E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (Atari 2600, 1982)

Source: http://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2017/02/14/e-t-atari-2600/

E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial is widely regarded as the worst video game ever. I disagree with that characterization somewhat. Yes, it is certainly true that it is not a great game and is also an extremely frustrating game. However, there were many worse games before and since.

E.T. gets this reputation for several reasons. First, it was a heavily advertised, highly anticipated game that was also based on an extremely popular movie so the associated disappointment was that much bigger. Second, it is easy to attribute the video game crash to this game. This is an exageration but it is representative of what was wrong with the game industry at the time (too many games rushed out too quickly, sacrificing quality) and coincided with a huge downturn in video game sales. E.T. sold about 1.5 million copies which was reasonably well by the standards of the day but far, far less than what was anticipated. Many cartridges were ultimately buried in a landfill in the desert (and later found, but that's another story). Finally, the game WAS pretty bad. But given that the developer had five weeks to complete it, it's amazing that it is as good as it was.

Thanks for stopping by and check out some of my other recent retrogaming posts below!

Why Atari Is #1
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/why-atari-is-1

Missile Command (Atari 2600, 1981)
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/missile-command-atari-2600-1981

Computer Gaming World (July 1987)
https://steemit.com/retrocomputing/@darth-azrael/computer-gaming-world-july-1987

WWF WrestleMania Challenge (NES, 1991)
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/wwf-wrestlemania-challenge-nes-1991

Pac-Man (Atari 5200)
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/pac-man-atari-5200

Extreme Ghostbusters
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/extreme-ghostbusters

Burning Rangers (Sega Saturn)
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/burning-rangers-sega-saturn

Uncharted Waters
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/uncharted-waters

GamePro, 1996
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/gamepro-1996

TECMO Sports (1994)
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/tecmo-sports-1994

Laser Invasion (NES, 1991)
https://steemit.com/retrogaming/@darth-azrael/laser-invasion-nes-1991