Howard Scott Warshaw made some of the most well known Atari 2600 games such as Yars Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark and the infamous E.T. He is also the director of the documentary Once Upon Atari which you can find on his site. Lately, there’s been some news concerning him with AVGN: The Movie. I’ve been waiting to tell you all about it, but it’s better to hear it from the man himself. He wrote an article which was published recently in issue #116 of GamesTM magazine on page 132. I think it says it all. Give it a read!
UPDATE: Just to be clear, it’s not 100% locked and confirmed yet, but we have a scene for him. We’ve spoken about it. He likes it. So stay tuned.
____________________________
Ha! You’ll never live /that/ down.” This is a phrase usually associated with pub crawls, panty raids (if anyone still knows what those are) or the best intentioned public moments gone horribly awry. We all have one or two. Remarkable nights of debauchery, stunning flashes of stupidity and the occasional confusion between thinking and saying. That’s the stuff of which Never Live That Down moments are made. Oh yes, and there is one other category that appears to fit the bill: video games.
The funny thing about Never Live That Down moments is how they evaporate into the ether quicker than we ever thought possible. Not mine though. I made E.T. for the Atari VCS. Whatever one might say about that game and the dubious circumstances surrounding it (most of which has already been said several times over 30 years), one salient fact remains crystal clear to me: I will never live it down. How do I know this? Simple. They sent me the script.
Over the years there have been many allusions to and discussions of the great Alamogordo, New Mexico dump site and its substrata of E.T. game cartridges. There have been reports, songs, investigations, articles, YouTube videos, infrared analysis, folk lore/mythology and literally hundreds of interviews on this subject. The New York Times, Snopes, Wall Street Journal, Wikipedia, IGN and uncountable forums and blogs opine about it. All this activity principally comes down to ‘Is it true? Are there millions of your game cartridges buried in the desert?’ I’ve been hearing, speaking, reading, seeing and joking about this for nearly three decades. But just when you think there couldn’t possibly be anything new to say about the E.T. fiasco, someone comes along with something new to say about it.
This time, that someone is James Rolfe of CineMassacre Productions (creators of the Angry Video Game Nerd video series). He and his cohorts are putting together a movie about the E.T.-carts-buried-in-the-desert controversy (http://www.indiegogo.com/Angry-Video-Game-Nerd-The-Movie) and, as I said before, they sent me the script.
Why did they send me the script? Well, it turns out I’m actually IN the movie. So they figured since I’m a real person and I’m in the movie and I’m actually me and they wanted to use me as me in the actual movie and I didn’t even know yet that I was me in the movie although I did know I was me but I didn’t know I was in the movie, they had better let me know that I was in the movie as me and let me see if after I knew I was me playing me in the movie that I would be okay with being me in the movie as myself now that I knew there was actually a movie with me in it. Maybe that’s too much legalese, but that’s what movies are all about.
I read the script. I’m not issuing any spoiler alerts here because I’m not issuing any spoilers, but I do have to say one thing: this is the freshest take I’ve heard on the subject in 30 years, and I’ve heard a LOT of takes on this subject. After all these years, someone surprises me with a script that redefines my relationship with E.T. Astounding!
This reassures me I will never live E.T. down. I don’t regret it. I enjoy its infamy. Between E.T. and Yars’ Revenge, I have the greatest range of any game designer in history. I still get a kick knowing I made the worst game of all time and it feels cool to be powerful enough to have brought a billion dollar industry to its knees with just 8K of 6502 assembly code. People frequently ask me: How can you be so happy knowing you made the worst game of all time? I tell them it’s merely pragmatism. I’ll never live it down so I might as well live it up.
-HSW
January 24, 2012 at 2:24 am
At least he’s proud of the abomination he made.
January 24, 2012 at 5:55 am
@metalcommand He was under a major time crunch and put the game together in a couple months, and made 200k. Id be okay with that.
January 24, 2012 at 11:06 am
@FinalBoss1Making so much many on the Atari E.T. game is like earning money by selling blood diamonds, or slaves. It’s so dirty.
January 24, 2012 at 2:25 am
Now I’m just even more excited about the movie!
January 24, 2012 at 3:25 am
SoAwesome
January 24, 2012 at 3:28 am
I so can’t wait to see this movie.
January 24, 2012 at 3:30 am
Holy fucking shit fuck fuck ass fuck shit cock ass fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 24, 2012 at 5:50 am
@supmandude …whatever
January 24, 2012 at 3:31 am
this is the first time I’m aware of that a porson involved with one of AVGN’S shitty games has responded to it, history in the making
January 24, 2012 at 3:32 am
this is the first time I’m aware of that a person involved with one of AVGN’S shitty games has responded to it, history in the making
January 24, 2012 at 4:45 am
Yeah, my excitement level for the movie just grew another parsec.
January 24, 2012 at 4:56 am
I have ET. Maybe I will go bury it.
January 24, 2012 at 5:10 am
sweet
January 24, 2012 at 5:54 am
God, that’s amazing. Umbelievable. I don’t know what else to say. Just brilliant. This movie is going to be great.
January 24, 2012 at 6:30 am
Now here’s hoping AVGN movie will be in HD with an actual appearance of E.T. somewhere in the film.
January 24, 2012 at 6:56 am
i dont know, Blizzard has a pretty good range from Sc64 to Diablo2.
January 24, 2012 at 5:14 pm
@crocodilius
I think SC64 was hardly in their hands, most of development was handled by a separate company who does re-releases for new consoles. The only thing fundamentally wrong with the game was its platform limitations.
January 24, 2012 at 7:28 pm
@OfficialJab@crocodilius I actually own Starcraft 64 and there’s nothing wrong with it. Obviously 2 player mode isn’t as deep or fun (since you can see what the other guy is doing), but playing versus the AI is still fun. They did a good job of making the controls usable given the limitations of a controller, by doing things like removing the 12-unit selection limit and letting you press Z to toggle between selecting all your marines/SCVs/firebats/whatever. Obviously a mouse and keyboard are ideal, but it’s still a good port for what it is.
January 24, 2012 at 8:13 pm
There was definitely no problem with content since it included Brood and an extra mission, or controls per se.
I believe the compelling element was the fps, which was complete murder, even when you weren’t in multiplayer, but especially in multiplayer. I owned it and enjoyed it, but it was so much fun to make fun of, it became like a slideshow when carriers showed up!
January 26, 2012 at 3:29 pm
@StilesCrisis@OfficialJab
im guessing youve never played it on PC or are insane.
January 26, 2012 at 3:49 pm
@crocodilius I can say with almost 100% confidence that I have more Starcraft 1 experience (on PC/Mac) than you. Don’t take that the wrong way, I’m not bragging, just saying I went through college back when Starcraft was new. I stand by my original statement: the N64 port was about as good as you could expect given the hardware and input constraints. Obviously it’s better with real networking; obviously it’s better with a keyboard and mouse; obviously it’s better in higher resolution or with a super fast CPU. The N64 being what it is, they did a good job with it.
January 24, 2012 at 9:19 am
Oh my god, I live an hour away from Alamogordo! Now I must scour White Sands for the burial site!
January 24, 2012 at 9:21 am
Oh my god, I live an hour away from Alamogordo! Now I must scour White Sands to find the burial site!
January 24, 2012 at 9:44 am
I need to go play this game again. I can’t believe it is that bad. I clearly remember playing and beating this game on a couple times. Is it really that bad?
January 24, 2012 at 4:41 pm
@DanConderman No, not really. But the landfill story adds a lot of real-life mystery and interest to it. The game’s legacy is far more interesting than the game itself.
January 24, 2012 at 10:56 am
Conclusion, is he going to be in the movie with him playing him or is he not going to be him as him i the movie and will he let someone else play him as him in the movie?
Himhim?
January 24, 2012 at 11:06 am
@smoefer He sure likes H.I.M.
January 24, 2012 at 10:56 am
I don’t think E.T. is really that bad… as long as you read the instructions… That pretty much goes for all Atari games though.
January 24, 2012 at 11:06 am
@JonathanRayRogers It isn’t that bad indeed, but it’s the hype around it’s ‘assness’ (is that even a word?) that makes it so hilarious.
January 24, 2012 at 11:00 am
i dont really want to know anything about the film before viewing it, but i can’t help reading this articles and watching the video updates.
rock and a hard place
looking forward to it though, despite how long it may be till i can see it living in the UK
January 24, 2012 at 11:59 am
I dind´t play E.T. the game yet and i wont going to play it until i see the AVGN movie
January 24, 2012 at 12:53 pm
@James Sunderland i personally think its as bad as its alluded to be. no spoilers, but its one of the wost “wtf, w-t-f, WTF?!?!?!” kinda games ive ever played…
January 24, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@firewarrior2112@James Sunderland Actually, I have to disagree. It’s totally not even close to being as bad as it’s always made out to be.
Once you actually know how to play E.T, what the object is and how to complete it, the game can be completed easily in 12 minutes. And then it’s done.
If anything the game’s biggest fault is that it’s too damn easy, boring, and a big let down. It’s essentially, run around, find the pieces to put the space phone together, avoid the guy that takes away the phone and makes you start over, avoid that guy that keeps dragging you back to the lab, go into the forest in the proper spot, and call the aliens to come get you.
Sure, it’s a bad game. But in that it was obviously rushed out in a few months with little thought put into it, but it’s far from “wtf”. It’s a boring, totally overblown game, really.
But that “landfill” story is the only part of the game’s mythos that adds some intrigue and keeps the mystery alive.
January 24, 2012 at 8:22 pm
@NightStarX@James Sunderland well my thing about the game is if you dont diligently read the manual, just watch the movie and expect what your playing to have any connection to it or follow it in any way, it drops a ton of bricks on you. i had no idea what i was picking up or what i was supposed to do or where to go, and i hated the game on top of that so i just stopped playing, amid my friend’s hysterical laughter at my frustration. but ya i see what your saying. from what i see in james’ videos, dark castle for the cdi is the worst game.
January 24, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Wow, this really says a lot about your writing and creativity! If you get the dude who created on fire for it, then it must be something special.
January 24, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Wow, this really says a lot about your writing and creativity! If you get the dude who created it on fire for it, then it must be something special!
January 24, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Just don’t let him bring cinnemassacre to a financial hault too
January 24, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Hopefully he brings his Yars’ Revenge A-game to the movie.
January 24, 2012 at 12:50 pm
wow thats badass. i wasnt keeping my hopes up too high for the movie so i didnt feel dissapointed, but the man himself says its the freshest take he has seen! well THAT scores in the avgn movie department, for sure! can’t wait!
January 24, 2012 at 12:53 pm
I am so excited for you James! I can’t wait to see it!
January 24, 2012 at 1:36 pm
oh gee!
and me was thinking i could not get any more exiting about your Movie !
thanks for posting this!
can`t wait to see!
January 24, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Woah!! Mr. Warshaw is actually going to be in the movie himself
Can’t wait!!
January 24, 2012 at 2:12 pm
That’s awesome I wonder how many other people might make guest appearance’s? If anyone has somewhat of a brain and common knowledge they should know this movie is going to make a mark in cinema history, (at least that’s how I feel in my heart). I believe James’s career is going to skyrocket in the mainstream from this movie. Also like to point out nobody else in the entertainment industry deserves to achieve ultimate success than James and everyone else in the cinemassacre family. We all are here for you James, and I can promise you I am going to do my best to spread the word of the nerd is coming to theater’s.
January 24, 2012 at 2:18 pm
LOL what a modest dude. He fully acknowledges his made one of the worst games of all time.
January 24, 2012 at 2:34 pm
I’m just worrited I’ll never get to see it if the only way is seeing in a cinema (I don’t think it will ever be shown in my country).
January 24, 2012 at 5:09 pm
@Roklie
He already releases the show on DVD, as well as other Cinemassacre projects. You don’t think he’ll do the same with his biggest project ever? It’s not like they’re region-coded either.
January 24, 2012 at 3:00 pm
WHOA PLOT REVEAL! I kinda knew it was gonna be about E.T. or Polybius anyway, but whoa, who could have guessed the game designer himself would be in this? MAJOR KUDOS!
January 24, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Wow! That is SO COOL! Have you guys sent the script to any other prominent figures in the video game industry?
January 24, 2012 at 3:18 pm
so fucking awesome. so fucking awesome. oh sorry, i said it twice, this is just so fucking awesome!
January 24, 2012 at 3:23 pm
A raging, fiery boner just shot out of my trousers and my balls exploded into my pockets covering my belongings in bloody shizz. this is awesome man. i only get more and more excited the more i read, now lets get this fucker in the can man.
January 24, 2012 at 3:23 pm
A raging, fiery boner just shot out of my trousers and my balls exploded into my pockets covering my belongings in bloody shizz. this is awesome man. i only get more and more excited the more i read, now lets get this fucker in the can man.
January 24, 2012 at 4:06 pm
He is a witty guy
I like him already
January 24, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Ah Ha! It is about E.T! I knew it! We all knew it! I can not believe the game designer is in the movie! This is fucking amazing!
January 24, 2012 at 4:32 pm
@TrevorBall Of course it’s about E.T. He told us it would be in the Star Wars episode.
January 24, 2012 at 4:34 pm
@TrevorBall Of course it’s about E.T. He told us it would be in the Spielberg game episode.
January 24, 2012 at 4:50 pm
From his babbling, I can only really make out “I’m a character in this movie and they want me to play myself. The least they could do is ask.” IT doesn’t really confirm if he’s playing himself or not. I really hope so. That would be amazing.
January 24, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Man, if I didn’t have enough reasons to want to see this movie already… This is going to be epic! Maybe you could also hunt down those guys that tried to collect and destroy every copy of the game Shaq Fu. And if you do, thank them for me. Seriously though, this movie will be awesome and I can’t wait to see it!
January 24, 2012 at 6:15 pm
I’m assuming they chose New Mexico as the cartridge burial site because of Roswell Crash? Well that would make sense right?
January 24, 2012 at 6:57 pm
@lunaraccents From what I’ve read, the site was chosen for two reasons: it was one of the only places around that would accept the multiple truckloads of cartridges (some sources say between 10 and 20 semis were needed, and even then the city wasn’t too happy about it), and that particular garbage site didn’t allow scavenging and crushed items nightly. That’s one way to get rid of ‘em.
January 24, 2012 at 6:26 pm
I’m probably gonna cause a few head explosions, jaw drops, and face palms with this statement, but………I’ve never actually heard of precisely WHAT is so god awful about the E.T. video game. I know it’s horrible, but I don’t actually know what makes it so horrible. I was gonna wait for this movie, but now I think it might assume the audience already knows, since so many people seem to. I mean……exactly what’s wrong with it? (an no, I’ve never played it, nor have I seen any of it’s content in videos. I’ve only heard about it, mostly on this site)
January 24, 2012 at 6:31 pm
@Marvipe You just have to play it to know, although I didn’t grow up with it and probably am not the best person to tell you but I have played it and it SUCKS! Although not the worst game I’ve played, It’s up there, but as I said you have to play it to know.
January 24, 2012 at 6:33 pm
@Marvipe It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s not so much that the game itself is horrible, but it can be impossible to play unless you know HOW to play it.
It’s more infamous due to it’s history. it was rushed in and out of production and it was anticipated to be a huge hit (which it was, it sold quite well at first), so a abnormally huge amount of cartridges were produced… much more than it was anticipated would be sold. Enter the whole “landfill” situation for all those extra unsold carts.
Check out the wiki page on it. It’s actually quite interesting and they could explain it better than I ever could.
January 24, 2012 at 6:37 pm
@Marvipe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_%28video_game%29
January 24, 2012 at 6:41 pm
@Marvipe
1) ET drops in his starship
2) ET makes a weird sound
3) ET falls into a hole
4) ET extends his neck and flies away
5) ET dies.
I just explained the whole game to you.
Now you can go watch a video about it if you want.
January 24, 2012 at 6:59 pm
@Marvipe watch spoonys review of it at spoonyexperimentcom
January 25, 2012 at 10:12 pm
@Marvipe Just try playing it. Without the instruction book. Perhaps it helps if you are 9 years old (like I was). It’s kind of epic.
January 24, 2012 at 6:28 pm
I am just happy that avgn is finallly making his movie, and I wish him all the luck in the world. When I finally get to watch it, I think I will cried.
January 24, 2012 at 6:44 pm
My theory: James will go back in time in the movie and help Howard to develop a GOOD ET game.
It results in a catastrophe.
The plot takes on.
January 24, 2012 at 7:01 pm
What a great build up!
January 24, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Very cool James, your movie is getting some nice buzz these days….
January 24, 2012 at 7:25 pm
I grew up with ET, it’s a horrible horrible game, but I think to blame HSW for it’s failure is misplaced. It was the marketing climate at Atari in 1982, management pushing unrealistic expectations on their programmers to deliver, management who just didn’t understand how programming worked, as well as the over-the-top thinking that went into marketing a huge movie tie-in game being produced in time for Christmas. HSW didn’t have the time to make a good or even functional game of it, and the end product nowhere near matched the hype for the game. The same fiasco happened to Atari 2600′s Pac-Man. In the end, consumer confidence was ruined and Atari sank like the Titanic.
When I think of Howard Scott Warshaw, I think of the guy who made Yars’ Revenge, my all-time favorite 2600 title. This man is my hero.
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
e.t finds lost games!!!!
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Awesome article. Seems like a cool guy.
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Yars’ Revenge is awesome
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Great read, can’t wait for the movie!
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
“I still get a kick knowing I made the worst game of all time and it feels cool to be powerful enough to have brought a billion dollar industry to its knees with just 8K of 6502 assembly code”
I lol’d
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
That would be funny if the movie was about AVG on a quest to find the lost dumpsite and destroy it.
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Limited theatrical runs in at least North America is mandatory.
In places like Toronto, nudge wink.
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
and in lincoln
January 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
THIS IS FUCKING AWSOME JAMES ! i just jizzed all over the screen
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
I like that he has such a great attitude about it. :3
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
wow, I’ve been through Alamagordo NM, who knew I was so close to a goldmine. all I knew was White Sands
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
Go AVGN!!!
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
Now track down the guy who programmed plumbers don’t wear ties.
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
If an evil crappy corporation gives a guy just 40 days to create their christmas blockbuster, they deserved to be ruined lol
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
Will it be a paid movie? I have no problem with that but will it be available in Québec? =)
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
You can buy a DVD after it’s release.
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
heck yeah
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
Nice! Awesome to see James this far!
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
This makes me both excited for the movie, forgetting all about the desert-cartridges, and loving the way this article was written and how it was climaxed. Well written.
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
WHY ISN’T MOTHERFUCKER MIKE GOING TO BE IN THE AVGN MOVIE??? It makes no sense whatsoever. He’s a good actor (despite being an amateur) and he’s been an important part of the AVGN character.
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
I got to meet Howard Scott Warshaw at Philly Classic years ago and got my copies of ET and Yar’s singed by him. He’s a really nice guy and his “Once Apon Atari” doc is really good too!
January 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm
I want mother fucker Mike and Bad luck bootsy to be in this film.
January 24, 2012 at 9:14 pm
LOL hilarious article
I had ET as a kid, it was always kinda cool to put in and mess a round a bit since the graphics were pretty decent for Atari 2600. Once you got stuck in a hole tho meant time to switch to something else for a bit.
I went back and beat it after the internet was invented and I had a guide to know what to do.
January 24, 2012 at 9:43 pm
that is awesome James! I’m glad he loves your take on it, and I can’t wait to see it
January 24, 2012 at 9:44 pm
The 5th paragraph is fucking hilarious! THIS is why James knew it was best to save the best for last. THIS is why he did not listen to the masses of goober-snoobers trying to tell him how to do what he does best. I wish you guys the best of luck in seeing this part of the movie come to fruition!
January 24, 2012 at 11:04 pm
@DaveMcGrath lol goober snoobers
January 24, 2012 at 10:00 pm
HSW needs a t-shirt in this style:http://themanwhofellasleep.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/403760_10150588385042112_589582111_10944335_1732015403_n.jpg?w=187&h=300:D
January 24, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Funny that he made both one of the worst and one of the best video games of all time
January 24, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Bad Luck Bootsy has never been in any AVGN, and honestly MFM is pretty scarce as well. They are interesting but I don’t think they need to be in the film. And really, Mike is just not much of an actor. I appreciate that MF Mondays are better than nothing, but Mike just doesn’t have the talent for appearing on camera the way James has.
January 24, 2012 at 10:31 pm
The glitch gremlin is gonna be in the movie. He was in one episode, correct me if I’m wrong. The only conceivable reason for
Mike’s exclusion (at least give him a cameo!) is that he runs Cinemassacre when James is away. If he’s in California with James, who will run Cinemassacre? But still…put him in the film, James. Find a way. Mike deserves it.
January 24, 2012 at 10:31 pm
I knew it! Very cool of James to save the E.T. review for something extra special, like a movie!
January 24, 2012 at 11:43 pm
Great Press!
January 25, 2012 at 2:28 am
Reminds me of Bob Clark. He made one of the best movies of all time and then went on to make one of the worst of all time.
January 25, 2012 at 2:28 am
That was a great read.
January 25, 2012 at 3:24 am
might as well live it up, nice, im lookin more an more forward to this movie , along with marilyn mansons new album and the coming of christ. (im serious)
January 25, 2012 at 8:21 am
@m0desty New Manson?!? Sweet!
January 25, 2012 at 7:29 am
Awesome!
January 25, 2012 at 7:49 am
The thing about ET and Pac-Man 2600 is that they are largely considered not only the 2 worst games of all time, but the two most responsible for both the video game crash of 1983 and Atari’s reversal of fortune. Both games were only given 5-6 weeks of development time (by comparison Pitfall took 2-3 years incorporating new technology) but Pac-Man was released as a test version. Atari made 10 million copies of Pac-Man but were only able to sell 7, and flooded with returns (imagine that, you could return a video game for being bad back then) and a warehouse of unsold Pac-Man and ET Atari had them crushed and buried in Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill! For those wondering, asking someone to dig up a smelly old landfill for some old video games is not something that is ever going to happen without a lot of legal clout and money, so that’s why AVGN The Movie has to fake those scenes in California.
January 25, 2012 at 11:07 am
I bet James is gonna beat up the atari programmer in the movie
January 25, 2012 at 4:22 pm
“I still get a kick knowing I made the worst game of all time and it feels cool to be powerful enough to have brought a billion dollar industry to its knees with just 8K of 6502 assembly code.” Best line ever
January 25, 2012 at 8:35 pm
He’s actually going to be in the film? This is going to be incredible.
To be fair to the guy, he got stuck working on a game and only had like 2 weeks to get it done, so I don’t blame him too badly.
January 25, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Awesome.
Yar’s Revenge is one of the few games on 2600 worth playing.
January 26, 2012 at 11:06 am
E.T wasn’t really the cause of the industry crashing. Rather it was Pac Man. I grew up during the 2600 era, and everyone felt very burnt at how terrible Pac Man was on the Atari. We paid $50 even back then for games, and this piece of garbage Atari offered us was what started the downfall. E.T. was just an after-thought on the way out the door.
I didn’t get back into gaming until 1987 when the Nintendo hit it big. Zelda was what pulled me back into home gaming.
January 26, 2012 at 12:02 pm
@WolffKingMorrow Yeah, the whole ET thing is overblown. Market saturation was the real reason the industry bombed. ET’s release just happened to coincide with the beginning of the end.
By 2600 standards, it wasn’t actually that bad of a game.