Elvis8Atari Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 From what I can piece together it's more like 4m or more cartridges buried. Googling isn't helping me much, I strongly suspect this would have to be a local effort via library, city hall records, etc. It won't be easy that's for sure! You're in Sunnyvale right? I guess try and take a trip to the library when you have a chance and see what you can find about the dump and that area back then. Any old records would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis8Atari Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 From what I can piece together it's more like 4m or more cartridges buried. Googling isn't helping me much, I strongly suspect this would have to be a local effort via library, city hall records, etc. It won't be easy that's for sure! That's exactly what we need. If we have some more info and public records of the area, then maybe we can piece this together. Also, someone really needs to talk with Curt Vendel and Marty Goldberg. We need to get them to give us more information about what they know of the Sunnyvale ET burial site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raticon Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I think i feel a small portion of obsession in your posts about this supposed Sunnyvale dumpsite. I suppose if you want something to happen you could phone, email or mail someone in charge of the area like someone at the waste and sewer administration or other public official and ask about permissions to search the area, perhaps do a kickstarter? But, as we we're told it was closed in 93 there is or was some kind of waste processing plant nearby that took care of the waste and shipped it away. A LOT of garbage must have been processed and shipped away in 21 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) Well you see the reason why they cant reveal the location of the Sunnyvale dump is cause too many people were getting close to finding the fake moon launch sets so they offered Atari some $$$ to dump $1M ET carts over top of it to chase away the fake landing society. Just think you'll get a 2 for 1 Elvis if you ever find your 1M ET carts............. People landed on the moon. Period. The fact that a mockumentary exists claiming the moon landing to be fake shows that if you shoot some video with self-proclaimed "experts" talking, or post photoshopped evidence on the internet, people will believe anything they see. I've watched the "moon movie" and all I can say is it's rubbish. Really sad to see those interviewers harassing ex-NASA astronauts. I've got a better idea. Stop excavating landfills. Let's excavate the moon to search for the real ET. Edited May 7, 2014 by stardust4ever 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X900BattleGrape Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I think i feel a small portion of obsession in your posts about this supposed Sunnyvale dumpsite. I suppose if you want something to happen you could phone, email or mail someone in charge of the area like someone at the waste and sewer administration or other public official and ask about permissions to search the area, perhaps do a kickstarter? But, as we we're told it was closed in 93 there is or was some kind of waste processing plant nearby that took care of the waste and shipped it away. A LOT of garbage must have been processed and shipped away in 21 years. No, the garbage wasn't moved after the dump closed in 93. New garbage is processed and then shipped out, but all the pre-93 garbage is still there. From the link I provided: "Like almost all the communities with direct access to the San Francisco Bay, Sunnyvale has built itself a sizable bayside garbage range. Its four mounds, of unequal size and laid out in a straight line along the shore, have lain baking peacefully in the summer sun since dumping stopped in 1993. In winter they turn a vivid green. But no matter the hue, they don’t ever look like they belong in the landscape......These days, local trash is handled in the SMaRT station that stands in the middle of the mounds. Household trash—2.2 million pounds of it per day—from Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale is picked over before being sent to its eternal rest at the Kirby Canyon landfill near Morgan Hill." Basically it sounds like the SMaRT station is pretty small and sits in the middle of the mounds that represent the previous landfill activity. In addition it sounds like the SMaRT station separates the recyclable from the trash, with the trash going to Morgan Hill and the rest being, well, recycled I guess lol! I might work on this mystery in the coming months, free time permitting and given that I live in Sunnyvale so have access to the library and other physical resources for the (hopefully) historic records and photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) People landed on the moon. Period... "Period" = a sure sign of no evidence to back up one's argument. Were you in the LEM at the time? If not, I'd say "period" doesn't apply. Seriously, I don't care if we landed on the moon or not. What I'm really wondering is this. If there's any truth behind the myth that the truly worst 2600 games of all time were buried in landfills, then where are the dumps that harbor Swordquest: FireWorld, Rampage, Double Dragon, Coconuts, King Kong, Raft Rider, Picnic, Sorcerer, Firefly, Starfox, Racquetball, Skeet Shoot and Wabbit? Edited May 7, 2014 by Chris++ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary from OPA Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 If we going to poke around Sunnyvale dump, what about all the other dumps, or written off warehouses packed still with stock. Atari was not the only one to find up pits with goods, so did many other companies, and others just packed it away in warehouse for a rainy day, those would be more nicer to open up and go thru, at least the stuff would still be in almost working condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X900BattleGrape Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Seriously, I don't care if we landed on the moon or not. What I'm really wondering is this. If there's any truth behind the myth that the truly worst 2600 games of all time were buried in landfills, then where are the dumps that harbor Swordquest: FireWorld, Rampage, Double Dragon, Coconuts, King Kong, Raft Rider, Picnic, Sorcerer, Firefly, Starfox, Racquetball, Skeet Shoot and Wabbit? Because you and the myth are operating on a logical fallacy, which is that Atari buried 3.5 million or so E.T. cartridges because the game was bad. The real reason, assuming they were buried, was and has always been stated as overproduction combined with pool initial retail sales. Following onto the poor sales were reports that the game was bad, which it turns out may have been more a case that this was one of the first games you had to read the manual for in order to understand and play the game. But either way the reason for the burial was overproduction that retail didn't want and couldn't sell if they did take them, and a high cost to warehouse 3.5 million cartridges and/or 3.5 million cartridges blocking up Atari's entire warehouse so it wasn't able to be used for new games being produced and readying for shipment to retail etc. Basically it was buried for business reasons, not subjective reasons like game quality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Because you and the myth are operating on a logical fallacy, which is that Atari buried 3.5 million or so E.T. cartridges because the game was bad. The real reason, assuming they were buried, was and has always been stated as overproduction combined with pool initial retail sales. Following onto the poor sales were reports that the game was bad, which it turns out may have been more a case that this was one of the first games you had to read the manual for in order to understand and play the game. But either way the reason for the burial was overproduction that retail didn't want and couldn't sell if they did take them, and a high cost to warehouse 3.5 million cartridges and/or 3.5 million cartridges blocking up Atari's entire warehouse so it wasn't able to be used for new games being produced and readying for shipment to retail etc. Basically it was buried for business reasons, not subjective reasons like game quality. I was being a bit sarcastic, but I dig your response anyway. Which is to say: We agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis8Atari Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) If we going to poke around Sunnyvale dump, what about all the other dumps, or written off warehouses packed still with stock. Atari was not the only one to find up pits with goods, so did many other companies, and others just packed it away in warehouse for a rainy day, those would be more nicer to open up and go thru, at least the stuff would still be in almost working condition. I'm certainly not saying to go poking around in every dump in the country looking for ET carts. This is the one (and only) other dump site that needs to be searched. It's right down the road from Atari's old headquarters. It makes sense the million carts would be there since they were not in Alamagordo. Also, I'm not trying to act like they didn't find ET carts in Alamagordo. They did. But we only saw photos of maybe a few hundred at most. I understand they didn't dig up the rest of the stuff, which is supposed to have equaled up to 728,000 games. But again, that is made up of OTHER games. If they dug it all up, sure they would find more ET carts, but probably only a few thousand at most. We are looking for A MILLION here folks. And there is still the possibility (as slim as it may be) that they are in Sunnyvale. Edited May 7, 2014 by Elvis8Atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 But either way the reason for the burial was overproduction that retail didn't want and couldn't sell if they did take them, and a high cost to warehouse 3.5 million cartridges and/or 3.5 million cartridges blocking up Atari's entire warehouse so it wasn't able to be used for new games being produced and readying for shipment to retail etc. Destroyed product is also a tax write-off, and I'd be surprised if that didn't factor into it too. At the very least, I think they'd take the write-off, even if it wasn't their primary motivation and/or they had all kinds of other losses going on too. I see that angle's been discussed previously in this thread, but there's no way I'm going through 70+ pages to find out what the consensus (if any) was... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre81 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I'm certainly not saying to go poking around in every dump in the country looking for ET carts. This is the one (and only) other dump site that needs to be searched. It's right down the road from Atari's old headquarters. It makes sense the million carts would be there since they were not in Alamagordo. Also, I'm not trying to act like they didn't find ET carts in Alamagordo. They did. But we only saw photos of maybe a few hundred at most. I understand they didn't dig up the rest of the stuff, which is supposed to have equaled up to 728,000 games. But again, that is made up of OTHER games. If they dug it all up, sure they would find more ET carts, but probably only a few thousand at most. We are looking for A MILLION here folks. And there is still the possibility (as slim as it may be) that they are in Sunnyvale. Atari sold 100,000 copies of ET after 1984 and the remaining copies ended in a mine in Venezuela. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X900BattleGrape Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I was being a bit sarcastic, but I dig your response anyway. Which is to say: We agree. Darn this old-fangled text communication There were a few gaming companies in Sunnyvale as well (Epyx and SSI spring to mind), and of course Midway and Commodore. I wonder what else may lurk in the Sunnyvale dump should a dig ever occur. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Darn this old-fangled text communication There were a few gaming companies in Sunnyvale as well (Epyx and SSI spring to mind), and of course Midway and Commodore. I wonder what else may lurk in the Sunnyvale dump should a dig ever occur. Don't know. Opening up the landfill could be like opening Pandora's box. Best to leave it buried? Seriously, given the Sunnyvale dump location is adjacent to a freaking coastline, it's unlikely that the EPA would ever issue a dig permit there, given it's proximity to the bay/ocean. Dirsupting the landfill could potentially leech toxins into the sea, creating a environmental SNAFU. Think of all the dolphins and seals that might get sick..... No, the garbage wasn't moved after the dump closed in 93. New garbage is processed and then shipped out, but all the pre-93 garbage is still there. From the link I provided: "Like almost all the communities with direct access to the San Francisco Bay, Sunnyvale has built itself a sizable bayside garbage range. Its four mounds, of unequal size and laid out in a straight line along the shore, have lain baking peacefully in the summer sun since dumping stopped in 1993. In winter they turn a vivid green. But no matter the hue, they don’t ever look like they belong in the landscape......These days, local trash is handled in the SMaRT station that stands in the middle of the mounds. Household trash—2.2 million pounds of it per day—from Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale is picked over before being sent to its eternal rest at the Kirby Canyon landfill near Morgan Hill." Edited May 8, 2014 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis8Atari Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Seriously, given the Sunnyvale dump location is adjacent to a freaking coastline, it's unlikely that the EPA would ever issue a dig permit there, given it's proximity to the bay/ocean. Dirsupting the landfill could potentially leech toxins into the sea, creating a environmental SNAFU. Think of all the dolphins and seals that might get sick..... The Dolphins will not mind if they also uncover some of these https://atariage.com/cart_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=147 All joking aside, there were concerns about toxins at the Alamagordo dump and they dug that up. The Sunnyvale one could be dug up. You just gotta pay the right people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 "They're digging in the wrong place!" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooyan77 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 So whats stopping someone from going to "dig" this stuff up again?Concrete isn't hard to break....just sayin. You can also pay off guards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) The Dolphins will not mind if they also uncover some of these https://atariage.com/cart_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=147 Fat chance finding Activision carts in there. Those are too good to throw away. Speaking of Dolphins, you must be a member of their secret society, mua-ha-ha... Edited May 8, 2014 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X900BattleGrape Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Seriously, given the Sunnyvale dump location is adjacent to a freaking coastline, it's unlikely that the EPA would ever issue a dig permit there, given it's proximity to the bay/ocean. Dirsupting the landfill could potentially leech toxins into the sea, creating a environmental SNAFU. Think of all the dolphins and seals that might get sick..... The same logic suggests the EPA wouldn't have permitted the dump in the first place Nevertheless it wouldn't be hard to dig in a way that's not literally on the shoreline, so the chance of anything getting into the bay would be the same as without the dig. It's a pretty wide area and four mounds though, so without having a general idea where to look there's no point even trying to get a permit to dig. What a shame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 From what I can piece together it's more like 4m or more cartridges buried. Googling isn't helping me much, I strongly suspect this would have to be a local effort via library, city hall records, etc. It won't be easy that's for sure! I have no opinion on the contents of the dump, but kudos for recgonizing the fact that that not all information is available/searchable online! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X900BattleGrape Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I have no opinion on the contents of the dump, but kudos for recgonizing the fact that that not all information is available/searchable online! How else did I discover in 1991 that the IRS manual had a section on how to collect taxes after a thermonuclear war? Yarr Hope to spend some time this weekend on the Sunnyvale dump topic and will report any finds/leads, assuming I don't sloth my way into mead and gaming. Either way it's a win for me though lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 The same logic suggests the EPA wouldn't have permitted the dump in the first place Nevertheless it wouldn't be hard to dig in a way that's not literally on the shoreline, so the chance of anything getting into the bay would be the same as without the dig. It's a pretty wide area and four mounds though, so without having a general idea where to look there's no point even trying to get a permit to dig. What a shame That's exactly why the dump was shut down and people now have to pay to ship their garbage elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis8Atari Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hope to spend some time this weekend on the Sunnyvale dump topic and will report any finds/leads Please do. Even if you can't this weekend, please do it eventually! The truth needs to be revealed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X900BattleGrape Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 That's exactly why the dump was shut down and people now have to pay to ship their garbage elsewhere. No, that's not why. Stiff regulations forced a change in how Sunnyvale, and many other bay area cities, handled waste. This is why it's now processed the way it is, and probably ended up cheaper to ship what's left over to Morgan Hill and turn the previous dump grounds into public use lands which, and this may be somewhat obvious but I'll state it anyway, is further evidence that toxicity isn't as much of a concern as you'd think. The heavy dumping typically went elsewhere, probably still does Elvis8Atari, I'll do my best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 (edited) Please do. Even if you can't this weekend, please do it eventually! The truth needs to be revealed! I gotta say I admire your hutzpuh (I don't know what it means but it's probably good), the thing is this: the myth was whether or not Atari dumped a massive amount of carts into a landfill. That was the debate, and has lived on AA for at least ten years in this thread alone. They proved that the dump location exists. Where it is (or if there is more than one) is moot. Sure, you can be excited about finding more carts at the Sunnyvale site, but who's to say there aren't more? And somebody will probably discover some other site. It's expensive to do this kind of digging for what is essentially trivia. Nobody other than us gives a rat's patoot about finding these carts, and if the nerdcore community didn't come up with a way to fund it ourselves, then it can safely be said that any other excavations will not happen. It took a company as big as MICROSOFT to fund THIS project, lol...so we gotta be at least thankful for that, lol. There's really no more debate, unless you want there to be. Sure, they coulda dug up a bunch of old games, claimed they 'found' them and all that. And if you're inclined to believe that, then there's not much I can say about it. I can't prove it any more than you can. And believe me, I don't mind differing opinions. It's good that people question stuff (gov't, society, law) ...and we're all entitled to opinions. To me, there's no mystery anyway. I always 'believed' this to be true, mainly because the press was reporting this stuff back when the news wasn't required to give Justin Beiber's haircuts amidst global politics...they found the site, found some carts, and there you have it. All the best in your other quest. PS: there are far too many 'under 20 post Trolls' that have popped up in this thread for me...can you smell what's cookin? Edited May 9, 2014 by atarilovesyou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.