The auction of the Atari 2600 games unearthed from the Old Alamogordo Landfill generated $37,000 USD in total when it ended last Thursday, with one title attracting more than $1,500.
A hundred of the 1,300 Atari cartridges unearthed from a New Mexico landfill in April were put up for auction on eBay earlier this month, with an E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial cartridge in its original box attracting the highest bid at $1,537 USD. Other games up for auction included Asteroids, Missile Command, Warlords, Defender, Star Raiders and more.
“It seemed like every seven to 10 minutes it went up a thousand dollars, a thousand dollars, so it was just instantaneously 24, 25, 26," Tularosa Basin Historical Society Vice President Joe Lewandowski told KRQE-TV. "It just kept on going way beyond anything we expected.”
According to Lewandowski, the excavation of the "Atari Dump" cost the Alamogordo Council more than $50,000. The Council hopes to recover the costs after it unanimously decided in September that 800 of the cartridges will be put up for sale via online auctions. More cartridges will be auctioned on eBay over the next few weeks and revenue will go to the city and the Tularosa Basin Historical Society. The remaining 500 games will be distributed to museums across the world.
Be sure to read IGN's extensive feature on the event to find out more exclusive details on the dig. The documentary Atari: Game Over will air exclusively on Xbox Live on November 20, offering insight into the excavation of the mostly E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Atari cartridges.
By Jenna Pitcher (IGN)
[SOURCE] IGN
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