History YMMV / ETTheExtraterrestrial

** On a more lighthearted note, the film came out when Dungeons and Dragons was still a new creation, and thus it hadn't picked up the reputation of being a game for geeky losers. Try to find another instance in media where the game's portrayed being played by rowdy, popular jocks (although in the late 2010s, [[SocietyMarchesOn the game's public reputation has started doing a 180]], so maybe the movie was actually ahead of its time).

* CommonKnowledge: That common story about how Atari produced more copies of the game than there were consoles in existence? Believe it or not, it's not completely true. While it is definitely the case that Atari over-produced the game, the install base was actually estimated to be about 20 million when the game came out, decently above even the largest estimates of produced copies of the game which pinpoint about 6 million even in the worst cases. There is some merit to it though -- while the install base was estimated to be that large, it's not far off to assume there were much fewer active users by that point in time, and though it is not verifiable, it's completely possible that there really were more copies produced than that number, and no matter which way you slice it, Atari still produced far more copies than they could realistically ever hope to sell.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: The number of fans are limited because of the game's [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames poor reputation]] and infamy--[[VindicatedByHistory though there are more nowadays than there were in the 1980s]]--but among not only fans but gamers as a whole, do ''not'' say with a straight face that this game single-handedly caused UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. This was the accepted opinion in [[TheEighties the 1980s]] after many gamers lost trust in Creator/{{Atari}} over their [[ChristmasRushed handling of the game]], but it has since been widely recognized that ''E.T.'''s role in the crash was as the catalyst, not the cause. The real factors were console saturation on the market, heavy competition from [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer personal computers]], and lack of quality control on consoles resulting in many poor-quality games, some of which being pornography disguised as "games" like ''Custer's Revenge''. [[OlderThanTheyThink All of these factors existed before]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink E.T.]]'' [[OlderThanTheyThink was released.]]

* FandomEnragingMisconception: The number of fans are limited because of the game's [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames poor reputation]] and infamy--[[VindicatedByHistory though there are more nowadays than there were in the 1980s]]--but among not only fans but gamers as a whole, do ''not'' say with a straight face that this game single-handedly caused UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. This was the accepted opinion in [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties the 1980s]] after many gamers lost trust in Creator/{{Atari}} over their [[ChristmasRushed handling of the game]], but it has since been widely recognized that ''E.T.'''s role in the crash was as the catalyst, not the cause. The real factors were console saturation on the market, heavy competition from [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer personal computers]], and lack of quality control on consoles resulting in many poor-quality games, some of which being pornography disguised as "games" like ''Custer's Revenge''. [[OlderThanTheyThink All of these factors existed before]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink E.T.]]'' [[OlderThanTheyThink was released.]]

* FandomEnragingMisconception: The number of fans are limited because of the game's [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames poor reputation]] and infamy--[[VindicatedByHistory though there are more nowadays than there were in the 1980s]]--but among not only fans but gamers as a whole, do ''not'' say with a straight face that this game single-handedly caused UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. This was the accepted opinion in [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties the 1980s]] after many gamers lost trust in Creator/{{Atari}}'s [[ChristmasRushed handling of the game]], but it has since been widely recognized that ''E.T.'''s role in the crash was as the catalyst, not the cause. The real factors were console saturation on the market, heavy competition from [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer personal computers]], and lack of quality control on consoles resulting in many poor-quality games, some of which being pornography disguised as "games" like ''Custer's Revenge''. [[OlderThanTheyThink All of these factors existed before]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink E.T.]]'' [[OlderThanTheyThink was released.]]

* FandomEnragingMisconception: The number of fans are limited because of the game's poor reputation and infamy--[[VindicatedByHistory though there are more nowadays than there were in the 1980s]]--but among not only fans but gamers as a whole, do ''not'' say with a straight face that this game single-handedly caused UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. This was the accepted opinion in [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties the 1980s]] after many gamers lost trust in Creator/{{Atari}}'s [[ChristmasRushed handling of the game]], but it has since been widely recognized that ''E.T.'''s role in the crash was as the catalyst, not the cause. The real factors were console saturation on the market, heavy competition from [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer personal computers]], and lack of quality control on consoles resulting in many poor-quality games, some of which being pornography disguised as "games" like ''Custer's Revenge''. [[OlderThanTheyThink All of these factors existed before]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink E.T.]]'' [[OlderThanTheyThink was released.]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Elliot's family has an Atari 2600 on top of their TV in several shots, and it's implied the kids play Atari games. ''VideoGame/ETTheExtraTerrestrial ''was one of the games responsible for UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 and put a severe early dent in the ''E.T.'' name as well as haunting Warner/Disney exec Frank Wells and ''E.T.'' director Steven Spielberg.

* HarsherInHindsight: There's a picture of Music/MichaelJackson with E.T. and he narrated an E.T. Storybook Record. In real life, Michael Jackson's skin turned from brown to white and he looked rather sickly before he died, just like E.T. towards the end of the film.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Mary reads Gertie ''Literature/PeterPan''. A decade later, Creator/StevenSpielberg would go on to direct ''{{Film/Hook}}''.
** Elliot lets the frogs in science class go because they remind him of E.T. [[http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/04/ribbit-frog-all-lit-up-by-swallowed-christmas-light/ A few years ago a Cuban Tree Frog swallowed a Christmas light, which glowed inside him, making it look like a heartlight.]]

* MisBlamed: The game is often mis-attributed as the sole cause of UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 and subsequent closing of Atari Inc. While the game's failure certainly did contribute to both, the Crash was mostly the result of a bloated market of far more hackneyed games licensed from [[MoneyDearBoy every conceivable copyrighted property]], while Creator/{{Atari}}'s eventual closure was caused by a number of factors.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Ironically, the game seems to have undergone CriticalBacklash in recent years, with people questioning if the infamous "Worst Game Ever" reputation really holds up, with quite a few younger critics pointing out that while the game might not be "stellar", it is just as hard to declare it truly "awful", as it is actually functional enough to play from start to finish without any major glitches. Same critics also point out that while the gameplay might admittedly be a bit confusing and abstract without having the manual to consult, it is, once the player actually knows what to do, just sort of tedious and boring rather than infuriatingly bad.

!! From the film:

** The iconic image of the silhouetted bicycle flying in front of the full moon had been spoofed [[JustForPun to there and back]].

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The frog dissection scene in Elliott's school, especially when Elliott decides to release all the frogs. It's crazy, unexpected and never gets mentioned after the fact.
** It is mentioned afterwards when Mary is on the phone with the school.

* SequelGap: Of a sort. In 2019 a commercial for Xfinity premiered during the UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade, where E.T. returns to Earth to reunite with a grown up Elliot (still played by Henry Jackson Thomas Jr.) and meet his family.

* NeverLiveItDown: Atari's Christmas Rush for the ''E.T.'' game soiled their name to the point where it eventually became impossible for them to fully recover their reputation, especially when the Crash allowed Nintendo to swipe their top spot for themselves (the game also affected the movie's reputation as well.)

* VindicatedByHistory: In recent times, there are a number of people who feel that, considering the pathetically-tiny development time, it's not that bad once you know what you're doing. Hell, [[https://youtu.be/WUsQmYRfynw?t=5m34s this sums up the Angry Video Game Nerd's final opinion on it]].
** It probably helps that there have been [[VideoGame/Superman64 far]] [[VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing worse]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 games]] [[VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution since]], all of which came ''after''.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The whole "Worst Game Ever" reputation. Most modern players [[SoOkayItsAverage only consider it boring at worst, rather than completely and utterly infuriating and unlikable]]. And since [[http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/nes/egm17.htm quite]] [[VideoGame/Superman64 a]] [[VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing few]] [[VideoGame/Action52 lat]][[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 er]] [[VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution games]] are considered to hold the title better, the title isn't used for this game very often anymore.

* NightmareFuel:
** When the scientists show up at Elliot's home in environmental suits. The whistles of the train set in the background don't help.
** E.T.'s appearance may be unsettling for younger viewers, even more so when he's dying.
** The whole first fifteen minutes or so of the movie are pretty scary, from when the scientists show up at the spacecraft's landing spot to when Elliott explores the backyard and sees ET for the first time and both scream.

* MisBlamed: The game is often mis-attributed as the sole cause of UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 and subsequent closing of Atari Inc. While the game's failure did contribute to both, the Crash was mostly the result of a bloated market of far more hackneyed games licensed from [[MoneyDearBoy every conceivable copyrighted property]], while Creator/{{Atari}}'s eventual closure was caused by a number of factors.

** It probably helps that there has been [[VideoGame/Superman64 far]] [[VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing worse]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 games]] [[VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution since]], all of which came ''after''.

* VindicatedByHistory: In recent times, there are a number of people who feel that, considering the pathetically-tiny development time, it's not that bad once you know what you're doing. Hell, [[https://youtu.be/WUsQmYRfynw?t=5m34s this sums up the Angry Video Game Nerd's final opinion on it]].

** On a more lighthearted note, the film came out when Dungeons and Dragons was still a new creation, and thus it hadn't picked up the reputation of being a game for geeky losers. Try to find another instance in media where the game's portrayed being played by rowdy, popular jocks (although in the late 2010s, [[SocietyMarchesOn the game's public reputation has started doing a 180]], so maybe the movie was actually ahead of their time).