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View Full Version : Rare Atari game sells for over $5,000 (Lead Yahoo Story)



ClassicGameTrader
11-15-2009, 09:36 PM
When it was released in the 1980s, the Atari 2600 game "The Music Machine" didn’t exactly tear up the charts. That's because it was only sold in religious bookstores, making it one of the rarest games to ever be released for the legendary console.

And for a mere $5,250, it could be yours -- or could have been, had you beaten out the winner of this eBay listing.

Sweetening the deal is the fact that this particular copy of the game is still sealed, meaning the original cartridge and manual are in mint condition. Copies of the nearly-impossible-to-find game don’t often come up for sale, and when they do, they're typically in much worse shape.

So what do you do in the game, exactly? We're not really sure -- few have ever even held a copy, much less played it -- but according to the game box, it sounds like a religious take on the Atari classic, Kaboom!:

"Symbols representing character-building qualities (the Fruit of the Spirit) are raining down from above. Stevie and Nancy need your help to collect the symbols and to avoid the mischievous pudgeons...and with each gift of Love you collect, the symbols rain heavier and faster."

(Yes, pudgeons. Not a typo, although could be related to pigeons. Hard to say.)

Think a video game selling for five grand is crazy? So do we, although compared to this copy of Nintendo World Championships for the NES, "The Music Machine" is a steal.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/rare-atari-game-sells-for-over-5-000/1372999

megasdkirby
11-15-2009, 10:00 PM
Not a bad price, to be honest.

Noticed a few resellers trying placing a bid on it, too. I know at least one of the resellers. :D

Anyway, the price was much cheaper than anticipated, though. I think it was a bargain of sorts.

8bitgamer
11-15-2009, 10:45 PM
Here's the entry for the game in my first book:

The Music Machine
Publisher: HomeComputer Software
Developer: Christian Software Development
Genre: Action
1 or 2 Players (alternating)
1983

Released only in Christian bookstores (making it a very hard game to find), The Music Machine has players guiding Steve and Nancy along the bottom of the screen, using their mutually held basket to catch harps, snails, mustard seeds, music notes, gifts, stop signs, angels, lambs, and hearts. These items represent love, gentleness, faith, peace, joy, patience, self-control, goodness, and kindness, which are biblical “fruits of the spirit.” The evil Mr. Pims scampers across the top of the screen, throwing “pudgeon” creatures that should be avoided. Catching a pudgeon or missing a heart will subtract a basket, but players gain an extra basket with every 10,000 points scored (unless the player already has three baskets). The Music Machine, which was inspired by a Christian record from 1977, plays like a poor man’s Kaboom!

gokugohandave
11-16-2009, 02:13 PM
dude 8bitgamer ive seen your book in the stores before.

maybe not I guess it was a different one.

diskoboy
11-16-2009, 05:22 PM
Too bad the album it's based off of isn't as rare..

My mom bought me that record when I was about 3 - the year it was released in 1977.

Talk about a bad childhood flashback....

Gameguy
11-16-2009, 08:46 PM
I have a copy of the album, I can't get $5 for it. I'm hoping someone will want it eventually.