E.T. was basically the "straw on the camel's back" moment for consumers. It wasn't just that the game itself was an overhyped blunder, but that by the time it c

E.T. was basically the "straw on the camel's back" moment for consumers. It wasn't just that the game itself was an overhyped blunder, but that by the time it came out, the market was already flooded with truly awful third-party games for the system. Seeing the manufacturer themselves turn out such an underdeveloped hunk of garbage (and E.T. is truly bad, even for a system with such terrible games) basically torpedoed what was left of consumer confidence. At the same time, home computers were starting to nip at the game consoles' heels. Computers weren't just "toys," you could sell them on their practical applications as well. It was easier for little Timmy to get his parents to buy him a computer "for school" and then sneak games on it anyway, than just plonking down for a piece of hardware that only played inferior crap like E.T. E.T. was the flashpoint, but the crash of 1984 had a lot of causes.