The Reason E T Is Considered The Worst Video Game Ever

Alright, buckle up, buttercups. We're about to dive into a legend. A terrible legend. We're talking about a game so bad, it's become… well, iconic. We're talking about the video game adaptation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Yeah, that E.T. The one with the glowing finger and the bike flying over the moon. You remember. This game? It's often crowned the undisputed king of all things awful. The absolute worst. Ever.

And honestly? It's hilarious. Like, truly, spectacularly funny. Not ha-ha funny, more like, "Oh my gosh, how did this even happen?" funny. It’s a glorious train wreck. A cautionary tale. A dumpster fire wrapped in a mystery, buried in a landfill. And we love it.

The Hype Was Real (Too Real)

So, picture this: It's 1982. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial the movie is a massive, massive hit. Everyone is obsessed. Spielberg’s movie is tugging at heartstrings everywhere. Naturally, Atari, the reigning king of video games, wants a piece of that sweet, sweet E.T. pie. They wanted to cash in. Big time.

And they wanted it FAST. Like, really fast. We’re talking a holiday release. Christmas. Peak gaming season. The pressure was on. And when you rush something this much, especially something based on a beloved movie, things can get… weird. Or, in this case, disastrous.

Development Hell: The Atari Edition

The story of how this game was made is almost as legendary as the game’s badness. A guy named Howard Scott Warshaw was tasked with making this masterpiece. He had a whopping five weeks to design and code the entire thing. Five. Weeks. For a console game. Can you even imagine? It's like asking someone to build a skyscraper in a weekend.

Warshaw was a hotshot at Atari. He’d just made a hit game, Yars' Revenge. So, they trusted him. Maybe a little too much? He basically worked around the clock. Sleep was optional. Coffee was mandatory. He poured his heart and soul into it. Or, at least, what little he could cram into that tight deadline.

He was trying to capture the magic of the movie. You know, the wonder, the aliens, the communication. But translating that onto a primitive Atari 2600 cartridge? That’s like trying to sculpt the Mona Lisa with a spoon. It’s a noble effort, but the results are… different.

So, What Was So Bad About It?

Let’s get down to brass tacks. Why is this game considered the absolute pits? Well, for starters, the gameplay. Oh, the gameplay. It’s… baffling. You play as E.T.

Your main goal is to collect three types of alien “things” from the environment. These things are scattered in wells. Yes. Wells. And to get them out of the wells, you have to… well, jump. That’s it. You jump in, you collect your item, you jump out. Riveting stuff.

But here’s the kicker: The wells are everywhere. And E.T. has a tendency to fall into them. A lot. He also has a tendency to get stuck in them. And sometimes, he just… drifts away. It’s like playing with a toddler who keeps wandering off. Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.

The Pits of Despair (Literally)

The most infamous mechanic? The dreaded pit. E.T. can fall into these pits. And when he does, he’s stuck. He’s just lying there. In the pit. For what feels like an eternity. There’s no escaping. You’re just… defeated. And it happens. A lot. So, so much.

Imagine playing a game where your primary objective is to avoid falling into holes. Sounds fun, right? Yeah, no. It’s the video game equivalent of being asked to find a needle in a haystack while blindfolded. And the haystack is on fire. And the needle is actively trying to avoid you.

The controls were also notoriously clunky. E.T. felt like he was wading through molasses. Or maybe he was just really, really sad about being on Earth. Hard to say. But moving him around was a chore. A big, purple, alien chore.

The Infamous Atari Landfill

And then there’s the legend of the Atari Landfill. This is where the story gets truly epic. The game was a massive commercial failure. A flop of epic proportions. Atari produced millions of cartridges, hoping for blockbuster sales. They got… the opposite.

Players were returning the game in droves. The word spread like wildfire: this game was terrible. Like, unplayable terrible. Atari was stuck with millions of unsold cartridges. What do you do with millions of terrible E.T. games? The most logical (and insane) answer? Bury them. In a desert. In Alamogordo, New Mexico.

This became a huge urban legend. The graveyard of bad video games. For years, people thought it was a myth. A story told to scare aspiring game developers. But then, in 2014, someone actually went and dug them up. And guess what? They found them. Thousands upon thousands of E.T. cartridges. Buried deep in the desert. It was real. The ultimate testament to a game’s awfulness.

A Legacy of Laughter (and Loathing)

So, why is this topic so much fun to talk about? Because it’s a perfect storm of hype, rushed development, terrible design, and a hilarious, almost unbelievable real-world consequence. It’s a story that’s almost too good to be true, but it is.

The E.T. game isn't just a bad game; it's a cultural phenomenon. It’s the poster child for "don't rush your games." It’s a reminder that even the biggest companies can mess up spectacularly. And that sometimes, the worst things are the most entertaining.

When you think about the sheer number of people who bought this game, full of excitement for their favorite movie, only to be met with the frustrating reality of E.T. falling into a pit for the hundredth time… it’s almost poetic. A dark, pixelated poetry.

It’s a story that makes you shake your head and chuckle. A story that makes you appreciate the truly great games even more. And a story that, for some reason, we just can’t get enough of. The worst video game ever? Absolutely. And that’s precisely why we love to talk about it.