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.

6 Responses

  1. Ken says:

    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.

  2. Valdo says:

    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!!!

  3. John says:

    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)

  4. Deno says:

    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???

  5. 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

    • WtF Dragon says:

      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.