Apparently for Real: Original Akalabeth Up For Sale at eBay
Contra the not-so-recent-anymore spate of fake copies of Akalabeth that popped up on eBay a while back, one would be forgiven for looking askance at this sale and dismissing it as just another scam. And yet, that is apparently not the case; this is apparently a legitimate original copy of Richard Garriott’s first published game, verified by readers of this very site (which probably means Stephen Emond and Jocksitter Dragon).
In which case, its $6,500 price tag is a bit of a steal; you had to pledge $10,000 to Shroud of the Avatar to get a copy of Akalabeth copied from the original source on the original Apple ][!
Furthermore, the diskette does apparently boot:
So…if you want to own what appears to be a legitimate piece of gaming (and Ultima!) history, you can do it for just $6,500. Or maybe less; the buyer appears to have left the entry open to offers.
I am just pointing out that the only thing original in this auction is the Disk. The mini-poster, manual, and bag are all replacements / reprints. I feel 6,500 for only the original disk is high. I have been watching this since it came on just to see if it sells. If that is reasonable for just the original disk, then me trading an Apple IIe for a disk game collection with an original Akalabeth disk was quite the find.
Nice….
If this is worth $6500 for only the disk my trade for the complete Set; disk and ALL should be worth $10,000 – Ching CHING!
Thanks to my neighbors kids who just wanted my ole Nintendo 64 with 15 typical games & traded with me for their absentee step-dad’s old Apple stuff.
Awsome!!!
There’s no way disk only is worth that, I’m thinking $250-500 tops. Anyone have the link he used to make the insert? The only insert pics I ever see is the nasty one with the crease. I’d like to print one out and frame it. (to put it with my Ultima (I) insert)
Is this Fake? Anyone??
http://justabouteverything.ecrater.com/p/5489267/akalabeth-1981-computer-ad
Seems legit enough for me – Already bought one – Its looks & feels real enough.
Please Reply???
Not sure why no one replied – maybe they didn’t want to deliver bad news, but I believe that is fake. The original had a crazy font and lettering – see here.
http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple/v4/fc/63/b9/fc63b9e3-bc71-0ccd-2316-19296dbb2333/screen320x480.jpeg
Oh wow…totally missed seeing the preceding comment back when it was posted.
There are people who we can ask about such things; Jocksitter Dragon and Commander Falcon are the notable go-to people here. It’s likely too late, but I can bring them around for a look-see.