Atari 2600 question......

[andawaymego]

Does anyone remember how much the average game cartridge would sell for? I'm thinking around $20 but now I'm not sure. I tried to do a google search and I came up short.

Also, did the games range in prices?

Thanks!!

[megoat]

neil-

the hot games were more. I think Pac-Man when it came out was $30 or more.

[huedell]

from what I remember, you guys both seem about on the money with your estimations

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I got mine right when "Space Invaders" came out; and new, first stringer games were around $50 Cdn. In the US, we'd get them for around $40, with the B-list ones going for around $2- to $30 US. "Star Raiders" cost me about $70 Cdn. (including the keypad.)

Don C.

[mitchedwards]

I remember they averaged around $30.00

[Adam West]

Those prices sound about right.

I had a Mattel Intellivision and I distinctly remember the game cartridges were around $50 a piece and thought good grief, these are more expensive than Atari cartridges.

Little did I know that there is a big collectors market for these old cartridges. I have some of them with a hodge podge of keypad inserts but if you have an original box with the cartridge, instructions, etc. collectors will pay big money for these games, especially the rarer (or should I say less popular game of the day).

[megocrazy]

neil-

the hot games were more. I think Pac-Man when it came out was $30 or more.

$34.95 to be exact, though I'm sure prices varied from store to store. I think I still have the box with the price in Marker across it at my mother's house with my 2600.

[Adam West]

Have you checked Ebay prices for this? I bet you could sell it for more than you paid for it with the box and everything.

[megocrazy]

I still have the whole 2600 plus games as well as a practically brand new Texas Instruments TI-99 computer packed away at my moms house. I've got a cellar full of stuff at my own house I could sell for $$ and just no time to bother posting any of it. If there are any electronic guys out there I also have a broken 2600 I got at a yard sale if anyone is interested PM me and I'll go dig it out. I only paid a couple of bucks for it. I don't have the time or ability to deal with fixing it. I think it came with Yar's Revenge which was odd. They must have had other games but I don't remember any others being in the box.

[huedell]

"shout out" for YARS' REVENGE!

[HardyGirl]

I have 180 Atari 2600 games (and the system is currently hooked into my TV), but they didn't cost me hardly anything. Most of them I got at swap meets or flea markets for anywhere between a quarter nd $2 a piece.

[andawaymego]

"shout out" for YARS' REVENGE!

Yar's Revenge was the cream of the crop!!!

Activision Hockey was up there as well for hours of enjoyment.

Pitfall baby!!!

[Wee67]

Before Intellivision came out, Atari could demand as much as $50 for certain hot games like Space Invaders. They were quickly marked down, but some had to have them when they were released released. (You think Apple invented demand pricing?) I think I remember paying about $40 for Defender when it came out.

[cjefferys]

Yeah, big new releases were between $40-50 here in Canada (I remember paying $44.99 for Dig Dug), but they tended to drop in price if you waited a little awhile.

[andawaymego]

I just asked my mom and she remembers the games going for $30.

What brought me to this question was my purchase at Best Buy. I picked up the Atari Anthology for PS2. It was only $9.99 so I said what the heck. The game has over 60 Atari 2600 games and around 20 arcade classics. While playing the 2600 games I was shocked to see how primitive they were and how little effort went into designing these games. It dawned on me that at the time these went for a decent buck and you basically got C R A P. Although it feels this way now, at the time these games were the bomb. I wonder how much cost went into developing these gems and what were the profits?