E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in video games

Starting with the release of the film in 1982 and its susbsequent 20th anniversary re-release, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial has been the subject of video games across several platforms and genres.

1982-1983

E.T. Fantasy Module (Texas Instruments, 1982)

The E.T. Fantasy Module cartridge for the Speak & Spell was released as a promotional tie-in with the film which also referenced the Speak & Spell as a major component in the "Phone Home." Intended as an educational game to help children learn to spell, the cartridge contained thematically-related words from the film such as "geranium."Sirota, David. Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explains the World We Live in Now--Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything. p.141. 15 March 2011. ISBN 978-0345518781. and was re-released in French as Les Extra-Terrestres Module No 5.Woerner, Joerg.. Datamath Calculator Museum. 23 December 2007.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari, 1982)

Atari Inc. made an Atari 2600 game that was based on the film. Despite the popularity of the film, the game was widely considered to be one of the worst games ever. Along with the Atari 2600 port of Pac-Man, the movie game is often blamed for the video game crash of 1983.

E.T. Phone Home! (Atari 1983)

Released for the Atari 8-bit family of computers in 1983, in this game, you...
Read More