Paid $158.24 shipping included, Jan. 2022
In 1986, a new version of the 2600 was released (although it was planned for release two years earlier). The new redesigned version of the 2600, unofficially referred to as the 2600 Jr., features a smaller, cost-reduced, form factor with a modernized Atari 7800-like appearance. The redesigned 2600 was advertised as a budget gaming system (under $50) that has the ability to run a large collection of classic games. There are several minor stylistic variations of the 2600 Jr. design, including the "large rainbow", "small rainbow", and the rare all-black "Irish" version (made in Ireland).
This is the one I bought with my own money as a kid. We were very poor (and that's an understatement) growing up. We kids had to work in the summer, raking blueberries so we could afford to buy our own school cloths. There simply wasn't an option. If we had any money left over, we could then use it for toys. I would have to buy my Nintendo the same way a few years later. I ordered it (along with a second joystick) by mail from Sears and Roebuck. Back in the 80's, mail deliveries took two to three weeks or more. You can imagine just how hard of a wait that was! I sold it with my box of games to a kid down the street about a year after getting my Nintendo a couple years latter. I found this NOS on ebay. I wont be reselling this one. :)
If wiki is correct that it cost $50 in '86, then that's roughly $130 in today's (2022) money. I only had to pay an extra 20 bucks over inflation to re-buy it 36 years latter. ;)
I wont be using this. At most, I might test it someday and hook it up every 5 to 10 years thereafter for kicks, if I ever do that. This is being saved for the memories, only.
My setup has been a jailbroken PS3 w/ retroarch for all my retro gaming. I don't think this setup can be beat. You can get PS3's cheap now, jailbreak just about, if not all models by now and though I have a jailbroken PS4 also, retroarch is still lacking for it, where the PS3 emulates the old school games really, really nice. Great save state options, rewind, fast forward options. Just a really great setup to play thousands of Atari, Nintendo, Sega and Arcade games. The PS4 should be much further ahead than it is, but the support isn't there yet like the PS3 setup.
