Copies of Atari 2600 game found in New Mexico desert

Copies of Atari 2600 game E.T. have been found buried in the desert of New Mexico, confirming one of videogaming's biggest urban legends.

Released in 1982, E.T. had a rushed development time of just over five weeks to coincide with the release of the film, leading to one of the worst games ever made and low sales.

SMH reports that former Atari manager James Heller was told to find a cheap way of getting rid of 728,000 copies of the game, while the New York Times suggests that 14 truckloads of E.T. were left in a landfill.

The reports were never confirmed until now, when the cartridges were discovered as part of a new documentary in development by Xbox Entertainment Studios.

"Here it is up close - the very first ET cartridge exhumed after 30 years," tweeted Xbox Live's director of programming Larry 'Major Nelson' Hyrb.

The E.T. game is widely blamed for causing the 1983 videogame industry crash, triggered by low-quality clone games that led to massive consumer backlash.

Pictures and the first footage from the excavation are below, and you'll be able to see more when documentary 'Dumping the Alien: Unearthing the Atari' is released.