pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Hi I am new to this forum yet a long time atari 2600 guy. I have an atari 2700 (yes the wireless one that never shipped) in my closet. actually it has not been touched for probably 20 years. I worked at atari before and after TW sold the company. I worked directly for Leonard Tramiel as a game developer. one day he and I were at one of the warehouse across street from our building (full of left of stuff from the hay days of Atari.) and I saw the 2700 and asked if I could have it. the nice guy that he was said yes. probably figured less for the landfill. I took it home got it to work and never did much since with it. so my question to this forum is. From what I have read this box is very very rare yet if I put it up on ebay how much will I get for it. is there enough interest to justify me going through the hassle. is there folks out there with real money that want one? from what I have read -- if this forum doesn't know no-one knows. please advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Posting a picture or 2 would help folks believe you have what you mention in your possesion. You'll find all kinds of whacky people willing to pay big bucks for and item that you mentioned in working condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonner242 Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Posting a picture or 2 would help folks believe you have what you mention in your possesion. You'll find all kinds of whacky people willing to pay big bucks for and item that you mentioned in working condition. I am not "Whacky"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 2700's are highly collectable. I think the last time I saw one sell was four years ago or so for $3,600. That one was boxed though, which probably added to the price. Still, prototype hardware is exteremly desirable by collectors. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 OK OK I just got it out of the closet. like I said I have probably not seen it for 20+ years. it does look like a prototype. instead of the flush mount buttons it has red buttons that stick out. I knew it worked at one point because after I got it I tried it out. 2 of the button don;t seem to work any more (froze up) but I did put batteries in the remotes and they lit up. I am scared of applying power to the main unit since the button are frozen... I just added a picture -- hope it worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 OK OK I just got it out of the closet. like I said I have probably not seen it for 20+ years. it does look like a prototype. instead of the flush mount buttons it has red buttons that stick out. I knew it worked at one point because after I got it I tried it out. 2 of the button don;t seem to work any more (froze up) but I did put batteries in the remotes and they lit up. I am scared of applying power to the main unit since the button are frozen... I just added a picture -- hope it worked Very nice. My guess is that if you put it on Ebay you could get at least $2,000 for something like this maybe even more since they are extremely rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 OK for $2000 it is definitely worth the hassle.... does others agree with the $2000 number Should I take it apart and see if I can get the switches to work or leave that to the buyer. OK I just got brave and powered the main unit up. it lit up and the buttons that work (all but the local and joystick button) appear to work. for example the b/w and color buttons switched lights. so the CPU must be doing something??? frankly looking close at it -- it is pretty cool looking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 2500-3000$ for a full working unit is possible! Try to repair the button if you want to earn bigger bucks....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) I agree with the $2000 number or more. Start the bidding at $1500 or put a reserve on it or otherwise put it at what you want to get for it. Or save it for another 20 years, and it'll probably be worth even more. *shrug*. There are some nuts in this community with deep pockets, and this is a gem for them - although it seems like things have died down for retro collecting lately. Probably the new gen consoles having a lot of retro offering has something to do with it. I wouldn't repair the button. The person who is going to go after an item like this and has the money for it is willing to do the repair themselves of have it done by someone who can do it. Unless you're real comfortable with your chances of fixing the issue, that is. Edited September 4, 2008 by Paranoid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 5 Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 That's very very cool. And if you want to avoid Ebay fees, I am sure someone here would be willing to give you what you are looking for. There are a lot of serious Atari collector's on this site and you have something we don't see everyday. Very nice ! ! ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 PLEASE document everything about it as best you can before you sell it. Once it goes to a collector there's no guarantee that the information about this Machine will ever see the light of day after the sale. Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 thanks everyone for your input. so is it worth more because it was a prototype or less? has anyone ever seen a prototype box like this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 some good news I hooked it up to a TV and placed a cartridge in it. I forgot how. haven't done this for years. anyway good is it appears to basically work and the one remote I tried did something. I was able to get the knob on it to work but not the buttons. the select and reset button on the remotes appear to be non-working prototypes and I am not sure why the fire button does not work. my guess is this unit was before they had the working low profile switches made and so that is why it has the red buttons and the 2 buttons on the remote do not work. here is a picture to show proof. I can't believe it work at all after so many years!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Hey Pigsinspace, Do you have any interesting stories from Atari you'd like to tell? Some of us love to hear ex-atari employees talk about atari. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 ok this time with smaller photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 OK allan are you just trying to get on my good side with that picture of Stargate? Hey Pigsinspace,Do you have any interesting stories from Atari you'd like to tell? Some of us love to hear ex-atari employees talk about atari. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I noticed that your handle is Pigs in Space. Are you Bill Aspromonte? If so Defender II/Stargate is one of the best programmed games for the Atari 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 one more try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Yeah pig, give us some stories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsinspace Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 I noticed that your handle is Pigs in Space. Are you Bill Aspromonte? If so Defender II/Stargate is one of the best programmed games for the Atari 2600. that would be yes. glad you liked stargate. I worked very hard to make it as close to the original as possible. that was not easy given all of the limitation of the 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 OK allan are you just trying to get on my good side with that picture of Stargate? Hey Pigsinspace,Do you have any interesting stories from Atari you'd like to tell? Some of us love to hear ex-atari employees talk about atari. Allan That's funny. I've actually had that as my avatar for a year or so. If you look really close you can see that it's a 5200 label. I made it for the prototype by Steve Baker. The picture came from the Apple II manual. P.S. Welcome to Atariage. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Being a proto = Worth More. You've come to the right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horseboy Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I noticed that your handle is Pigs in Space. Are you Bill Aspromonte? If so Defender II/Stargate is one of the best programmed games for the Atari 2600. that would be yes. glad you liked stargate. I worked very hard to make it as close to the original as possible. that was not easy given all of the limitation of the 2600. Neato. Stargate is definitely one of the best 2600 games. Nice work. Oh, and double-neato on the 2700. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aftermac Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I noticed that your handle is Pigs in Space. Are you Bill Aspromonte? If so Defender II/Stargate is one of the best programmed games for the Atari 2600. that would be yes. glad you liked stargate. I worked very hard to make it as close to the original as possible. that was not easy given all of the limitation of the 2600. I agree Defender II (as I've always known it) is an awesome game... one of my favorites. We're playing Defender in the 2600 High Score Club and I commented just yesterday that I've always preferred Defender II. That's a nice little system you've got there. Post it in the Marketplace here on AtariAge and I'm sure someone will snap it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Well man, you did a superb job with Stargate. You deserve more than a pat in the back for that. And this unit is absolutely cool. You should be able to get good $$ for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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