Friday, July 16, 2010

Atlantis II Auction - Very Rare Atari 2600 Game

Atlantis II 2600 Auction
There is an Atlantis II for Atari 2600 auction on ebay. The game is already selling for $230 and is sure to go much higher.

Atlantis II is one of the rarest games for the Atari 2600. Not quite as rare as Air Raid but some collectors think there are fewer than 25 of these ever made.

Atlantis II History


The game was made by Imagic and is a sequel to the original Atlantis for 2600, but was made specifically for a contest to determine the top four players in the world.

Gamers would send in their high scores from the original Atlantis and the top scores would be flown to Bermuda for the Great Defend Atlantis Shoot-Off on November 14, 1982. Lots of players sent in their scores and more than four even maxed out the score on Atlantis. Imagic couldn't determine a winner the way they originally planned so they made Atlantis II.

Atlantis II harder, faster, and lower scoring so they could determine the winner. The top competitors were mailed the game along with some other prizes and told to mail in their scores after two days of playing. The exact number of games mailed has never been confirmed but estimates range from 250 to 25.

Thank you AtariAge for your information on Atlantis II . You can read a much more thorough history on their site.

Atlantis II vs Atlantis 1 - How to Tell Them Apart


The Atlantis II and original Atlantis cartridges look the exact same on the outside so telling them apart isn't like normal games. It requires a scale or seeing actual game play footage.
Method 1: Score Font
The other difference between Atlantis and Atlantis II is the font. The font on the score for Atlantis is a serif font (fancy lines on the edges of the letters) while Atlantis II was a sans-serif font (no fancy design). Who would have thought typography would come in handy in video game collecting?

Atlantis II Font
Atlantis II Score Font

Original Atlantis Font
Atlantis 1 Score Font
Method 2: Game Weight
Atlantis II weights less than Atlantis I. According to this Youtube video Atlantis II should weight about 5.42 grams. Regular Atlantis weights 5.55 grams. Every Atari 2600 collector should go put their Atlantis cartridge on the scale and see if how much it weights. That one test might be worth hundreds of dollars.



Don't have a digital scale? You can find one at most grocery stores. Try the produce section of the store and see if they have a digital scale. If not, then go through self-checkout and pretend you have bananas. It will ask for the weight, so put the cartridge on the scale and see what the scale shows for the weight. Take a photo of the weight so you have evidence you own the Atlantis II version.

23 comments :

Anonymous said...

It's up to $330 right now. I wonder how much higher it will go?

JJ Hendricks said...

I'm guessing the price gets to at least $1,000, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is more.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Scales/Fonts, what else will we see? These old games are never ending in amazement. I played as a kid, and it seems like I'm playing now. You know what I want to see - Super Mario Bros. special edition, it would be the one that you could only tell by the fact that mario shaved his mustache. Yeah!

Anonymous said...

I own 2 super Mario bros. games from the 80s. There my bros and they don't care for them. One is from before 1985 and one says it's from 1985. I've always wonderd what's the difference between the2. The one before 1985 has cindove like a dark blue( and I forgot, but they have another game on the cartridge, it's duck hunt) and the other one has a very dark brown/black color to it. I tried out both on a nes emulator( its basically a console made by a different company than Nintendo and it was made after the GameCube was relished ) but the dark blue one doesn't work. There probably the same thing, many not.

Anonymous said...

I do wonder if anyone ever won the contest? I've looked all over the web and couldn't find an answer. It also may be kinda of cool to talk to someone who was in the contest.

Anonymous said...

MY BROTHER WAS A CONTESTANT. OUR NEPHEW DAVID PARK OF NEENAH WISCONSIN HAS THE CARTRIDGE. THEY NEVER FOLLOWED UP WITH MY BROTHER AFTER HE SENT BACK IN HIS RESULTS.

Anonymous said...

I have a copy of the tournament version of the game. Anyone interested?

Anonymous said...

If it's the original game and not a reproduction Atlantis I I it's worth a lot today. It used to sell on Ebay for $300-$1600.00 now if you look around it sold at some private auction for a lot more. The game loose is worth around $5000.00 that's only if you can prove it's not a repro game.

Anonymous said...

This game sold for 18,300 CIB check it out.

zack,privett said...

I have a copy of this game and would like to sell but not sure where to start any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

I got part one and two right now for 275.00

Anonymous said...

Call me 863 838 0962. I got one and two

Anonymous said...

Call me 863-838-0962. 1And2

Wolfus1421 said...

I have 1987 Atlantis nm condition email wolfus1421@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Iam selling my Atlantis 2 in box with Manuel call George at 929 328 3294

Anonymous said...

You have it wrong. Watch the entire video. The STANDARD Atlantis is 5.55 grams. Atlantis II is 5.42 grams

Unknown said...

I just found an Atlantis game and I can't tell if it's the first or second. There is no image on the cartridge and I don't have a working system to look up the font.

JJ said...

@anonymous - Standard does weight 5.55 grams and Atlantis II weights 5.42 grams.

Tyler - You should weight the cartridge to find the version you have. That will be the easiest if you don't have a system. If you don't have a scale, you should be able to take the game to a grocery store and use their scales in the produce department to weight the game. Many grocery stores will have a digital scale there. Or you can use a self-check out machine at a grocery store too. Checkout as if you are buying bananas or something, and when it asks for the weight put the cartridge on instead.

Unknown said...

JJ, perfect I never would have thought of that I just didn't have a scale so thought there was another way. But thank you.

Unknown said...

I believe I have the Atlantis 2 can somebody tell me where I can sell this and make some money and what it's worth

Unknown said...

How did you make out

Jollywhizbanger1 said...

I've got a loose copy and I'd like to find out if it's one or two, and I keep seeing all these posts everywhere saying 5.55 grams or 5.42 grams but nobody can explain to me why my cartridge weighs in the range of 59.0 grams? You mean to tell me atlantis is one tenth the weight of my cartridge? This seems like a huge joke to me. I have a small digital scale and have spent hours trying to make sense of all this. Someone please put my mind at rest here.

JJ said...

@anonymous - How can you cartridge weight 59 grams? That would be 10 times as much as a typical 2600 cartridge. Are you sure your scale is accurate? Have you weighted other 2600 games?

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