (and 500 such samples are purportedly being given to museums around the world), but as an individual collector I honestly don't get it. Manufacturers dump stuff in landfills all the time. This particular dumping wasn't known to the public and the only reason it took on any significance is that collectors here and elsewhere embellished the event and it took on a life of its own over time that led to this PR event funded by Microsoft/Xbox. It just seems silly to me, but if you're happy with your purchases, that's really all that matters.

 

As for your other point, I don't think the games that were found in the landfill point to the specific causes of the demise of Atari. They were simply overstock and Atari continued to sell and even reprint those games for many years to come. ET became a major part of the mythology surrounding the landfill dig and is really the major thing the news sources covering the dig have talked about. The other games are interesting to collectors from the informational perspective, but to the extent any of these things will maintain value over time, I can't see the non-ET examples doing so and that was pretty clearly reflected in the end bid prices.

Edited November 17, 2014 by bojay1997

[SoulBlazer]

This particular dumping wasn't known to the public and the only reason it took on any significance is that collectors here and elsewhere embellished the event and it took on a life of its own over time that led to this PR event funded by Microsoft/Xbox. It just seems silly to me, but if you're happy with your purchases, that's really all that matters.

 

 

Say what? The dumping was known as soon as it happened -- major news outlets like the New York Times reported on it. So it's been public knowledge for years. What was in dispute what was actually dumped there....and it turns out that the original report was right all along.

[bojay1997]

Say what? The dumping was known as soon as it happened -- major news outlets like the New York Times reported on it. So it's been public knowledge for years. What was in dispute what was actually dumped there....and it turns out that the original report was right all along.

Sorry, I could have been more clear. You're right that it was reported at the time and appeared in newspapers and magazines and presumably that's how most collectors learned of it initially along with discussions in collector zines of the 80s and 90s and newsgroup and forum discussions. I was speaking more generally of the "public" and up until this last round of hype, I don't think most members of the public knew or cared even if they may have read a sentence or two about it in a magazine or newspaper many years ago.

[SoulBlazer]

Sorry, I could have been more clear. You're right that it was reported at the time and appeared in newspapers and magazines and presumably that's how most collectors learned of it initially along with discussions in collector zines of the 80s and 90s and newsgroup and forum discussions. I was speaking more generally of the "public" and up until this last round of hype, I don't think most members of the public knew or cared even if they may have read a sentence or two about it in a magazine or newspaper many years ago.

No problem. I think you could argue that it's been a 'urban legend' for years -- major sites like Snoops and other urban legend sites talk about it dating back to the late 80's. What the public remembered out of the original story was the urban legend that 'one million (or so) ET carts were dumped in a landfill cause the game was so bad that it didn't sell and it directly caused Atari to collapse and the video game market with it'. Of course none of that is true. So at least the excursion dispelled the urban legend (or tried to) and helped get the correct facts out.

[atarilovesyou]

Urban legend or not, those spending large sums on any game that isn't ET is taking their chances. If that piece of history is worth it to them, however, fill your boots. I just don't see it.

 

I was all stoked to grab a beat up copy of ET, but the one I was watching sold for over $600 USD!...no thanks. Lots of fun for those in the running, however!