Back in April, the rumor mill claimed Lego was prepping an Atari 2600-themed set to launch this summer in celebration of Atari’s 50th anniversary. Turns out, the intelligence was mostly accurate as Lego today formally announced the Atari 2600 set (#10306). The set doesn’t include a “functional” television like the Nintendo Entertainment System set from a couple years back. The original rumor suggested the set would come with a playable version of Pitfall! but that didn’t materialize. The Lego Atari 2600 does include three mini builds depicting scenes from the bundled games. The Adventure scene features a castle and a dragon, the Centipede build includes a centipede and mushrooms and the Asteroids snapshot shows a ship blasting space rocks.
You also get a standalone cartridge holder, and there’s even a hidden pop-up vignette of a kid playing a game in a period-correct room complete with BoomBox, CRT television, roller skates and more. The NES set, if you recall, also had a hidden diorama tucked inside the system that depicted the end of World 1-2. At that point in the game, you could either exit the stage normally or go up and over (or through) the bricks to access three secret warp pipes.
The completed Atari 2600 console measures 13 inches wide, 8.5 inches deep and is over three inches tall. Lego’s latest set for adults is yet another nostalgia play, joining Mighty Bowser, Optimus Prime and the 3-in-1 DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future as recent additions to the growing line of retro-themed sets. It’s not cheap – an actual, working Atari VCS isn’t much more expensive – but Lego knows that lots of people will pay up to relive their childhood. The Lego Atari 2600 set launches on August 1 priced at $239.99.
