(Image via https://gamegavel.com)
Remember that gaming myth which claimed that Atari attempted to hide their horrendous ET game deep down in a hole in Mexico way back in 1983? Turns out it was true. Those games went on to be listed on eBay, and I speculated that they could raise around R200 000. Well, I was nearly half right.
They’ve sold for a total of $37 000, and based on the current dollar-rand exchange rate (R11.11), that works out to a whopping R411 070! The city of Alamogordo and Tularosa Basin Historical Society just got a whole lot richer.
Joe Lewandowski, the Vice President of the Tularosa Basin Historical Society, said such high numbers were unforeseen (GameSpot via KRQE)
“It seemed like every seven to ten minutes it went up a thousand dollars, a thousand dollars, so it was just instantaneously 24, 25, 26. It just kept on going way beyond anything we expected”
In my original article, I did a brief search and found what I thought was the cheapest and most expensive games in the lot. I wrote that Missile Command was going for around R569. It ended up selling for around R3114. A copy of the infamous ET was going for around R6800 at the time. It sold for R13 625! Think that’s crazy expensive? It is, but it still wasn’t the highest selling item…
The highest bid for one of the cartridges inside its original box was $1,537. It went to a person in Canada. People from as far away as Germany, Ecuador and Sweden got a piece of the prize.
That my dear friends, works out to R17 076 for a game made in 1983. Just think about that the next time you complain about a new title being too expensive or a Steam sale not having a big enough discount. The scary part is that their are still hundreds of items left for sale. This $37 000 was raised from only the first 100 titles!
The City of Alamogordo still has about 700 of the Atari dig games left. It plans on auctioning them off on eBay in the next few weeks.
Remember, this whole dig came about thanks to the making of a documentary called Atari: Game Over. It will be premiering this Thursday, the 20th of November, on a Xbox near you.
Last Updated: June 5, 2019
Sir Rants A Lot is a DADDY
November 18, 2014 at 13:49
0_o
RinceThis
November 18, 2014 at 13:51
What the duce!?
Admiral Chief Wang
November 18, 2014 at 13:52
WHAT YEAR IS IT?
http://i.imgur.com/DTeuE3c.gif
Sir Rants A Lot is a DADDY
November 18, 2014 at 13:57
Love this one hehehehhe
Anon A Mouse
November 18, 2014 at 14:07
That twitch in the eye makes me wonder where his hands are at this moment.
Hammersteyn
November 18, 2014 at 14:40
It looks like he’s haunting the comment section.
Hammersteyn
November 18, 2014 at 14:43
Phew, the first few seconds I thought they talked about Destiny
Hammersteyn
November 18, 2014 at 14:47
Wait so Atari released a game too soon and their stocks plummeted in 1982. This happened to some one else recently didn’t it? Have they learned nothing???
http://img-9gag-ftw.9cache.com/photo/a8WPgjQ_460sa_v1.gif
Thats_how_I_Troll
November 18, 2014 at 16:44
I wonder if the day one patch would still be available ? #TROLOLOLO