Buried 'worst video game ever' cartridges go on sale

Do you want to own a piece of computer game history?

A historical society in the US is selling off hundreds of discarded Atari video games that it unearthed from a New Mexico landfill earlier this year - including copies of the legendary "worst game ever made," E.T.The Extra-Terrestrial.

The Tularosa Basin Historical Society of Alamogordo has put around 100 games, including retro Atari 2600 classics like Centipede and Defender, up for sale on eBay.

Reserve prices for many of the items begin at between $50 -$100 (£30-£60) and each cartridge has its own certificate of authenticity.

Many of the games have attracted no bids so far, but the best copy of E.T is currently commanding over $500 (£310).

Atari discarded pallets containing thousands of games and pieces of computer equipment in 1983, writes Wired.

E.T was written in a hurry over five weeks and was launched to widespread critical disdain, earning it the moniker "the worst computer game ever made."

Microsoft financed a documentary about the burial and subsequent excavation, Atari: Game Over, which members of Microsoft’s Xbox Live can view on Xbox game consoles and online on November 20. (youtube)

Wily buyers of video game memorabilia may wish to hold off from bidding just yet, however.

The historical society’s vice president, Joe Lewandowski, who was present when Atari buried the games in the landfill in 1983 and supervised the excavation effort in April, told the Alamogordo Daily News that once the 100 games currently listed on eBay are sold, the society plans to sell at least another 750 games.

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