Atari is auctioning off a full-sized vintage 'Centipede' arcade set, along with digital memorabilia

<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/602d4aa40bbc6c001824bcc4-1707/centipede arcade marquee (1) (1).jpg" border="0" alt="centipede arcade marquee (1) (1)" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Classic video game giant Atari is selling original drawings and autographs, along with a vintage Centipede arcade game, in an online auction. The pieces will be sold on digital asset marketplace Blockparty.</p><p>The collection came with a mandate from Atari to center Atari 2600 and Centipede in the project, leaving designers to decide how to tell the story of classic games in a digital marketplace. The resulting five-piece collection is made up of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique digital files certified to be authentic by Blockparty. NFTs can be things like artwork, tickets, and virtual objects.&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/602d7ee631eb0600197c3d22-1123/centipede (1).jpg" border="0" alt="centipede (1)" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p>There are a few reasons to release this auction now, <a href="https://blockparty.co/team">Blockparty CFO Vladislav Ginzburg</a> told Insider in a phone interview. While NFTs were first mostly attractive to people already immersed in the world of cryptocurrency, a recognizable brand like Atari "feels real" and "draws an overlap," for outsiders to enter the market.</p><p>You "don't have to be a crypto person to identify with Atari," Ginzburg said. But, many crypto enthusiasts do have strong association with Atari, "because it's such a natively digital life," making it the ideal brand to help the technology cross over to average users.</p><p><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/602d83ca42b84000192f40cb-2000/centipede screen dark 2000x2000 (1).jpg" border="0" alt="centipede screen dark 2000x2000 (1)" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p>The drop is part of a larger move on Atari's part to stay relevant to younger consumers who don't necessarily have that nostalgic connection. In October 2020, it launched the <a href="https://www.atarichain.com/">Atari token</a> using Ethereum blockchain, which is automatically connected with the brand's new <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/atari-ceo-on-crypto-token-and-blockchain-gaming-we-know-this-is-going-to-work-213158823.html'guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMFHPoi1vfj23v08pmfX062B5NZsB-OceSAb8nbJEbrwX0aSYbtUND7QUXTXTzys4vCOl3yk9UbabRyn1Jwv9psJ3sNddrJPYoWycrx5bF6dYjIOZNv-IdiwYsZawD9nOpAj016vOZ7ECcAnZE_T7SW-Eix5ZnNs2tRUR-xqMemP&amp;guccounter=2">VCS console.</a> That same month, strategy organization GSD Group released <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/images-of-atari-hotels-with-nostalgia-video-game-themes-2020-10">renderings of Atari hotels</a> planned for Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, with six other locations slated.&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/602d805542b84000192f40b2-2000/centipede control panel 2000x2000 (1).jpg" border="0" alt="centipede control panel 2000x2000 (1)" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p>While NFTs play heavily in the crypto world, Ginzburg emphasized that customers will be able to bid using credit cards and other familiar payment methods.&nbsp;</p><p>The pieces available are the physical Centipede game, an AI Pong cabinet, a 3D digital Centipede, an artist rendition of Centipede, and an NFT of an original Centipede 2600 cartridge.</p><p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/602d837631eb0600197c3d48-2000/centipede atari logo 2000x2000 (1).jpg" border="0" alt="centipede atari logo 2000x2000 (1)" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p>The game is set to free play, so the winner can actually use it to play Centipede, but the vintage arcade cabinet also comes with AR features.</p><p>"Why put [it] on a computer screen when we can embrace the traditional, nostalgic relic of arcade cabinet," Ginzburg told Insider.</p><p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/602d834831eb0600197c3d46-2000/centipede screen and marquee 2000x2000 (1).jpg" border="0" alt="centipede screen and marquee 2000x2000 (1)" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p>Dedicated fans will find all the key details they remember, even including a slot to put in quarters and a vintage manual.</p><p><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/602e860e31eb0600197c3f67-2400/centipede manuals.jpg" border="0" alt="centipede manuals" data-mce-source="Atari" data-mce-caption="Atari."></p><p>The winner will have the unique chance to play as two centipedes playing Pong, an homage to two of Atari's most popular games. The cabinet also includes a signature from Dona Bailey, the engineer credited with Centipede, and the buyer will&nbsp; get a phone interview with Bailey, which will be sent digitally to the arcade game.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/atari-centipede-gaming-auction-with-cryptocurrency-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-planes-future-of-aviation-problems-regulations-2020-3">Why electric planes haven't taken off yet</a></p>
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