Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Ambuluwawa Tower
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
Hesperus Mountain.
Hesperus Mountain
Miniature Collection at Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
U.S. Air Force Capt. Samuel “RaZZ” Larson, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team commander, passes over the flight line at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, July 9, 2024
Who Swarmed Langley Air Force Base With Drones?
about 20 hours ago
Our producer Manolo Morales would spend his final days perusing the shelves at Book Off.
Where Would You Go to Wait for the Apocalypse?
2 days ago
This event showcasing the bounty of the Traverse City region’s amazing agriculture, craft, and creativity culminates with a Grand Tasting on August 23.
The Atlas Obscura Guide to Traverse City’s Event Season
3 days ago
She’ll get you and your little dog too.
Dear Atlas: Where Can I Explore Witch History Without the Kitsch?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States New Mexico Alamogordo Alamogordo Landfill

Alamogordo Landfill

Buried beneath the New Mexico sands are believed to be millions of copies of Atari's E.T. video game.

Alamogordo, New Mexico

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Alamogordo Landfill   xbox.com
Alamogordo Landfill   xbox.com
Alamogordo Landfill   Google Maps
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

While there is some speculation as to whether the story is true, the Alamogordo Landfill is said to hold millions of unopened copies of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial the Video Game which an embarrassed Atari Company was desperately trying to get rid of.

While the film E.T. is an enduring work of beloved cinema, the Atari video game which it inspired has earned a place in history as one of the worst (if not THE worst) video games of all time. The game featured a blocky, pixelated splash that was to represent the alien hero as he collected McDonalds happy meals and fell into pits. The "game" was a frustrating mix of confusing, ugly, and hard to control which led to fierce critical backlash and almost no sales. Atari, having banked heavily on the movie cash-in, now found itself in possession of over three million copies of the toxic product.

With nothing left to do with the games and looking to distance themselves from the public relations nightmare they had created, Atari is said to have simply carted up the millions of unused cartridges and buried them. According to local news sources, Atari rolled in between 10-20 truckloads of the game among other systems and electronic junk and had it crushed. They then buried all of the junk in the newly opened Alamogordo landfill. It's said that the landfill was chosen because they prohibited scavenging, and to bury their embarrassment even further, Atari took the unusual step (at least in garbage disposal) of covering their discarded items in cement.

Unfortunately the rather extreme measure actually created one of the more famous stories in video gaming, ensuring that Atari's E.T. folly would not be forgotten any time soon. In 2014 a documentarian, in conjunction with Microsoft, excavated the site in an attempt to recover the long dormant copies. They indeed did find the long sought for game cartridges but were only able to recover approximately 1,300 copies. 

Related Tags

Video Games

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

smejdole, cyantoast, MrCarl

  • smejdole
  • cyantoast
  • MrCarl

Published

April 14, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://news.xbox.com/2014/04/ent-attend-atari-landfill-excavation
  • http://www.neatorama.com/2014/04/11/The-Infamous-Atari-ET-Landfill-Will-Be-Unearthed-By-Microsoft/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20New%20Content%20(Feed)&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=Twitter#!DDWmW
  • http://www.8-bitcentral.com/blog/2013/burriedCarts.html
  • https://www.google.com/maps/place/32%C2%B044'29.9%22N+105%C2%B059'20.4%22W/@32.7416291,-105.9933707,1868m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x86e059e24a681c01:0xc5aaa88c3d84858b!2s4276+US-54,+Alamogordo,+NM+88310!3b1!8m2!3d32.8348732!4d-105.9726471!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d32.7416282!4d-105.9889925
Alamogordo Landfill
5530 US-54
Alamogordo, New Mexico, 88310
United States
32.742594, -105.989405
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Sunspot Solar Observatory

Sunspot, New Mexico

miles away

New Mexico Museum of Space History

Alamogordo, New Mexico

miles away

Apple Boy

High Rolls, New Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Alamogordo

Alamogordo

New Mexico

Places 4

Nearby Places

Sunspot Solar Observatory

Sunspot, New Mexico

miles away

New Mexico Museum of Space History

Alamogordo, New Mexico

miles away

Apple Boy

High Rolls, New Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Alamogordo

Alamogordo

New Mexico

Places 4

Related Stories and Lists

8 Places to Experience Video Game History IRL

List

By Anne Ewbank

Related Places

  • The museum.

    Sheffield, England

    National Videogame Museum

    An interactive museum where visitors can play through the evolution of video games.

  • Vienna, Austria

    Computer und Gaming Museum Wien

    Housed in a former air raid shelter, this museum is dedicated to the history of computing and video games.

  • Rock-afire Explosion at Billy Bob’s Wonderland

    Barboursville, West Virginia

    Billy Bob’s Wonderland

    This arcade is one of the last places to catch a public performance by the now-defunct ShowBiz Pizza's house band of animatronic animals.

  • National Videogame Museum

    Zoetermeer, Netherlands

    National Videogame Museum

    A multi-story, retro videogame time capsule in the Netherlands.

  • Fargo Mario Wall

    Fargo, North Dakota

    'Fargo Mario Wall'

    In an alley behind a Fargo bar, you can roleplay as Mario while interacting with a popular street mural.

  • Krakow, Poland

    Muzeum Gier Wideo (Krakow Arcade Museum)

    Where visitors can play more than 150 retro arcade games.

  • The mural in all its 8-bit glory

    Concord, New Hampshire

    Donkey Kong Mural

    A real-life hidden Easter Egg in New Hampshire's capital city

  • Original Nintendo Building

    Kyoto, Japan

    Original Nintendo Building

    The first location of the eventual video game giant.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.