Long-Buried Atari Cartridges Are Being Offered Up for Public Auction After being exhumed from a New Mexico landfill earlier this year, copies of the world's worst video game will now be up for auction.

By Geoff Weiss Sep 12, 2014

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Atari fans will soon have the opportunity to own a fabled piece of gaming history.

After a documentary crew dug up a trove of failed games that was secretly buried in a New Mexico landfill in the '80s, a city council has unanimously ruled that the 1,300 cartridges should be put on the auction block and donated to interested museums.

While a staggering 792,000 games lie within the Alamogordo landfill, according to dig site manager Joe Lewandowski, only 1,300 have been recovered thus far from under 10,000 pounds of garbage, reports Polygon. Among them is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) -- often panned as the worst video game of all time and which many blame for the video game crash of 1983.

Eight hundred games will initially be offered on eBay in order to determine their value and generate interest, Lewandowski said. Each cartridge will ship with a certificate of authenticity and a document explaining the now-infamous "Atari tomb" tale.

Lewandowski told Polygon that New Mexico had already received a $500 offer for one game, while a normal (non-buried) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial cartridge can sell on eBay for as little as $9.

But even before a sale, the priority will be distributing the rescued games to interested museums. The local historical society is working with the New Mexico Museum of Space History to inventory, catalog and seal the collection. Each interested party -- which already includes the Museum of Rome -- will be lent a handful unearthed games, controllers and consoles, as well as photos of the site and background information about the four-year excavation process.

Related: Atari Co-Founder Nolan Bushnell on Gaming and Business Growth

Meanwhile, the documentary depicting the burial -- which is coincidentally being produced by Xbox and is entitled Atari: Game Over -- is slated for release later this fall. You can watch the trailer here:

Geoff Weiss

Staff Writer. Frequently covers digital media.

Geoff Weiss is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com who frequently covers digital media.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Most Popular

See all

Productivity

6 Habits That Help Successful People Maximize Their Time

There aren't enough hours in the day, but these tips will make them feel slightly more productive.

By Blake Johnson

Franchise

7-Eleven Stores in the U.S. Will Introduce Some Japanese-Inspired Changes. Here's What to Expect.

You'll soon be able to pick up some fresh sushi or a new type of snack at your local 7-Eleven — but the Big Gulp isn't going away.

By Carl Stoffers

Growing a Business

The Best Way to Run a Business Meeting

All too often, meetings run longer than they should and fail to keep attendees engaged. Here's how to run a meeting the right way.

By Jacqueline Whitmore

Fundraising

Working Remote? These Are the Biggest Dos and Don'ts of Video Conferencing

As more and more businesses go remote, these are ways to be more effective and efficient on conference calls.

By Bryan Lovgren

Marketing

Launching Your First Paid Product? Here's How to Successfully Turn Your Expertise Into Profit

Are you ready to launch your first paid product but feeling nervous? Don't worry — starting small with the right type of product is the secret to success. Read on to learn how to outline clear benefits, value price, leverage social media marketing and deliver excellent customer experience.

By Murali Nethi

Starting a Business

How to Find the Right Programmers: A Brief Guideline for Startup Founders

For startup founders under a plethora of challenges like timing, investors and changing market demand, it is extremely hard to hire programmers who can deliver.

By Vasily Voropaev