The Strangest Gaming Disaster Ever: Atari’s E.T. and the 1983 Crash

In 1982, Atari rushed to turn the blockbuster film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial into a video game—giving developers just five weeks to create what they hoped would be the biggest hit of the year. Instead, it became one of the most infamous disasters in gaming history. Confusing gameplay, frustrating mechanics, and massive overproduction led to millions of unsold cartridges… and one of the strangest moments in pop culture: Atari secretly burying the game in a New Mexico landfill. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we dive deep into the rise and fall of Atari’s E.T., the developer who built it under impossible pressure, and how this single game became the symbol of the 1983 video game crash. From Christmas morning disappointment to a real-life archaeological dig decades later, this is the bizarre, fascinating story of the game they tried to erase. If you love strange history, retro gaming, and unbelievable true stories, this episode is for you.

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