Many long-time gamers would already be aware about the gaming market crash in the 80’s. In the wake of what could have spelt doom for the emerging market, Atari was left with millions of unsold “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” cartridges which were reportedly dumped at night within a landfull in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It has given a rise to much discussion and interest over the years. But Xbox Entertainment Studios have enlisted the aid of award-winning producer Simon Chinn and Emmy-winning producer Jonathan Chinn through their multi-platform media company “Lightbox” to do an exclusive documentary series on this mystery.
The first film in the series investigates the events surrounding the great video game burial of 1983. The Atari Corporation, faced with overwhelmingly negative response to the video game “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” buried millions of unsold game cartridges in the middle of the night in the small town of Alamogordo, New Mexico. Whats more, Fuel Entertainment have secured the exclusive rights to excavate the Atari landfill and will be working with the studios to document the dig.
Shooting begins in January. The series will air exclusively on Xbox One and Xbox 360 in 2014 and will be available globally in all markets where Xbox Live is supported.
Simon Chinn | Producer of Documentary
Our collaboration with Xbox offers an unparalleled opportunity to make a unique series of films around the extraordinary events and characters that have given rise to the digital age.
Jonathan Chinn | Producer of Documentary
Our goal is to produce a series of compelling and entertaining docs which will deploy all the narrative techniques of Simon’s and my previous work. It’s particularly exciting to be partnering with filmmakers like Zak Penn who come to this process from other filmmaking disciplines and who will bring their own distinctive creative vision to this.
Nancy Tellem | President of Xbox Entertainment Studios
Jonathan and Simon Chinn are the perfect team to spearhead this series for Xbox. They are consummate story tellers and they plan to match their creative sensibility with the best talent in the industry. These stories will expose how the digital revolution created a global democracy of information, entertainment and commerce, and how it impacts our lives every day.
Zak Penn | Director of Documentary
When Simon and Jonathan Chinn approached me about this story, I knew it would be something important and fascinating. I wasn’t expecting to be handed the opportunity to uncover one of the most controversial mysteries of gaming lore.
