Functioning version of ‘the first arcade video game ever created’ heads to auction with $200,000 estimate — green sparkle 2-player edition of Computer Space hails from 1973

A games industry veteran is selling off what is “probably the rarest arcade game in existence” via Boston’s RR Auctions. The fully working Computer Space 2-player arcade video game cabinet looks incredibly alluring with its Jetsons-esque styling and green sparkle finish. It is estimated that the hammer price will be $200,000+, but bidding is just $6,748 at the time of writing.

Computer Space may not be the most famous retro arcade game, but it certainly has pedigree. The arcade machine was originally released in 1971 by Syzygy Engineering, the company that evolved into Atari. RR Auctions asserts it was both the “first arcade video game ever created and the first commercially available video game.” What we have on auction here is the supposedly far rarer 2-player ‘green sparkle’ cabinet from 1973.

Above: Sample Computer Space (1 player) gameplay recorded from a real arcade machine.

RR Auctions photos show a close-up of the dual-player controls on the upright arcade machine. After inserting a quarter, players could optionally select a 2-player game. Then each player would ready themselves by grasping the joystick.

Pushing the stick left and right rotates your on-screen craft appropriately. Nudging it up thrusts your ship forward. The fire button is the red button on top of the joystick. Not very ergonomic by today’s standards, but game designers were definitely still finding their feet. The Computer Space arcade machine was an important ancestor to the revolutionary releases of Pong (1972) and the Atari 2600 home console (1977).

After that description, it is easy to understand why Perry, the games industry veteran behind Shiny Entertainment and Gaikai, held this arcade cabinet in his collection. On X, the developer and entrepreneur explained the sale as an act precipitated by his home arcade collection running out of space. Indeed, it is probably fair to describe Computer Space as a museum piece rather than a seminal video game that everyone remembers.

The auction is scheduled to close on August 20, 2026. Perry notes that a more common single-player version of this machine sold for $69,000 (in 2024), so perhaps the $200,000 estimate will prove accurate. Perry’s sale is part of the Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction Part Two, packed with many more interesting artifacts.