Landfill search for 'E.T.' video game halted

Thursday, March 20, 2014

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. - New Mexico environmental regulators are blocking two companies from digging up an Alamogordo landfill in search of a rumored cache of what some consider the worst Atari video game of all time.

The Alamogordo News reports (http://bit.ly/1kLNXjD) "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" game cartridges were rumored to have been dumped in the landfill in the 1980s.

New Mexico Environment Department spokesman Jim Winchester says an approved waste excavation plan is needed before any dig.

Winchester says the original excavation plan was rejected Feb. 27 and the companies haven't yet submitted a new one.

Fuel Entertainment and LightBox Interactive recently announced plans to search the landfill for the game that proved a financial drain for Atari.

The games were part of truckloads of Atari merchandise that were supposedly disposed of there.