Atari Auction Off Nostalgia

Written by Joe Martin

May 31, 2007 | 12:15

Tags: #art #auction #classic #concept #dig #dream #emulator #expensive #kotaku #position

Companies: #atari #ebay

Ah, Atari. They used to be a super power of gaming back in the good old days and they still hold a Pole Position in the hearts of many gamers. Judging by the prices on some of their recently auctioned materials, they clearly know how dear they are to many of us.

Starting on June 21st, Sotheby's will be helping Atari to auction off a wide range of memorabilia from the 'Golden Age' of gaming.

Over two thousand items, consisting of "manuscript memorandum, internal specification guidelines, original sketches, blue lines, mechanicals, proofs, colour separations (including acetates), and screen diagrams" are hitting the auctioneers block soon and the whole archive is divided into about 135 large folders of graphics materials that'd doubtlessly make a great collectors item.

Unfortunately, with an estimated value of $150,000 to $250,000, only the super rich will get to see a peek at some of the original concept art for games like Dig Dug and Pole Position.

"By fortunate coincidence, some of Atari's most popular and enduring games are among those with the deepest representation here. For example, Dig Dug, a maze game with the objective of eliminating underground monsters, has a huge group of materials ranging from typewritten copy for the game manual to original colour sketches of the various bonus fruit" Sotheby's told Kotaku.

Now, while we loved Dig Dug as much as everyone else, we're not quite sure that you'd be getting value for money. Just how complex and pretty can the concept art for games like Dig Dug be, and is anyone going to pay over $150,000 for it?

What's your favourite retro game and what first got you interested in gaming as a whole? Would you really spend that much to help Atari clean out their filing systems? Drop us a comment to let us know.
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