As reported by Reuters on Wednesday, September 10, copies of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial , which were found during an excavation of a New Mexico landfill that occurred earlier on this year, are said to be auctioned off with other Atari titles that were also dug up.
The New Mexico city of Alamogordo, where the landfill in question is located, voted to offer up 800 of the 1,300 games that were found at the site on eBay and on the city’s own official website. The auction itself is said to start in a couple of weeks, and it is planned to be finished by Christmas.
According to Reuters, the decision to auction off some of the games was unanimous, with members of the Alamogordo City Council voting 7-0 on Tuesday, September 9.
As of the time of writing, the unearthed games are being held at the New Mexico Museum of Space History under the eyes of the Tularosa Basin Historical Society.
The dig site’s supervisor, Joe Lewandowski, told Reuters that the decision by the council to auction off over half of the found games was like watching a ” phoenix rising from the desert. ”
” It was like the beginning, end, and a new beginning for the video game industry when we found these games, ” Lewandowski said,
Lewandowski continued on to say that the city plans to keep 500-odd games as mementos, with the rest being donated to museums around the world.
” We’ve already heard from the Museum of Rome, which has a section for video games, ” he added.
We’ll bring you more news on the auction should further information reach our ears.
[ Reuters ]