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Man Pays $31,600 for an Atari Game — Seriously


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?
Um. I like Atari games. More than most, since I still have my Atari 2600 and about 150 games for it, and I still dust it off and plug it in once in a while. But, I think it’s worth noting, THIS SHIT IS CRAZY (from Retro Thing):

he excitement today comes from an auction for Atari 2600’s “Air Raid“, a baby blue cartridge with a strange
T-shaped handle on it. The cart is rare enough on its own, but this is
the first known instance of finding the box as well – for a long time
collectors questioned whether there had ever been a box! You probably
never heard of “Air Raid” (for a long time no one knew that that game
was even called “Air Raid” for sure, since it’s not on the cart itself
anywhere) as it came out near the end of the 2600’s reign. As more and
more companies tried to cash in on the videogame craze, they did so with
crappier and crappier games. These often forgettable games sold in
small numbers hence their rarity.

Someone won the bidding on Saturday, paying $31,600 for the game. Again, SOMEONE PAID $31,600 FOR AN ATARI GAME. Huh. I think the game handle is pretty cool, actually. $31,600 cool? No. I think of myself as a pretty obsessive collector, but this boggles me. Does this person have $31,600 to blow? If not, what are they forgoing to buy an Atari game? Furthermore, at what point does “being a passionate collector” turn into “I have a mental illness”? I’m not sure, but paying more for a fucking Atari than one would for a luxury car would seem to be crossing that line.