What Atari Games are Worth Money?
The Atari 2600 was the 1st super-successful home video-game console, and it is credited with starting many people gaming. There are a range of popular Atari games out there.
Most Valuable Atari Games
During the period in which it was available, the 2600 saw 1000s of games formatted for it released, with the quality of these varying, but most were very inexpensive, and, these days, some have become very valuable collector’s items. This article outlines the rarest and most expensive games for the Atari 2600.
1. Air Raid
The used price for Air Raid is just under US$14 000, and complete in box, or CIB, could net you over US$30 000! It is the only known game to be released by Men-A-Vision, and it sports a very characteristic cartridge design which has a blue t-shaped handle.
The aim of the game is to protect a city from the invasion of alien ships, and the player’s task is to destroy these ships before the city is ruined.
Air Raid is held to be the rarest of Atari games, and the cartridge alone generally retails at around US$3 000. Only 2 copies are known to exist with the original box, and 1 sold for US$31 600 in April of 2010, the other for US$14 000 in 2012. There is only 1 complete version known, which has the manual alongside the game.
2. Red Sea Crossing
The price for a used copy of Red Sea Crossing is US$13 800, and this game was not even known within the Atari community until the year 2007, when it was found at someone’s garage sale.
It has a Christian theme, and you would only have been able to buy it by means of a telephone order, with the only known advertisement for it placed in Christianity Today.
Red Sea Crossing stands as the most costly Atari 2600 game, around US$10 000 for the cartridge only, but Air Red outsells it when it comes replete with its box. Players who enjoy novelty betting online or online slots Canada will understand how niche entertainment like this is able to attract an array of interested parties.
3. Birthday Mania
The price for a used copy of Birthday Mania is around US$6 500, and it was initially made available as a customised gift for owners of Atari consoles.
The buyer was able to custom order it with the recipient’s name emblazoned on the title screen, and place on the label itself to write the name as well.
4. Gamma-Attack
The price for Gamma-Attack is US$6 000, and it stands as the 1 and only Atari games released by Gammation. Its rarity rivals Air Raid –only 2 copies are known to exist. Your job as the player would be to destroy enemies as they attempted to enter your planet.
5. Karate (Ultravision)
A used Karate for the Atari 2600 will fetch around US$2 000 and the game was released by 2 companies: Ultravision and Froggo. The latter is found everywhere, so is less valuable, but the Ultravision version will sell for top dollar.
There are 2 Ultravision Karate versions, one with a t-shaped cartridge and one with a standard-shaped cartridge. These are equally valuable to collectors.