Is the Alamogordo dump story real or fake?

[homerwannabee]

I am wondering what percentage of people believe this story to be true or not especially with the recent evidence. I for one believe the story.

[Brad2600]

Is it really necessary to continue to discuss this at all? I hate to burst your bubble, but I could care less about crushed ET carts underneath a slab of concrete.

[joeybastard]

I always believed the story and have never seen a good reason not to.

[homerwannabee]

Is it really necessary to continue to discuss this at all? I hate to burst your bubble, but I could care less about crushed ET carts underneath a slab of concrete.

852173[/snapback]

I did this poll more out of a curiosity of what percentage of Atariage members who respond actually believe this story to be true than out of something to discuss about.

[jetset]

Is it really necessary to continue to discuss this at all? I hate to burst your bubble, but I could care less about crushed ET carts underneath a slab of concrete.

852173[/snapback]

 

At least he didnt start another gay thread...

 

*runs away*

[ATARIPITBULL]

For me, untill I see real proof, I will think this is a fake story.

 

[moycon]

Is it really necessary to continue to discuss this at all? I hate to burst your bubble, but I could care less about crushed ET carts underneath a slab of concrete.

852173[/snapback]

 

I'm confused about this post.

It's a poll not a discussion, and....

If you dont care, why did you contribute?

Very strange.

[Brad2600]

Because I do believe that it's true and wanted to vote in the poll.

 

It's the overall discussion of the subject that I don't seem to get. There's plenty of threads on this subject as well.

 

No biggie.

[moycon]

I of course voted no...

There is not a single shred of undisputable evidence to support the story.

We have now been in touch with people who have work for Atari and they...Like us... Heard about it from so-and-so. Your classic urban legend.

 

In fact everyone who has come forward saying it's true, knows it's true...because they heard about it from blah....blah....blah.....

 

I will believe it when there is evidence to support it.

[Brad2600]

I apologize for being a dick, homerwannabe.

 

It's just that the story has been circulating quite a bit on here this year. It still would be nice to see actual, physical evidence of what was buried there(provent they did bury something, which I believe they did).

[mitsubachi]

Well I'm a fence-sitter. Part of me loves a good treasure hunt story, but the other part kind of thinks it's a bit unbusinessy.

 

I mean, bury them? Companies today, when faced with a suddenly unpopular but overstocked fad item (say, a tamagotchi) will discount them no end. Stores, around here at least, have bargain tables with all kinds of recently devalued crap selling for stupidly small ammounts that definately wouldn't cover the costs of manufacturing or shipping them... but companies write it off and get what little they can.

 

But if there is one thing to be said, Atari isn't just *any* company. It seems like there is a lot in the business practice and rise and fall of Atari that is just downright strange.

 

If there were a company to take the most biazarre and illogical method of excess stock disposal, I'd nominate Atari.

[Nukey Shay]

Not at all. It's still used today. It's a perfectly valid and foolproof way of reducing overhead.

[Spud]

Of course I'm putting in a yes vote.

[Osmeroid]

I'm going with heart rather than head - I WANT it to be real!

[Mental Vortex]

I've never heard anyone say that it was NOT true...until I came here

 

Based on the poor sales of E.T., I voted yes because there's a good chance something like this did happen.

[moycon]

Based on the poor sales of E.T.

 

Is this based on actual sales data?

Man E.T.'s one of those carts (along with the likes of Pac-Man and Space Invaders) that I have like 80 spares of. Someone was buying them up.

[Gregory DG]

Of course I'm putting in a yes vote.

852485[/snapback]

Yes its real, or yes its fake? The way the poll is worded, it could go either way.

Edited May 10, 2005 by Gregory DG

[Stingray]

Based on the poor sales of E.T.

 

Is this based on actual sales data?

Man E.T.'s one of those carts (along with the likes of Pac-Man and Space Invaders) that I have like 80 spares of. Someone was buying them up.

852587[/snapback]

 

Despite the fact that I do believe the story to be true (see the link in my sig), I always questioned this part too. There are elventeengodzillian E.T. carts still in circulation. If you find any Atari carts in the wild you can count on there being an E.T. or two in the lot. Atari may have overproduced E.T., but I don't think you can realisticly call it a poor seller.

 

-S

Edited May 10, 2005 by Stingray

[moycon]

Atari may have overproduced E.T.

 

Another interesting and oft-repeated "fact"

 

Research shows that E.T.'s initial production run was less than half that of Pac-Man.

Yet the spare E.T's and the spare Pac-Man's over-flowith in everyone collection.

Maybe Atari buried a few million Et's to clear ware-house space, and then started producing them again to fill up warehouse space.

Makes perfect sense.

Ah well, all the info's in the the other thread, so I'll stay out of the poll thread.

[Rick Weis]

i voted true...

 

good tax write-off.

 

Rick

[Stingray]

Hold on, I changed my mind. It's fake

 

Nope, changed it again. Real.

 

-S

[Spud]

Of course I'm putting in a yes vote.

852485[/snapback]

Yes its real, or yes its fake? The way the poll is worded, it could go either way.

852590[/snapback]

 

After taking the trip and talking to a few people, reading it in the papers, seeing the dump, I voted yes it did happen.

[Gregory DG]

After taking the trip and talking to a few people, reading it in the papers, seeing the dump, I voted yes it did happen.

852965[/snapback]

Are you sure you didn't vote Yes to it being fake?

[A.J. Franzman]

I don't know what all this is about there being so many excess E.T. cartridges around. True, I'm new to the hobby (about 2 months of mostly thrift/pawn shops and swap meets, with a few trades here and eBay buys), but I haven't yet seen an E.T. cart in person. I do run across a bunch of Pac-Mans, and until recently had 5 Combats. See my sig for my trade/want/have lists.

 

However...

Even if they were massively overproduced, and excess buried, it stands to reason that if 95% of people who originally got it thought it sucked, that they would sell them at yard sales, give them away, etc.; so in these circumstances even a cart that had normal production would seem to present-day collectors to be overabundant if almost everyone who ever had one dropped it like a hot potato.

[moycon]

However...

Even if they were massively overproduced

 

Again, where are you getting this from???

Reports suggest that they produced 4mil - 6mil ET carts.

Pac-Man had an initial run of 10mil to 12mil I believe.

How many Atari 2600 units do you suppose were in house holds at the time E.T. was released? 15 million? 20 million? I dunno for sure, but ET wasn't over-produced. The massively over-produced fairy tale just goes along with the urban legend that is ET. Supposedly in this fairy tale, everyone that bought ET returned it because it sucked LOLOLOL This is the funniest part of the story. ET is FAR from sucky. How many people do you know returned ET when they bought it? According to some sites...everyone did. LOL Notice how no-one has come forward to state THEY were one of the ones that returned ET?? Of course they haven't. I suppose you would believe all these people returned ET...but kept their copies of Bugs...or Karate...or...you get the idea, there are a lot of crap Atari games.. ET isn't THAT bad of a game. The legend just makes it out to be.

 

This coupled with the fact there had yet to be definative evidence, in spite of years of research, in spite of the fact that camera were supposedly onsite, in spite of the fact that supposedly citizens were onsite, in spite of the fact people have been in touch with ex-Atari employees.

 

Thats a lot of "spites"

 

You know how every now and again some nut shows up and says they are the messiah and to give him all your money and come live on a commune and he gets to have sex with your wife and molest the children and there are always people blindly follow people like that in SPITE of the fact that he has no evidence to support his claims that he is the messiah. I compare that ...to this.

 

I just not the type of person that would join that commune...That's all.