For the general gaming public and causual gamers, one particular title almost always tops the list in worst video game publications and is the first to pop into their heads, E.T. the dreaded game that crashed the video game industry and killed Atari that was so bad that Atari buried the remaining copies in the desert.
And for many years, I was just like everyone else. Shitting on the game and parroting it's status as the worst game ever. But, after watching the documentary Atari: Game Over(Which I highly recommend you check out if you haven't already.) I gained a newfound appreciation for the game.
Howard Scott Warshaw the man behind E.T.-The Video Game, and the one tasked with developing it was given a herclulean task. He was one of Atari's top game developers, having developed the massively popular and financially profitable Yar's Revenge and he was given less than two months to complete the game. That's barely any time at all to develop let alone finish programming an entire game that is functional let alone any good. The fact that Warshaw delivered a product that didnt' crash the moment the players turned the game on is a feat that should be commended.
The game itself is difficult and frustating, but by no means the worst video game ever. At least not in terms of gameplay. I mean it isn't even the worst game on the Atari. Have you ever tried playing the horror games like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween? Or the porno games? There is an Atari game called "Beat Em' and Eat Em." That by its title alone is worse than E.T. by default.
And E.T. The Video Game for the Atari is not even the worst E.T. game. Have you tried playing the E.T. stage in Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure for the Nintendo Gamecube? That is light years worse than what Warshaw cobbled together. Don't believe me? Flip to the 6:57 mark on the link below and watch in awe.
I think its legendary status with copies that were actually buried in a desert in Arizona and the subsequent gaming crash that followed its release have shaped the mindset that most people who don't know the full story behind the game, that E.T. is the worst video game to ever be unleashed upon the public
To me personally, the fallout of the game's failure financially is much more devastating than the game itself. It isn't Warshaw's or Atari's fault that Spielberg esentially gave them a deadline that was nearly impossible to meet, let alone put together a game worth the price tag for the consumers. Yes. Atari spent an estimated 20-25 million dollars on the rights for E.T. but the money at the time seemed like it was a slam dunk. The year previous, Atari made bank with a video game based on 1981's blockbuster hit Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Another game developed by Howard Scott Warshaw.
There is no way that Atari knew what was coming, and no reason at all to think that Atari would ever consider that they had anything but the biggest Christmas video game hit of the year on their hands. E.T. was the most successful film of 1982 and one of the biggest hits of all time. Raiders sold spectacularly well, so the smart money was on E.T. making Atari bigger than ever.
And the initial sales were promising. It was among the top four on Billboard magazine's "Top 15 Video Games" sales list in December 1982 and January 1983, and it sold 1.5 million units. At first glance it appeared to be another hit for Atari. But then the crushing reality set in. Around 2.5 to 3.5 million cartridges went unsold. And for a licensed game that cost a boat load of money just to slap the licensing on it, that was a death blow.
After the dust had settled, Atari had lost millions and its no surprise they buried so many copies in the desert. A desert that was just a landful that Atari used for all of their old unused stock and not just E.T. but the legend is somewhat true regardless.
If you ask me, Atari was a victim of their own ego. They thought that the ride would last forever, and that their place at the top of the video game mountain was reserved for decades to come. So they started slacking off and taking risks that they usually didn't take. Blowing millions of dollars on licensing rights, pumping out games on short deadlines and not forgoing audience testing all together. All things that happened with E.T.'s production and release.
If E.T. and Atari's end has anything to teach us, its how any company, including one as big and as popular as Atari was during its height, should never get complacent, cut corners and think their status as king is ensured.
And if you think E.T. The Video Game is the worst video game ever, try playing it sometime. Then try playing piles of garbage like Superman64, Aquaman on the Gamecube, or Dark Castle on the Sega Genesis. Those are just a small fraction of games that are so much worse than E.T.
E.T. isn't underrated. Or what I would call a good game, but considering the circumstances, it could be a lot worse and it is by no means the worst video game ever. Howard Scott Warshaw does not deserve his game and his impressive work for an unheard of short deadline. Give that title to games and developers that deserve it. Not a man who broke new ground in gaming development and helped change the face of gaming forever.
And for many years, I was just like everyone else. Shitting on the game and parroting it's status as the worst game ever. But, after watching the documentary Atari: Game Over(Which I highly recommend you check out if you haven't already.) I gained a newfound appreciation for the game.
Howard Scott Warshaw the man behind E.T.-The Video Game, and the one tasked with developing it was given a herclulean task. He was one of Atari's top game developers, having developed the massively popular and financially profitable Yar's Revenge and he was given less than two months to complete the game. That's barely any time at all to develop let alone finish programming an entire game that is functional let alone any good. The fact that Warshaw delivered a product that didnt' crash the moment the players turned the game on is a feat that should be commended.
The game itself is difficult and frustating, but by no means the worst video game ever. At least not in terms of gameplay. I mean it isn't even the worst game on the Atari. Have you ever tried playing the horror games like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween? Or the porno games? There is an Atari game called "Beat Em' and Eat Em." That by its title alone is worse than E.T. by default.
And E.T. The Video Game for the Atari is not even the worst E.T. game. Have you tried playing the E.T. stage in Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure for the Nintendo Gamecube? That is light years worse than what Warshaw cobbled together. Don't believe me? Flip to the 6:57 mark on the link below and watch in awe.
I think its legendary status with copies that were actually buried in a desert in Arizona and the subsequent gaming crash that followed its release have shaped the mindset that most people who don't know the full story behind the game, that E.T. is the worst video game to ever be unleashed upon the public
To me personally, the fallout of the game's failure financially is much more devastating than the game itself. It isn't Warshaw's or Atari's fault that Spielberg esentially gave them a deadline that was nearly impossible to meet, let alone put together a game worth the price tag for the consumers. Yes. Atari spent an estimated 20-25 million dollars on the rights for E.T. but the money at the time seemed like it was a slam dunk. The year previous, Atari made bank with a video game based on 1981's blockbuster hit Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Another game developed by Howard Scott Warshaw.
There is no way that Atari knew what was coming, and no reason at all to think that Atari would ever consider that they had anything but the biggest Christmas video game hit of the year on their hands. E.T. was the most successful film of 1982 and one of the biggest hits of all time. Raiders sold spectacularly well, so the smart money was on E.T. making Atari bigger than ever.
Fun Fact: The kid in the commercial is Andre Gower. Sean,
from The Monster Squad.
And the initial sales were promising. It was among the top four on Billboard magazine's "Top 15 Video Games" sales list in December 1982 and January 1983, and it sold 1.5 million units. At first glance it appeared to be another hit for Atari. But then the crushing reality set in. Around 2.5 to 3.5 million cartridges went unsold. And for a licensed game that cost a boat load of money just to slap the licensing on it, that was a death blow.
After the dust had settled, Atari had lost millions and its no surprise they buried so many copies in the desert. A desert that was just a landful that Atari used for all of their old unused stock and not just E.T. but the legend is somewhat true regardless.
If you ask me, Atari was a victim of their own ego. They thought that the ride would last forever, and that their place at the top of the video game mountain was reserved for decades to come. So they started slacking off and taking risks that they usually didn't take. Blowing millions of dollars on licensing rights, pumping out games on short deadlines and not forgoing audience testing all together. All things that happened with E.T.'s production and release.
If E.T. and Atari's end has anything to teach us, its how any company, including one as big and as popular as Atari was during its height, should never get complacent, cut corners and think their status as king is ensured.
E.T. isn't underrated. Or what I would call a good game, but considering the circumstances, it could be a lot worse and it is by no means the worst video game ever. Howard Scott Warshaw does not deserve his game and his impressive work for an unheard of short deadline. Give that title to games and developers that deserve it. Not a man who broke new ground in gaming development and helped change the face of gaming forever.
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