Need some XEGS Purchasing Advice

[+sixersfan105]

Hey guys, I have been seeking an XEGS for a little while now and am now in the process of negotiating for this bundle. It's fully working. What would you pay for it? I just don't want to get fleeced. Thanks for any insight!

 

PS I have been told that the boxed games do NOT contain manuals.

[AtariGeezer]

I'll give you $20 We know you are selling and just want to see what you can get

[+sixersfan105]

I'll give you $20 We know you are selling and just want to see what you can get

 

Ha! I was thinking some people might think that, but I'm not into deception in the slightest. I would come out and say if I was selling. I've been looking to add an XEGS to my collection. I'm mainly a 7800 guy (have everything CIB) but am looking to get into the XEGS. Feel free not to believe me, but it's the truth.

[BassGuitari]

Well, it definitely ain't gonna be cheap. The boxed Crystal Castles, Summer Games, and Airball alone would probably total close to $200 on eBay, ballpark. Those are some of the rarest XEGS titles. I think the loose cart in the bottom right is Donkey Kong? That's another fairly exotic one.

 

Everything else is pretty run-of-the mill, although condition is a little hard to ascertain from this grainy photo. The XG-1 is obviously missing at least one decal, which is more rule than exception. And the keyboard is pretty clean-looking, instead of the usual checkerboard of various yellows, browns, and grays. That little cart book is pretty neat, although I wouldn't say it really adds to the value, either.

 

I'll put it this way: if I were selling this (and assuming everything is tested and working), I'd be looking in the neighborhood of $400. Do with that what you will.

 

(As an aside, some of those cartridges are Atari Corp. reprints, which I personally think are really neat to go with an XEGS. )

[+sixersfan105]

Well, it definitely ain't gonna be cheap. The boxed Crystal Castles, Summer Games, and Airball alone would probably total close to $200 on eBay, ballpark. Those are some of the rarest XEGS titles. I think the loose cart in the bottom right is Donkey Kong? That's another fairly exotic one.

 

Everything else is pretty run-of-the mill, although condition is a little hard to ascertain from this grainy photo. The XG-1 is obviously missing at least one decal, which is more rule than exception. And the keyboard is pretty clean-looking, instead of the usual checkerboard of various yellows, browns, and grays. That little cart book is pretty neat, although I wouldn't say it really adds to the value, either.

 

I'll put it this way: if I were selling this (and assuming everything is tested and working), I'd be looking in the neighborhood of $400. Do with that what you will.

 

(As an aside, some of those cartridges are Atari Corp. reprints, which I personally think are really neat to go with an XEGS. )

 

Thanks for the heads up. I knew that some Atari XEGS "blue label" games were on the rare side, but had no idea that some of these rarely show up for sale! Looks like the last Crystal Castles XEGS sold last month for $92, and that was cart-only untested. Unreal. And yeah, the loose cart bottom-right is Donkey Kong. Upon request, the seller provided an additional picture for me of the games that include manuals and that DK is in that pic, too, closer up (albeit it does not come with a manual). Here's that pic, in case you're curious about which manuals I'll be getting. Speaking of that cart book, they gave me a pic of what it looks like closed, too.

 

Looks like I've buried the lede, but I was able to negotiate $350 shipped for the bundle. I'm very excited to get my XEGS gaming on!

 

And no, no part of this bundle will be listed for sale in my lifetime! That said, I am going to have some cart-only duplicates available in the near future if anyone is interested, as I had already purchased a cart-only lot on eBay to pair with the XEGS that I thought I had teed up the other day, only to have that XEGS owner change his mind about selling! Those dupes are Star Raiders II, Flight Simulator II, Bug Hunt, Food Fight (purchased yesterday one-off on eBay), Fight Night and Hardball (nothing too exotic, looks like).

 

Also thinking about getting a 1050 disk drive in time (would definitely get the Happy mod), but I'm also thinking about ditching the floppies altogether and just getting an UNO cart. We'll see! Regardless, I'm pumped. Here's hoping it doesn't get wrecked in transit!

[BassGuitari]

You did good! $350 isn't a small chunk of change, but a great deal considering even loose games typically start at $10-15 apiece (x10 = ~$100+, plus Donkey Kong = ~$30-50), boxed "common" XEGS games in average condition probably average around $15-20 apiece (x11 = ~$165+, plus Summer Games, Crystal Castles, and Airball = ~$200+?), and then the hardware itself could probably $100-150. So $350 versus close to $600--on the conservative side (and maybe knock off $25-50 as a bulk/lot discount)! Prices on this stuff tend to be kind of all over the place and hard to pin down, but you did really good in any case.

 

And you knocked out some of the hardest-to-find titles right off the bat! Other rarities you'll want to make note of are Karateka, Choplifter, Into The Eagle's Nest, Mario Bros., and maybe Thunderfox and Eastern Front 1941. In case you're not familiar, Mario Bros. is actually unique to the XEGS, and not a repackaging of the Atari 5200 port. Some people say it's even better than the NES version; I wouldn't go that far, myself, but it's still probably the best version you'll find on an Atari system.

 

Apart from those, though, building a game library for the XEGS should be fairly smooth sailing for you.

 

(Hit me up if that silver-label Defender is a duplicate you'd be interested in selling--I love Defender and Atari Corp. cartridges, and that one is both. )

[+sixersfan105]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I was able to score some manuals online last night, too, so some of those boxed versions are soon to become CIB. I was able to snag Mario Bros (cart-only) as part of that game lot I mentioned, so I'll be playing that in all its 8-bit glory shortly! I'll keep an eye out for those other rare titles you mentioned. I'll also let you know if the Defender reprint winds up being a duplicate, but I don't think it is for the time being. Cheers!

[BassGuitari]

I'll also let you know if the Defender reprint winds up being a duplicate, but I don't think it is for the time being. Cheers!

 

Cool, I appreciate it! I only suspected it might be, because the boxed copy in your lot is much smaller than the ginormous boxes that the old brown-label 400/800 cartridges originally came in--I think that was something Atari Corp. did. (Compare to the Space Invaders box, which also has the "Also plays on XE Game System yada yada" sticker. )

 

Also, when I mentioned Eastern Front 1941, I was referring to the blue XEGS-label version. I didn't notice that your set includes a copy of what I suspect is the more common silver "XL-style" reprint, judging by the same aforementioned sticker on the box. Although maybe--and I hope--you'll be surprised and find a blue-label XEGS cartridge inside; consistency was not a thing Atari Corp. was known for, after all.

[+sixersfan105]

 

Cool, I appreciate it! I only suspected it might be, because the boxed copy in your lot is much smaller than the ginormous boxes that the old brown-label 400/800 cartridges originally came in--I think that was something Atari Corp. did. (Compare to the Space Invaders box, which also has the "Also plays on XE Game System yada yada" sticker. )

 

Also, when I mentioned Eastern Front 1941, I was referring to the blue XEGS-label version. I didn't notice that your set includes a copy of what I suspect is the more common silver "XL-style" reprint, judging by the same aforementioned sticker on the box. Although maybe--and I hope--you'll be surprised and find a blue-label XEGS cartridge inside; consistency was not a thing Atari Corp. was known for, after all.

Oh good point, I didn't realize there was a boxed Defender and a loose cart both there. Will let you know!

 

Speaking of Eastern Front, I heard there's even a variation where the cart has the blue XEGS label but slapped on a 400/800 cartridge! Silly Atari.

[+sixersfan105]

Just scored a CIB Into the Eagle's Nest for XEGS! I'm on a roll

[BassGuitari]

Just scored a CIB Into the Eagle's Nest for XEGS! I'm on a roll

 

Dude.

 

 

[+sixersfan105]

 

Dude.

 

 

I checked out a gameplay video on YouTube and it looks like a fun one. The graphics look pretty stellar, too! Even if I'm disappointed, at least I've got it as part of the collection.