A lucky bargain hunter that stumbled across an incredibly rare Atari 2700 at a local California thrift store just turned a profit of approximately $3,000 USD.
The unreleased prototype console, which is essentially an Atari 2600 with wireless controllers and a sleeker design that doesn’t include the system’s iconic wood paneling, was originally purchased for just $30.
The console didn’t include wireless controllers, but was still able to turn on and play Atari 2600 games. If the system did come with the prototype wireless controllers, it’s possible that it could have sold for as much as $5,000.
In fact, the Atari 2700’s wireless controllers are actually the reason the system didn’t make it into full production, according to the Atari Museum. The gamepads communicated with the system via radio waves that could be picked up from up to 1,000 feet away. This means that a single Atari 2700 controller could interfere with multiple consoles in a 1,000-foot radius.
Imagine your neighbour messing up a heated game of Adventure with their console — not cool.
Given the popularity of retro games currently, it’s surprising finds like this are still happening. Atari — which is far from the company that existed in the 1970s, 1980s and early to mid 1990s since the brand has been purchased and sold multiple times — recently announced a new console called the Ataribox.
The NES Classic-like micro console is set to support SD cards, HDMI and will feature four USB ports. It’s currently unclear how much the console will cost and what content will be available for it.
Via: Mashable
Image credit: eBay
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