Recapture the fun of the 1980s game crash with Lego’s $240 Atari 2600 replica

Lego's Atari 2600 set.
Enlarge / Lego’s Atari 2600 set.
The Lego Group

Even the cheapest, slowest modern game consoles are capable of pushing high-definition 3D graphics that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. But if you’re old enough to remember when video game graphics were just a series of colorful, abstract blobs, Lego has something for you.

A new 2,532-piece set re-creates the 1980-era, four-switch version of the venerable Atari Video Computer System (VCS), later known as the Atari 2600. The kit includes a moving joystick, three game cartridges that can be inserted into the system or into an ’80s-brown storage rack, and other nostalgic touches—even the chintzy wood-grain texture on the front of the console has been lovingly re-created with Lego bricks.

The Lego Atari 2600 launches for $239.99 on August 1.

  • The Lego Atari 2600 comes with a moving joystick and three replica cartridges that fit into the system.
    The Lego Group

  • A replica 1980s living room pops out of the console, complete with CRT TV and period-appropriate posters.
    The Lego Group

  • Three small scenes re-create memorable imagery from the games (and will give younger kids something to do while adults put the main console together).
    The Lego Group

  • Atari nerd minifig and mini-joystick included!
    The Lego Group

The Atari 2600 set is a follow-up of sorts to the 2,646-piece Nintendo Entertainment System from a couple of years ago. But where that console included a replica TV set with a 2D rendition of Super Mario Bros that could actually scroll, the Atari 2600 kit includes an ’80s living room set that pops out of the console and miniature scenes that depict the centipede from the game Centipede, the asteroids from the game Asteroids, and the adventure from the game Adventure.

The Lego Atari 2600 is just the latest in a long line of sets aimed at formerly Lego-loving kids. Other nostalgia-driven kits with thousands of pieces include the replica NES, a re-creation of Super Mario 64 in miniature, a lovingly crafted typewriter with working keys, and a Lego Optimus Prime that can actually transform into a Lego truck.

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Listing image by The Lego Group

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