Pong Rarity and Price Guide by David Winter

This is my personal rarity guide for Pong games and derivates. Rarity ratings have been established by experience (several daily checks of online sales since late 1995).
Its aim is to help you for sorting your collection by rarity and/or year, or for trading or selling. Do not forget that a same system may appear more or less rare depending on where it is found.

Please do not copy this page on your site: you would miss additions and corrections.

Beware of abusive never used and mint condition statements in sales: an unused system must come from an old dealer's stock as the chances that somebody bought a game and never used it are almost null. Mint means complete, not just visually mint: anything originally provided with the game must be present: papers (user manual, warranty card, etc), accessories (switch-box, AC adaptor, light gun, etc.), complete package (box and internal packing) and even batteries (for example, the four batteries included with the Sears Pong have a small Sears paper over the top indicating that they are unused).

The prices are NOT fixed and can vary a LOT. Many parameters will make the price of a specific game vary from low to high. Here are a couple examples that I have experienced over the years:

- Bid wars happen but remain rare. There is absolutely NO real price for any game. It's mainly a matter of demand. If nobody is looking for a rare game, it will never sell well. If two people enter a very high bid in the hope to win by all means, the game will sell at a price much over its usual value.
- The prices listed here are for boxed specimens in decent condition. Loose units are generally worth less and the difference in price may vary from a few dollars for a very common game, to half or more than half of the suggested price for a complete specimen.
- In some cases, a very common game may sell for more than the average price because it is absolutely immaculate, unlike those that you always see.
- Very rare games do not always sell at high prices. They are PONG games like many others, and although the games remain more or less the same, they mainly differ by their design and rarity. What really determines the worth of a very rare game is how early it is and whether there are some people looking for it and willing to pay for it. When I discovered that the original Videomaster VM-577 was very early, the first specimens showing on eBay sold at twice the price they now make. URL Video Action games almost always sell for $100 or so despite their rarity.
- The final price of an auction will always vary depending on who sees it. The best example is the Magnavox Odyssey which has always been selling at any price between $50-$350, mainly because people either over-estimate this game, or enter higher bids than what they expect to pay, and happen to pay much more because somebody else had the same idea. Check the past Odyssey auction page to see what I mean...

Note concerning "International" systems: Some systems were released in more than one country. Because their rarity depends on the countries where they can be found, their rarity will be either based on the occurences found in their original country, or the country where they were the most sold.

(Very Common)	Every collector has it. The system was sold in large quantities and may have been released by several manufacturers in the world. You will always find it. It is only worth having in mint condition and at a low price. Typical examples: Radio Shack TV Scoreboard systems, Sears PONG Sports IV, Atari Super PONG C-140, Magnavox Odyssey 300, Coleco Telstar Alpha, etc.
(Common)	Most collectors have it. The system was very successfull in one or more countries and may have been released by a few manufacturers. You will often find it and you should wait for a virtually mint one.
(Uncommon)	Lots of collectors have it as it often shows in auction sites and flea markets. The system was usually released by a single manufacturer. A good example is the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey.
(Rare)	Collectors should have it. You will happen to find this system, but be patient if you want it in great condition. Atari Super PONG TEN and Super PONG PRO/AM TEN are two good examples.
(Very Rare)	Not many collectors have it. The system may have been released in limited quantity, might be an early design (for example, using CMOS and/or TTL chips), and is difficult to find. You could have to pay a high price for it. Typical examples are the 1974 Videomaster Home T.V. game (UK) and the Indy 500 (Video Action IV) game made by Universal Research.
(Extremely Rare)	Either a prototype of an unreleased system, or a very limited release. One or a few collectors are known to have it and you are likely to never find it. Good examples are the 1974 VideoSport MKII (UK) and the first Video Action games by Universal Research.
(Unreleased)	System known to have been announced or advertised, but never found so far.