"Worst video game ever" back on the market

[Jazzy]

Atari's E.T. video game is back from the dead. Months after thousands of cartridges were pulled from a New Mexico desert, the 1982 game once dubbed "the worst video game ever" is getting a second chance.

"By tonight it's going to be worldwide that they're available," Atari Event Organizer Nebulous Lewandowski told CBS News.

In April, the discovery of the cartridges put an end to a decades-long rumor that the video game's developer buried the adventure games for good. The game's failure to win an audience when it was initially released contributed to the decline in overall Atari sales.

While thousands of cartridges were unearthed in a landfill in Alamogordo, which now owns the games, just 800 will be available for consumer purchase.

"Eight-hundred sounds likes a lot, but 800 worldwide is not. It's going to be very rare," said Lewandowski.

While this might inspire imposter sales, gamers will know their purchase is the real deal when they receive a certificate of authenticity, an I.D. tag and serial number with their Atari cartridge.

The once-failed game may have a new status as a game rarity, but the consumer market will ultimately determine its value as a vintage item.

"It could be they're worth $50 a piece or they're worth $500 a piece, we don't know," Lewandowski said.

Meanwhile, museums ranging from the Smithsonian to the New Mexico Space museum, and a museum in Rome have requested copies of the games. The City of Alamogordo hopes to put the games up for auction in the next two weeks.

Source

Want one?

 

[DrLeftover]

I don't think we ever owned an Atari, and I sure don't have one now.

Before long you can probably download it and run it with an emulator.

But, I think I'll pass.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

I'd play it just so I can make my own determination

 

[Dee]

Why would I play it when I've already had the displeasure of playing it ages ago when it sucked? xD No, I won't be playing this.

 

[MrDawn]

That's great for people who want to play it. I'll pass though.

 

[~KAGE-008]

Testing my masochism by playing through that game? Challenge accepted then.