A gamer finds a very rare game machine on the street because a woman simply wanted to dispose of it. And the machine still works perfectly, as the user reports.
In a recently published story on The Arcade Blogger, Tony Temple explained that his young niece casually mentioned during his visit that she had seen “some Tron thing” on a sidewalk while riding her bike through the neighborhood.
The author and historian Tim Lapetino, who was present, became curious and had to see the device. And he did not regret it, because there by the roadside stood an old arcade machine with “Discs of Tron,” which today can be worth more than 9,000 Euros.
Old game machine stood by the road, ready for garbage collection
Where was the device located? According to the author, the device was simply placed by the roadside after being transported from a house garage.
The owner of the cabinet was probably an elderly woman who said that the cabinet had been in her garage for years. Now she just wanted to get rid of it. The device was supposed to be thrown away soon, as indicated by a sticker from the waste management. The waste department had complained that the huge item needed to be removed from the street, otherwise it would be disposed of.
Now Tim Lapetino had to act quickly because he needed to secure the arcade machine before the garbage truck came to scrap it. And that was not so easy, as the device weighed more than 300 kg.
Lapetino and his brother mounted the device on two rolling plates from the hardware store and pushed the heavy load, secured with ropes, several blocks down the street back home. Now it was time for an inventory check.
What condition was the device in? According to the author, the device was in almost perfect condition. Although a few decorations were missing, it still worked flawlessly. Moreover, the internal counter indicated that the machine had been played less than 3,000 times. He himself says such a device can easily be worth more than 10,000 US dollars, which is approximately around 9,000 Euros.
“Discs of Tron” was released in 1983, based on a Disney film
What kind of game machine is this? Discs of Tron was released in 1983 and was one of two arcade games produced by Midway that were based on the Disney film Tron.
The game was released with a special cabinet into which players had to step and stand while playing. This was meant to create a special immersion, as it allowed players to better dive into the world of Tron.
Because such devices are quite complicated to produce and were also not exactly small, Midway only manufactured very few of these devices, especially compared to other games that were significantly more popular in the 1990s.
It is all the more surprising to find such a rare device in such excellent condition that still works perfectly in 2023. And that makes the game machine so valuable. Why the woman had such a valuable device sitting in her garage for years is unknown.
