Birthday Mania (found rare Atari 2600 game; 1984)
The first screenshot of the game to appear online.
Status: Lost
A young programmer named Anthony Towcar took interest in the Atari 2600 and developed Birthday Mania in 1984. The game itself never had any commercial release, but instead advertised in the New York Star Ledger newspaper. Consumers would mail in a check to Anthony Towcar and would receive the game personalized with their name on the title screen. The game featured many birthday themed activities including blowing out birthday candles and popping balloons. The game itself only sold somewhere from 10 to 15 copies, only one of which has been found and verified by Atari collector Jerry Grainer. An anonymous atariage user claims to have a copy, though this has not yet been verified. In 2009, a copy of the game surfaced and was put up for sale, the highest known offer being $6,500. Though the offer was turned down by the seller. The game today is believed to be worth anywhere between $15,000 and $35,000. On November 16, 2015, YouTube user Trevgauntlet uploaded a high quality video of gameplay from Birthday Mania being played on the Stella emulator. According to the YouTube user, the footage is taken from a man named Thomas Jentzsch, though the ROM he owns has not been leaked online.