Haydn Jones Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 There is a british show called time team, they do forigne locations some time, but i am not sure if this would be wort there effort (too recent for them) I wonder if there is a USA equivelant, who would do such a thing as a fun special. Maybe even Retro Gamer? Who has enough, time money resourses inclanation , to wrap this up once and for all? Haydn PS.. IMHO the whole ET is the worst game ever claim is as a direct consiquence of this story (which aparently, if you make the effort to read the instructions, is okay, just not appropriate for the target market) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 There is a british show called time team, they do forigne locations some time, but i am not sure if this would be wort there effort (too recent for them) I wonder if there is a USA equivelant, who would do such a thing as a fun special. Maybe even Retro Gamer? Who has enough, time money resourses inclanation , to wrap this up once and for all? Ever seen "Mythbusters"? This would be perfect for them. The only problem is, compared to other urban legends, few have heard of this one, and fewer care. It may therefore be hard to persuade them, especially since, if the cartridges really are already destroyed, they wouldn't get to blow anything up. IMHO the whole ET is the worst game ever claim is as a direct consiquence of this story (which aparently, if you make the effort to read the instructions, is okay, just not appropriate for the target market) I'm inclined to agree, but there lies the problem. This was supposed to be a great game for preteens. It ended up being, at best, an okay game for older players, and a complete bafflement for its target audience. Any game is going to find somebody who likes it (I happen to like Star Fox and Space Jockey as well), but if you're not giving your preferred audience what they want, you're gonna go down in flames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayDay Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 If people really doubt that it happened, let's find 3 people who currently live in or near New Mexico and are willing to drive to Alamogordo to meet up there and dig. It would be good if we knew who currently owned the landfill, could get permission to dig, and maybe even track down Ed Moore and see if he would be willing to meet you at the dump and point out the spot they are buried. If M.E. McQuiddy was tracked down, they may also be of some help in locating the exact spot within the dump. If you couldn't get permission, you could always just trespass... it's not like they would have dogs or rabid monkeys or anything. And if a few smashed up games actually were able to be recovered, say 1 for each of the people who met there, they may help pay for the gas money on ebay. I'm sure they would at least bring more than a working E.T. game... As for how much it costs to "bury them in the desert"? You just have to read the article... $300 to $500 per truckload, 8 truckloads at least. At least their initial dump cost around $2400-$4000 I would say. It also mentioned maybe as many as 24 coming in, which would make the estimate between $2400 and $12,000. A decent chunk (warehouse worker's yearly salary) by 1983 standards. If you read the article closely, there are also a few more points to be made. 1.) it clearly explains why they wanted to get rid of the games and why that particular dump was chosen. 2.) it talks about kids walking around town with (apparently intact) games, so likely some of the stuff initially escaped being crushed, 3.) Who is DPS? I'm assuming this is short for Dept. of Public Safety, but this is poor journalism, as it never gives the initial name before using the acronym, and if DPS is the name, then it doesn't label them. 4.) I'm guessing the picture (2nd item posted) is from the same issue as the article itself, as it references itself back to page 1 (where the story actually ran). 5.) I really wish we could see, or have the text of the article "City Cementing Ban on Dumping". Since this is obviously from a later issue, it might have more of the "back story". Any chance you (spud) could transcribe this for us? Finally, 6.) It mentions that they were buried in the "new pit". If you could find where the new pit was in 1983, I'd say that would be a good place to start digging. That's all for now... I'm off maphunting to aid anyone crazy enough to go out there. -JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Ever seen "Mythbusters"? This would be perfect for them. The only problem is, compared to other urban legends, few have heard of this one, and fewer care. It may therefore be hard to persuade them, especially since, if the cartridges really are already destroyed, they wouldn't get to blow anything up. Well, depending on how deeply buried the games are, they could use explosives to quickly "dig down"into the landfill in an attempt to locate the games. However, I doubt the owner of the property would allow them to do that, especially if the site is currently being used for other purposes (such as by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles). Still, those guys are old enough to remember the 2600, and there's plenty of information on the Internet about this "urban legend". And enough of their viewing audience would be familiar with the 2600. Some of the other myths they've done segments on are at least as obscure as this. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Ever seen "Mythbusters"? This would be perfect for them. The only problem is, compared to other urban legends, few have heard of this one, and fewer care. It may therefore be hard to persuade them, especially since, if the cartridges really are already destroyed, they wouldn't get to blow anything up. Well, depending on how deeply buried the games are, they could use explosives to quickly "dig down"into the landfill in an attempt to locate the games. However, I doubt the owner of the property would allow them to do that, especially if the site is currently being used for other purposes (such as by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles). Still, those guys are old enough to remember the 2600, and there's plenty of information on the Internet about this "urban legend". And enough of their viewing audience would be familiar with the 2600. Some of the other myths they've done segments on are at least as obscure as this. Well, true enough. I wonder if there's an address where the show takes suggestions for future episodes. Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Well, true enough. I wonder if there's an address where the show takes suggestions for future episodes. Hmm... Here's the website: Discovery Channel: Mythbusters They do have a "Show Ideas" forum in their message board. Don't know how actively involved they are with the website, but they do sometimes mention it on the show. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolt Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Being that we're talking about a dump, I'd posit that DPS is actually Dept. of Public Sanitation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayDay Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Dolt: Being that we're talking about a dump, I'd posit that DPS is actually Dept. of Public Sanitation. I considered that as well, and it is possible. That particular section though is in reference to no security guard being present and DPS recieving calls that kids were walking around town with games. That's my point here, which is that this is poor journalism, because without tracking (or knowing) that name we can't actually tell what department (or company for that matter) it is. To me, dept. of public safety is most likely, but anything is possible here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 I doubt this is the sort of thing Mythbusters would do, as they only do topics that can be proven scientifically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 I doubt this is the sort of thing Mythbusters would do, as they only do topics that can be proven scientifically. To bad they don't use any real scientific method to what they do half of the time. But rather lots of assumptions and weird preconcieved notions pulled out of their asses. They couldn't scientificly prove their way out of a paper bag. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atm94404 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 I doubt this is the sort of thing Mythbusters would do, as they only do topics that can be proven scientifically. They did a segment on whether Jimmy Hoffa was buried under a football field (under which yard line I don't remember) and they brought in ground penetrating sonar equipment to prove if there was something buried there (there wasn't). This is exactly the same sort of situation and it would be easier to prove since the number of cartridges is huge and cartridges aren't biodegradable. Once they got to the alleged site, it would take them a couple of hours tops to prove the "myth". Odds are, they'll just look at the newspaper links and say "This isn't a myth, it obviously happened." and not bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Inky's right... I emailed the Mythbusters about a year ago concerning an episode for this topic... Never heard back from ANY of them... I tried the link Al put up, and the websites of BOTH of the guys on the show... Never heard anything... Someone else give them a shot.. Again, this was a year ago... Maybe if more people bug them... Later! - D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Inky's right... I emailed the Mythbusters about a year ago concerning an episode for this topic... Never heard back from ANY of them... I tried the link Al put up, and the websites of BOTH of the guys on the show... Never heard anything... Someone else give them a shot.. Again, this was a year ago... Maybe if more people bug them... Later! - D I have never seen Myth Busters so can't comment on how relative this atari landfill would be, however if enough people show interest in the subject then they may decide it's worth a bash (pun intended ). Everyone into classic gaming knows the story, most assume its true but none of us really know. I for one would love to know the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Inky's right... I emailed the Mythbusters about a year ago concerning an episode for this topic... Never heard back from ANY of them... I tried the link Al put up, and the websites of BOTH of the guys on the show... Never heard anything... Someone else give them a shot.. Again, this was a year ago... Maybe if more people bug them... This doesn't surprise me too much, I'm sure they get *TONS* of email. It would be nice if they had a staff member at least acknowledge email, but I've come to expect that most organizations / companies like this will ignore email unless it's something they want to respond to. It is possible that if enough people inquired about the same topic that they might take notice, but I'm not too optimistic that they'd ever take this "myth" up. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudicle Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 If M.E. McQuiddy was tracked down, they may also be of some help in locating the exact spot within the dump. I'll volunteer to send an email to the likely email address for McQuiddy and, should that fail, a physical letter to the likely real address. That is, unless someone else has already done this .. has anyone? As for how much it costs to "bury them in the desert"? You just have to read the article... $300 to $500 per truckload, 8 truckloads at least. At least their initial dump cost around $2400-$4000 I would say. It also mentioned maybe as many as 24 coming in, which would make the estimate between $2400 and $12,000. A decent chunk (warehouse worker's yearly salary) by 1983 standards. I wasn't sure from the article if the 300-500 figure included the costs of actually acquiring the trucks, loading them, and transporting the carts or if it just referred to what Atari paid to have the carts crushed and buried once they arrived in Alamogordo. Rereading the article, I'm still not sure what to think. Did Browning Ferris Industries manage the dump and therefore charged 300 -500 for crushing and burying only, or did they manage the project itself for Atari and those numbers reflect the true costs? I kind of suspect the former, but that article isn't clear (to me). Either way, it's not a big deal .. just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Inky's right... I emailed the Mythbusters about a year ago concerning an episode for this topic... Never heard back from ANY of them... How about posting to their forums instead? I think that would be a more visible way of suggesting it. And we could just send a bunch of AtariAgers to show support for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayDay Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 nudicle: I wasn't sure from the article if the 300-500 figure included the costs of actually acquiring the trucks, loading them, and transporting the carts or if it just referred to what Atari paid to have the carts crushed and buried once they arrived in Alamogordo. Rereading the article, I'm still not sure what to think. Did Browning Ferris Industries manage the dump and therefore charged 300 -500 for crushing and burying only, or did they manage the project itself for Atari and those numbers reflect the true costs? I kind of suspect the former, but that article isn't clear (to me). Either way, it's not a big deal .. just wondering. It's hard to say, but I would guess they were managing the dump, so this figure would only reflect the cost of the back end of the dumping. Atari probably owned the trucks for distribution purposes anyway, so you'd only be paying for the diesel from Texas to NM... which would have been a lot less in 1983. Maybe in total they spent up to $30,000 or $35,000 to get rid of the stuff, but the important thing is that it's still a finite number, and nothing too spectacular for a multi-million dollar business. If they thought the bootlegging would cost them more, then it would have been a good decision to get them all crushed/destroyed. And for the record, I have only contacted the newspaper...if you have any contact information for McQuiddy, I say go for it! I found the information for the new dump site there, but haven't done anything with it (searches for maps and old dump site information have so far came up negative). -JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuzenTCA Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Hello Folks, I haven't been on here in a while, but this article struck me as a fun one. I know there is a bunch of nay Sayers about this topic, but I found an online article about it. It is on wikipedia.com and contains a brief tale of the "burial" grounds at Alamogordo, New Mexico. I am going to post its exact description. Thought you might find this interesting to add to the list of growing information. Before anybody comes out and says something about the credibility of this article, I already know that it is a free encyclopedia and anyone can edit it, but this is interesting to the fact that is contains actual and proven census information concerning Alamogordo as well as its origins and history. Well here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamogordo%2C_New_Mexico Atari Burial Grounds In 1983, with the video game industry they had helped create crashing down around their ears, Atari warehouses were filled with millions of unsold game cartridges they had optimistically overproduced, including 5 million "E.T." cartridges. Basing a video game on a movie rather than an established arcade hit or a tested game premise (and expecting it to sell simply because of the popularity of the film) was a questionable enough decision, but the sheer awfulness of the finished product was unprecedented. Atari rushed "E.T." through development in a matter of months to get it onto the market in time for Christmas, and the result was a virtually unplayable game with a dull plot and crummy graphics in which frustrated players spent most of their time leading the E.T. character around in circles to prevent him from falling into pits. According to Atari's then-president and CEO, "nearly all of them came back." Some other video game manufacturers attempted to rid themselves of excess inventory by selling it at sharply reduced prices, but Atari, stuck with millions of games and consoles — along with prototypes and limited runs of experimental Atari 2600 hardware like the ridiculous Mindlink system, a control method for the 2600 based on mind-control — that were largely unsellable at any price, sent fourteen truckloads of merchandise from their plant in El Paso, Texas, to be dumped in a city landfill in Alamogordo in late September 1983. In order to keep the site from being looted, steamrollers crushed and flattened the games, and a concrete slab was poured over the remains. Sincerely, James H. McAninch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 PLEASE DEAR GOD I HOPE THIS IS NOT A APRIL FOOLS JOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 I hope the 2 hr season finale to this thread on 4/1 comes to a conclusion - The original Twin Peaks did not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 I hope the 2 hr season finale to this thread on 4/1 comes to a conclusion - The original Twin Peaks did not Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me ?? That sumed it up for me anyhow. Would you expect anything lessmore from Lynch anyhow?? That's his trade mark. Tell a fuct up tale and leave you guessing. (IMO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNerd Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Looks like someone from here already tried: "]http://discovery.infopop.net/1/OpenTopic?a...578101106[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moses Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 so when we gonna do this lol i got my shovel ready and my bags packed (i almost feel like indiana jones, if i could just find my whip ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcrowe Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 If this is a joke, it's gonna be realllllly lame. Too long of a buildup, and we all suspect it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spud Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 Hi all, waiting till April 1st is hard to spring the truth...just kidding. Just got back to my pc today where my pics and videos are from Alamogordo. I had found I believe the authors (Marian Mcquiddy's) number and address. I'm sure this is the right person because El Paso is like 70 miles from Alamogordo, and alot of people commute to work there. I didn't post it here just incase several of us called and he or she (who knows with that name) got pissed and wouldn't help us out. I've been tied up till now so if anyone else had contacted Mariam let me know so I won't try. I'm hoping they have originals of the pit photo that I have that ran in the paper with the cement trucks covering it. (That cement company is out of business I hear by the way) I have these videos broken down to different files, all are still rather large, the largest, (Interview I did of the guy who knew some about it) is 227MB some of the others are like 100 or 150MB or so. The pit photo which is important is 75MB, I'll see what I can do with them zipped now, anyone have ideas how to get them on here? Bruce S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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