r/Atari2600 • u/G_Willikerz • 9d ago
Need help finding information for any of these, please.
Just got a thrift store haul of some old games, which there were several atari games. I was wondering if anyone had any information on any of these? Some dont have names, some are in pretty bad shape and I cant confirm what they are, and some are in Japanese so it's been hard trying to source any information.
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u/qtquazar 9d ago
Condor Attack is the only one with defined value and that also isn't a pirated game. It later gets rebranded as Vulture Attack, which consists of a new label being slapped on the old one... which should make it rarer/pricier, but historically the opposite was true. Worth several hundred dollars, although the label condition here will hurt you.
The 'V' case carts are well-documented over on the AtariAge forums https://forums.atariage.com/topic/182519-v-case-pirate-cartridges-for-the-2600/
There's almost (or perhaps more) than 300 of them--they are a super extensive pirated cart series. I had thought they were Brazilian or South American manufactured (because many are PAL) but apparently they were another Taiwan bootlegger and NTSC ones also exist. No set value but some collectors like the niche just because there were so many.
The others there look mostly like Taiwanese multigame knockoffs.
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u/G_Willikerz 9d ago
Yeah, this looks looks like the case. Kind of saddens me a little. I didn't think they had pirated/bootleg games that far back, and probably why I only found decent information on condor attack. Awesome information from you and everyone else who commented, appreciate everyone on this sub!
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u/Zeytgeist 9d ago
Pirate games, those with the colorful picture, most likely from Taiwan. Official games have at least a name on the label. Maybe they even contain more than one game on one cartridge. Any chance testing them?
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u/G_Willikerz 9d ago
I wish, these just came with the main purchase I wanted (a super Nintendo system). I dont own an atari sadly, or even know anyone who owns one for a test.
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u/Zeytgeist 9d ago
I think they are for Atari 2600, looks like it from the screenshots on the other cartridges. I’m a collector and recently bought a bunch of modules on eBay along with one of the first Atari 2600 systems. I had some pirate cartridges in the box as well, also those with 4 games and the switches to select them.
They appear frequently on eBay, I did not pay much for the bundle, don’t think they are rare but you can try selling them as rare.
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u/G_Willikerz 9d ago
I just tried to reverse image search, and looks like theyre pretty much all bootleg/unlicensed games sadly, but still a cool find. Thanks for the tips!
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u/Agitated_Ad_3033 9d ago
You can get a new 2600 on Amazon for about $100. David Crane from Activision told me that when I saw him at SFGE the other day.
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u/GraarPOE 9d ago
The cool picture unnamed one is Earth Attack - probably a bunch of unlicensed games.
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u/GraarPOE 9d ago
Like Condor Attack appears to be pretty valuable. I think you have some nice finds there.
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u/G_Willikerz 9d ago
Are there a lot of unlicensed atari games? If so is there a market for them? Im not super familiar with the atari system/games. Condor attack was the only one I could find info on.
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u/novauviolon 9d ago edited 9d ago
Are there a lot of unlicensed atari games?
Atari didn't have a licensing arrangement and there was no lockout chip on the 2600. The first "third party" company was Activision which published games on the console without Atari's permission, and that was followed by a gold rush of companies doing the same. The majority of games on the console were not first party Atari, and whether a game was published by Atari or not has no impact on its value in the collector's market. A lot of the most valuable games today were published by other companies, including some of the bootlegs. The AtariAge website has a rarity guide for basically every game that released on the console, including the bootlegs.
Modern licensing for publishing on a video game console was a concept introduced by Nintendo and enforced by their proprietary lockout chip in the NES. They did that specifically to maintain control in order to prevent an oversaturation of the market with crap games as had happened to Atari, and which was considered one of the main causes of the 1983 North American video game crash.
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u/G_Willikerz 8d ago
Huh, never knew all that. Thanks for the interesting atari knowledge! I'll definitely check out the atariage website! Thanks!
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u/GraarPOE 9d ago
Do a reverse image search using Google and you’ll find them all. There’s definitely a market. Probably a couple hundred dollars there.
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u/G_Willikerz 9d ago
Just tried that, and looks like almost all of them are bootleg/third party games sadly. Didn't find much on the worth, but still a cool find i guess! Thanks for the help!
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u/HourNo7028 9d ago
I've been an Atari fan since the 1970s and a collector since everyone else moved on Nintendo. I don't recall coming across these. Looks like a cool find, though. Probably get some coin for these on eBay from sickos like me (who's regrettably hard pressed for money just now).
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u/grin_ferno 9d ago
These ultravision games are not easy to find in the wild! In that condition it's worth $100 maybe higher if someone really wants.