I know nothing of Atari either, but if that box is legit then I imagine this is probably going to be the most historic Atari auction ever.

1982 Men-A-Vision
L.A. California

Very interesting. The box seems legit, I have a tough time thinking people are going to continue to claim that this is unlikely to be a US release.

This is pretty amazing stuff, I wonder if he'll auction it separately or re-list it.

Well, holy shit. I can't believe he found the box. I find it totally mind-blowing that it truly is called "Air Raid"... Bah, too much craziness.

The data is final. The label is production in style and final meaning no changes would have been made to it.  What is there to prove? You jumping up and down won't change that. It is final in shape and form.

If there was a PS2 disc that ran on US retail systems but was missing the top art it would be called a pre-production and lumped in with the prototypes. If the same disc had the final artwork on the disc then it might be called a test disc by some but would not be a prototype even if it was the only one. I can't argue with you because your understanding of what is a prototype changes based on the game we are talking about.

That is crazy that someone found an Air Raid box. The timing is very suspicious but if it is an April fools joke it is the best one ever.

 

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

What do you guys think this auction will end at?

I'm bored so closest without going over I'll send $1 paypal gift to!

Mr. Qix is right.  If you want to continue debating, bump the old thread.  This thread is about Air Raid, not Wally Bear.  Everything said in this thread by the two of us has been stated in the previous topic.  There's nothing new or ground breaking, so no point in bickering. 

On topic:  If this box is legit, and it sure looks that way, that's a fantastic discovery.  If this is a joke, it would be frightening as the box looks amazingly authentic.

Pretty fucking sweet. I have a hunch who will win this auction

I wondered the same. But how can anyone verify something that has never been seen before!?

I will update the original post on this thread with the new link, once he re-lists the auction with the box.

Ummm....wow. This should be an interesting auction afterall.

WOW! this is huuuuuge. We will finally see what RARE dominates. This game shot up a lot, didn't the last one end in the 2k area?

Seller said the following from the AtariAge forum:

Ok, I just got home and here is how my night is going to go down:

1) I will be send a letter to each bidder of my current auction letting them know why I will be removing that auction and that another one will be posted which will included the box.
2) Around 9pm central time, I will post the new auction. It will end a week from Saturday between 7pm and 10pm depending on which time zone. That why most everyone who wants to bid will be home. I will be using the exact same reserve price as the previous auction. Please note that this new listing will cost me another $52.
3) Once the new listing is up, I will go edit the old one bacilli stating why it is being removed along with the listing number for the new auction.
4) I will then cancel the old auction. Please note that I will not get back the $52 I spent listing the first one.


I have kept out of the debate up to this point but wanted to say s few things.

I opened up this thread last night for two reasons. I have never sold anything on eBay before and I asked several times for advice on how to proceed with something this big. I did not really receive any. Second, I wanted to start an intelligent conversation about the box so that I could link to it in my auction to help people decide if they want to bid and to help promote AA as a premier website for Atari information. This will not be happening. This thread has gone straight to the wild imaginations of conspiracy nuts. Only information it does raise is the question why a company who programmed such a bad game did not take the to make sure that there lines were perfectly straight. Must be fake. Or everyone in Austin must be know everyone. Must be fake. Or my favorite, what the box smells like. Must be fake.

I would like to ask everyone one question and only want you to answer it to yourself. The next time someone finds a rare or interesting Atari item and they need some information, after they read how you chewed me up, how excited do you think they will be to join the AA community?

Here is what is going to happen. I am going to post my auction. It will be here after the 2nd of April. It will close out in tens days and someone will have the only know original Air Raid box and cartridge to go with it, and instead of AA looking like a great place to meet people who share common interests, it is going to be perceived as closed knit group who runs off new people.

I will be around all night is any one has any legitimate questions...

you couldn't 100% be sure it was legit but you could get a very good feeling.   what you could be sure of is if it was fake.   wrong printing method for the date it was supposedly made... etc.  that kind of stuff.   Anything laserprinted and supposedly from 1982 doesn't quite add up.    Same with the box's paper stock, etc etc.   Someone with more knowledge of printing could tell you what else to look for.

wow, that is beyond awesome! I'm way more excited about this one than all that Stadium Events stuff.

Yeah, I'm guessing we might see people selling stuff to raise funds for this. I'd say I'm in, but I'm positive it will go for more than I'm willing to pay.

Yes, I WONDER who you could be referring to?  

Do you think he would bring in more money if he just rode out the current auction and listed the box by itself?

Post is updated. First link is the auction.

OMG! I want to know what the hardcore Atari guys think of that box. Legit? Not legit?

even if it turns out to be made afterthefact, I still would think it would add some value, regardless.

It's not surprising to me that this box exists...I had a strong feeling it did, even when I collected Atari back some 5 years ago. What will be surprising, though, is what this box ends up doing to this auction for price...though I don't believe it will surpass the $13k CIB SE auction (who knows, though...Atari collectors are crazy)...

I've seen Atari CARTS hit high 4 to early 5 digits...a one-of-a-kind box in such good condition...I may sound crazy, but considering what I've seen tossed around, I'd venture a guess at 16K easy.

I have to agree here. I've read up on some atari stuff here and there throughout the years (just because I played as a kid), and I knew this game was rare. How rare it was I didn't know. Just read about it around the net. But it only makes sense that a box exist somewhere. Even if it was a pirated game from Mexico or wherever, why not even a cheap box? The NES pirates even have cheap boxes, wouldn't be hard to believe that for atari stuff either.

Up until now Atari has pretty much maxed out at the 5k mark. Some unreleased systems sold between 5 and 10k but outside of those I can't think of anything selling close to the 10k mark.

Only an Air Raid box will bring Steve out of the woodworks.  You going to CGE this year?