Recently about 1,300 Atari games were dug up in a New Mexico landfill and gamers everywhere wondered what would happen to the pieces of gaming history. It seems that at least 500 of the unearthed games will be curated at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and local N.M. museums, while the rest will be sold according to the Alamogordo City Commission said.
Alamogordo mayor Susie Galea told IGN,
“We don’t have a definite plan as to how we’ll sell the remainder of the games yet. But we know we’ll be giving some of them to the Smithsonian, as well as museums [in New Mexico]. The commission has a few ideas moving forward, but there’s nothing definite yet.”
After the 500 being prepared for curation, 100 of the games will be given to documentary film companies. The remaining 700 Atari games will be sold. Galea noted that the city will meet June 10 to discuss how to sell the games. He also said that the possibility of an auction open to the general public is being considered.
It seems that the infamous rumor about a possible Atari cemetery are true. The urban legend first began in 1983, when the New York Times reported 14 trucks full of unsold Atari products had been driven from a factory in El Paso, Tex. to the Alamogordo site. Several Atari employees denied the existence of the landfill altogether. But last year it was all revealed.
The games that were found includes classics such as Breakout, Defender, Centipede and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.
