How Microsoft helped solve 30-year-old Atari desert landfill mystery

In 2014, archaeologists excavated a New Mexico landfill to validate claims of Atari's unsold game cartridges. The excavation was supported by funding from Microsoft and others producing a documentary on Atari's collapse. They discovered over 1,300 cartridges, including many copies of the infamous 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' game. The recovered items were auctioned off to support local institutions in the area. Notably, the Smithsonian Institution received a donated 'E.T.