The console that started it all. Complete, and twenty cartridges deep.
You already know about this one. The woodgrain. The four switches across the front. The old school weight of it in your hands. If someone says "Atari," this is what you see. The CX2600A four-switch is the definitive 2600 design, produced at the system's absolute peak. This throwback is date-coded to the 22nd week of 1982, manufactured by Atari-Wong Ltd. in Hong Kong. Late May '82.ย
It comes complete. Console, two CX40 joysticks, two paddle controllers, original Atari power supply, and AV adapter cables. The paddles are worth calling out because they're the controllers most collectors are missing, and games like Breakout and Kaboom! were built specifically for that analog input, and come included.
Then there's the library. Twenty cartridges spanning first-party Atari, groundbreaking Activision third-party releases, and arcade ports from the era when bringing the arcade home still made you feel like royalty. The standout is SwordQuest: FireWorld.
In 1982, Atari launched a contest series with real treasure prizes. FireWorld's prize was the Chalice of Light: platinum and gold, set with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, and jade, appraised at $25,000 (roughly $75K adjusted). Atari received 73 correct solutions. Michael Rideout won the Chalice in January 1984 and still has it in a safe deposit box. Then the '83 crash hit, Atari collapsed, and the final two contests were cancelled. The remaining treasures were never awarded. Nobody knows what happened to them - making this cartridge a physical piece of that history.
The bundle also includes Yars' Revenge (Atari's bestselling original title), Video Olympics (one of nine original 1977 launch titles), and three Activision carts: Boxing, Seaquest, and Kaboom! Activision was founded in 1979 by former Atari programmers who walked out and created the first independent third-party game publisher ever. Every third-party game since exists because of what those cartridges represent.
Full library: Astroblast, Grand Prix, SwordQuest: FireWorld, Breakout, Video Olympics, Yars' Revenge, Boxing, Casino, Seaquest, Space Jockey, Frogger, Maze Craze, Championship Soccer, Video Pinball, Kaboom!, RealSports Football, Baseball, Missile Command, Defender, and Asteroids.
All original, unmodified hardware sourced from the original owner. A complete, ready-to-play ecosystem from the exact moment home gaming became a cultural force. If you know, you know.
