The rumor was true. They found them. Thousands of extra-terrestrials buried in a landfill in the desert.
Well, when I say "extra-terrestrial," I'm talking about Atari's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial video game from 1982. Xbox's Major Nelson, Documentary Director Zak Penn, and a "garbologist" were on hand during what has to be the strangest archaeological dig in recent history.
Down near White Sands, New Mexico, Major Nelson walks over blinding dunes, past a no-trespassing sign near the city of Alamogordo (which is Spanish for, uh, Fat Alamo), and on top of the landfill rumored to house thousands of sealed packages of the E.T. game—the game universally maligned for contributing to Atari's entire downfall in the '80s.
Since they were looking for "nonsensitive cultural material," they were able to go at it with a bucket loader. And since they were using airy, instrumental guitar rock for a soundtrack, I somehow got a soaring feeling in my chest, hoping those people weren't out there for nothing.
Here's a teaser for the upcoming documentary of the most maligned video game of all time.
