E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (video Game) - Reception

Reception

Anticipation for E.T. was high in 1982, and it was a sought-after Christmas gift. Prior to the game's release, Newsweek called Atari's procurement of the intellectual property its "biggest coup". In early December 1982, the New York Times reported that video games based on successful movies, specifically E.T., would become "an increasingly profitable source" for video game development. At first, retailers ordered more supplies than what was expected to be sold, but Atari received an increasing number of order cancellations as new competitors entered the market, an event the company had not anticipated. John Hubner and William Kistner of InfoWorld attribute the cancellations to changes Atari initiated between its relationship between distributors. On November 1, 1982, Atari informed them that their contracts were canceled and that exclusive deals would be established with select distributors. Hubner and Kistner believed the action prompted retailers to cancel orders, which Atari had not properly tracked.

E.T. met with initial commercial success. It was among the top four on Billboard magazine's "Top 15 Video Games" sales list in December 1982 and January 1983. The game eventually sold 1.5 million units, becoming one of the best-selling Atari 2600 titles. However, between 2.5 and 3.5 million cartridges went unsold. Hubner and Kistner commented that the large number of produced cartridges would have resulted in excess inventory regardless of E.T.'s success. Though the game was a best seller during the holiday season, retailers stated that its sales figures did not meet expectations despite an increase in consumer interest in video games. Warner Communications also expressed disappointment at the number of sales. The poor sales and excess inventory prompted retailers to steadily discount the price. Former J. C. Penney employee Al Nielsen mentioned that his copy of the game was discounted five times from US$49.95 to less than a dollar. According to Ray Kassar, about 3.5 million of the 4 million produced were sent back to the company. Despite sales figures, the quantity of unsold merchandise, coupled with the expensive movie license and the large amount of returns, made E.T. a financial failure for Atari. Next Generation Magazine reported that Atari earned US$25 million in sales, but netted a loss of US$100 million. By 2004, the cartridges were still very common and priced at very low amounts.