Lego Atari 2600 set announced for August release, priced at $239.99

Lego and Atari are celebrating the gaming company’s 50th anniversary with a new set based on the iconic Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCS) console that launched in 1977. But the Lego Atari 2600 is more than just a brick-based recreation of the console and its one-button joystick; Lego went the extra mile here, stuffing in a secret compartment jam-packed with ’80s nostalgia and tapping into the imagination that the blocky 8-bit graphics of the 2600 required of its players.

Although the Lego Atari 2600 Lego Set accurately reproduces the model released in 1980 with four switches, it also includes iconic game cartridges. Adventure, AsteroidsAnd CentipedeIt also features an interior Lego diorama. Sliding open the top panel of the Lego Atari 2600 reveals an ’80s-throwback gaming scene, with a Lego minifigure playing AsteroidsA smaller Atari console. Other retro decor includes a boombox and a cassette.

Here’s a closer look:

To complement the included cartridges, Lego also created three diorama scenes. These scenes are available in the The AdventureThe cartridge includes a scene that shows the legendary dragon and castle from the classic adventure video game. CentipedeFeatures (plus anything else) The centipedes and the mushrooms are both included in this article. AsteroidsThe spaceship is seen blasting away space rocks. Each cartridge’s printed artwork is also rendered in a Lego brick style.

It looks like the console was lovingly reconstructed in black bricks, a woodgrain effect and with movable switches. There’s even an array of ports in the back, where you can plug in that damned Atari 2600 joystick, which only made playing Atari’s game catalog that much harder. The system doesn’t appear to have a Lego-built adapter for RF.

Lego Atari 2600 will go on sale Aug. 1 and it will retail for $239.99. This is a bit more than we expected. The set is composed of 2,532 pieces — you were So close, Lego! — and the console measures 3 inches high, 13 inches wide, and 8.5 inches deep.