Hubner and Kistner commented that the large number of produced cartridges may have resulted in excess inventory regardless of "E.T."s success. Even though the game was a bestseller during the holiday season, retailers still stated that its sales figures did not meet expectations. Warner Communications also expressed disappointment at the number of sales. Lower-than-expected sales figures combined with excess inventory, which produced a negative supply and demand event, prompted retailers to repeatedly discount price. According to Ray Kassar, about 3.5 million of the 4 million produced were sent back to the company as unsold inventory or customer returns. A popular rumor was that there were more "E.T." cartridges produced than there were Atari 2600 units in existence. According to Lyle Rains, the most likely origin of this rumor was that Atari employees at the time widely believed that though the installed base of the Atari 2600 was over 20 million, the number of units still in active use was less than the number of "E.T." cartridges produced. Despite sales figures, the quantity of unsold merchandise, coupled with the expensive film license and the large number of returns, made "E.T." a major financial failure for Atari. As recently as 2004, the cartridges were still very common and offered at very low prices.