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Have you ever come across some original Atari 2600 games and wondered if they were valuable at all? Maybe you or your friends own some and you were considering selling them, but want to see if any of them are valuable. Well, we have the answers for you!
So how much is an original Atari 2600 game cartridge worth?
The average price for an Atari 2600 game cartridge is only $10-$30. If you happen to have a rare game that is still sealed, however, the prices can easily go up to thousands of dollars.
When trying to figure out the most valuable Atari 2600 games it really comes down to condition and rarity. If you have an extremely rare game from that era it can be incredibly valuable. However, even if you have a common game but its overall condition is almost perfect, that can make it worth thousands as well.
The Atari 2600 games from the early 1980s that will be worth the most money are brand-new games that are still sealed and graded. if you have a complete game with the box, the instruction manual and everything else that came with it it will be more valuable than just the cartridge as well.
If you want to know what the rare games for the Atari 2600 are and their value, you will want to keep reading. You can also check out this video that will show you what the rare games are for the Atari 2600.
It is one thing to own Atari 2600 games, but it is an entirely different story to own the rarest and most unique ones. I will say having all the original Atari 2600 collections is probably close to a million-dollar asset.
This is why owning the collection is something most people only dream about.
Although the original 2600 has some games that are extremely rare that we will discuss below, most games are not that rare and only sell for a small amount. However, if someone were to complete the entire 526 game collection, this would be basically a priceless collection as no one in the world owns the entire collection.
So despite Atari being a small company that could never really compete with the Nintendo NES or Playstation consoles that were also released during that time, there are still some Atari games that are quite valuable.
If you are an old-school Atari lover then you have to get a classic Atari T-Shirt to show it! To see the most popular Atari T-Shirt retro designs that will stay classics for years just click here.
If you love all things Atari then you have to check out this awesome Atari Flashback console.
The Atari Flashback 8 comes with two wireless controllers (YES, WIRELESS!) two paddle controllers, and 120 authentic Atari games.
Atari Games Value: Most Valuable Atari Games Which Atari Games Are Worth Money
If you have a bunch of Atari games lying around your house or garage you might be wondering which Atari games are worth money. Of course, as I mentioned earlier most Atari games aren’t worth a whole lot but there are some valuable Atari games that you should keep an eye out for.
Below I will give the Atari games values of the rarest and most valuable Atari games that you could possibly own. So if you happen to have any of these titles and they are in decent condition then you could have a few thousand dollars on your hands!
BIRTHDAY MANIA: $6,500 – $16,000
This home video game was introduced to the game industry when it was still taking baby steps. It did however have a whole lot of commercial potentiality in it, especially in the late 90s.
This video game is sold /bought within the ranges of $6,500-$16,000. Yes, you read that right.
Birthday Mania is a specifically customized video game with title screens and a handy space on the label to write the receiver’s name. It is a customized birthday home video game that plays birthday songs and has a sound for blowing out candles too.
Some people actually have the opinion that the game is not so great but it serves its purpose quite well.
However, there are just a few of the birthday mania Atari games available today. Very few were produced and owned by some Atari collectors. Just about 300 of these games were produced and sold to the public.
AIR RAID: $2,800 – $33,000
This is yet another valuable type of Atari 2600 game that is sold for an expensive chunk of money which should actually be part of a collector’s collection. Air Raid was argued to be from South Africa, the US, or a Taiwanese hack that was sold in the states.
This game is about the player trying so hard to protect the city by shooting down enemies flying above him and trying to destroy his city, the player then launches his missile against the enemy’s ships to take them down. Scores are shown in a tabular form whilst the players compete with themselves. This game today sells for an incredible $2,800-$33,000!
According to estimates, there are only about 23 known copies of Air Raid from which only 10 were said to be found in the last five years. This need for collectors to add this piece to their collection is where the true value lies. That is why this game has become so rare to find and sells for so much money.
Red Sea Crossing: $10,400-$14,000
As a way of trying to reform the gambling and corrupted children who were playing these video games, the Red Sea Crossing game was introduced. It was one of the earliest Bible-based games which was created by Steve Schustack in 1983.
The price range of this game is between $10,400-$14,000. It was later discovered that Red Crossing was advertised on October 7, 1983, by the “issue of Christianity Today” magazine. The Red Sea Crossing game is one of the rarest games to try and find.
One owner even listed the game for a few hundred thousand dollars! Some factors in the higher value is a better condition in which the game is found.
Gamma Attack: $6,000-$14,000
This is another original and valuable Atari 2600 game that was published in 1983. It was created by Gammation headed by a programmer called Robert L. Esken.
This game centers around the gamer attacking tanks on the ground with a flying saucer to make good use of their rapid-fire accessories. There were just a few cartridges produced and it sells for about $6,000-$14,000.
One copy that is known to exist is in the hands of Anthony DeNardo. Initially, he didn’t know the value of this until he did some research and learned how valuable it is. He once placed it on auction for an extremely high price of $500,000.
Although he didn’t expect it to sell, he did it to just bring attention to the game.
Karate UltraVision Release: $12,000-$18,000
This game was developed and designed by Joseph Amelio (black belt holder). This UltraVision release was released with another game called Condor Attack.
Even though it was seen as one of the worst games in the Atari 2600 library, nobody has seen a boxed copy of the game surface. However, one in excellent condition ranges between the ranges of $12,000-$18,000 if not more as it is the only one available.
Pepsi Invaders: $815-$3,500
This Atari game was a result of the Pepsi challenge when there was a war between Coke and Pepsi. The 1970s and 80s were full of so many promotional fights between these two soda brands.
Below are some commercials from the Coke and Pepsi war.
This game was commissioned as a revision of Space invaders by the Coca-Cola corporation and was distributed to their executives at a sales conversion. There are only 130 of these games at most believed to have existed.
The Pepsi Invader game ranges between $815-$3,500, as there were verified sales on eBay including a 2005 sale for $1,825, a 2010 sale for $2,125, a $3500 sale in 2013, and a $2000 sale in 2017.
The game is centered on the player shooting invading letters that say PEPSI and a flying logo that replaces the flyer at the top of the screen. The game also has a 3-minute timer to test the player’s ability.
ELI’S LADDER: $750-$2,400
This Atari 2600 game is the rarest educational game that has ever been designed. It was produced by Simage and aimed at boosting children’s mathematical skills.
The player solves a math question and a correct answer helps Eli to climb a ladder that is supposed to take him to his ship so he can fly to the moon. There are about 15 copies circulating around and it is priced in the range of $750 – $2400.
Additional Valuable Atari 2600 Games
But if you are looking at one of these in your collection you will want to beware as there are quite a few of these that are not official copies.
There are some other games that have also become quite valuable in recent years with sale prices selling in the thousands of dollars too (again depending on condition). Those games are:
- Xante
- Star Wars Ewok Adventure Prototype
- Stadium Events
- Beany Bopper
- Atlantis ii
- Cakewalk
So if you have one of these game cartridges and it is in good condition (or ideally even still sealed in the box) then you want to check out eBay to see what the most recent sales of these cartridges have been.
Atari 2600 Value: How Much Is An Atari 2600 Console Worth?
So now you know what the most valuable games for the Atari 2600 are. You also know that most Atari 2600 game cartridges are only worth between $10-$30. But what about the Atari 2600 system itself?
Unfortunately, the Atari 2600 is only worth around $50-$60 for second-hand units.
If you would like to know the exact value of your system you should check out the article that I wrote about Atari console values by clicking here. I go into detail about the value of all of the variations of the Atari consoles including the:
- Atari 2600
- Atari 5200
- Atari 7800
- Atari XEGS
- Atari Jaguar
In that article, I will also go into the graphics, mechanics, rarity of the included games, and more.
Conclusion
There are so many other original Atari 2600 games that are worth an amazing amount of money. First, we have the Music Machine ranging between $400-$2,200. Second is Cubic Color which sells for $1,200-$1,500.
The third is Lochjaw which sells for $550-$6,500. Lastly is River Patrol which sells for $760-$4,000.
On top of all of these, there are several other original Atari 2600 games that sell for a decent amount, but just don’t quite make the list.