What Was the Name of the E.T. Atari 2600 Game?

This article provides a definitive answer regarding the title of the infamous video game adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s classic film. It details the specific name released for the Atari 2600 console, examines its rushed development history, and discusses its lasting legacy as one of the most notorious commercial failures in industry history.

The name of the Atari 2600 game based on the movie is simply E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Released in 1982 by Atari, Inc., the cartridge shared the exact same title as the blockbuster motion picture. Despite the film’s immense popularity, the video game version became synonymous with poor quality and aggressive marketing over saturation.

Developed by Howard Scott Warshaw in a record-breaking five weeks, the game was rushed to meet the holiday shopping season. Players controlled the alien character through various screens to collect phone parts while avoiding scientists and FBI agents. The gameplay was widely criticized for being confusing and frustrating, leading to massive returns and unsold inventory.

The commercial failure of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is often cited as a major contributing factor to the video game crash of 1983. In a famous incident, unsold copies of the game were buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico, cementing its status as a legendary cautionary tale in the world of entertainment software.