Microsoft diggs up failed Atari past

As part of a history documentary looking at the rise and fall of gaming giants Atari, Microsoft have started excavating a landfill in the small town of Alamogodoro, New Mexico... but why?

As part of a history documentary looking at the rise and fall of gaming giants Atari, Microsoft have started excavating a landfill in the small town of Alamogodoro, New Mexico... but why?

Atari are known for releasing some of the most iconic games in history, from Pong to Missile Command to Pac-Man but there was one game that put them into financial ruin and spurred on the division and sale of Atari, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" video game.

Designed by Howard Scott Warshaw in 1982, the game was rushed with Howard being given a mere 5 week completion date. It has become one of the ultimate urban legends that Atari sank millions of unsold copies into a grave site, but nobody knew where.

Fuel Entertainment took an interest in the legend, and in December 2013, with help from local contractor Joe Lewandowski, acquired the exclusive rights to excavate the landfill. Fuel Entertainment brought the opportunity to Xbox Entertainment Studios, and now, as part of a documentary series, the team excavated the legendary New Mexico landfill to reveal the true story of Atari's bizarre burial.

The dig site teams actually struck cartridge gold, finding over 3.5 million copies and that's just the start of it, more unsold games and hardware are rumoured to still be in the ground.

The documentary, entitled "Atari: Game Over" has no air date as yet but It's going to be an exciting watch.