The Atari Cosmos can be yours for just under $19,000

[Shnay]

In 1981, Atari made five prototypes for a portable system that used "holograms" (of a sort) to display the games. They didn't go ahead with it, though, because (according to this site (http://users2.ev1.net/~rik1138/Misc/AtariCosmos.htm), which has more info on it) it turned out to be a crummy little system.

But something crummy can be worth a lot if it's rare. Right now, one of the five known prototypes (and one of only two working ones) is on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1182&item=5948347258). At this time, the price is set at $18,936.54 US.

I was just wondering the other day if video game "collectables" would ever be worth anything. For the most part, I don't think they will be, but every once in a while something like this shows up and proves you never know what will get ya $19k. What other video game items do you see gaining value over the years?

[Lord Dalek]

The NES Mark II.

[Metroid_spy]

daaaaang... expensive. but pretty cool antique. only 5 in the world. thats really rare

[Sigma]

I had a ton of money to blow I would take a shot at bidding on that sucker. Very rare and very cool. Too bad it doesn't have the electronics in it, but I believe only 2 or 3 out of the 5 actually had electronics in them.

Older consoles seem to hold there value fairly well once they have become "antique" and especially if they are models that were only made in small amounts such as the NES Top Loader, Mark 3 Genesis, and the Atari Jr. Plus all the limitted edition consoles like the Sakura Taisen Dreamcast and the Panzer Dragoon Orta crystal Xbox *drool*.