We just recently learned of the existence of the Sega Pluto prototypes that we told you about the other day. The Pluto was basically a Sega Saturn with a built-in Netlink. The Pluto prototype we told you about the other day was prototype 002. Now, we hear that Pluto prototype 001 was found five or six years ago at a garage sale, where the purchase paid just a dollar for it.

The purchaser claims that he didn’t exactly know what he had beyond the fact that it was some sort of prototype Saturn unit that had a Netlink built-in to it. It also has a broken door for the disc drive that needs to have something weighted sitting on the door to keep it closed. The unit does work fine and boots up just fine, apparently.

Now the unit is up for auction on GameGavel with bidding starting at $1. The prototype unit is already at $7,600, and the bidding has moved to $100 increments. Bidding will continue till April 26th. The sale presents a chance to own an interesting part of Sega history; but given the rocky past of the history of the Saturn (with only 596 games released for the console and many of them were Japanese only releases), many will question the value of the Pluto. As for the built-in 28.8K modem known as Netlink, only five titles were ever released that were Netlink compatible.

Certainly, the Pluto is a one of a kind and we realize that; but unless you are a serious Saturn collector, we suspect that investing in buying a Pluto prototype likely isn’t for most people.

See the auction and look at the pictures here.