On account of Nintendo being Ninten-kikes and increasing the maximum price of games yet again, I decided to look at what some "expensive" console games were sold for in the USA in the 1990s and what the price adjusted for inflation (CPI) would be in 2025. Also the price of the consoles themselves on launch year:
On SUPER NINTENDO
Chrono Trigger (1995): $79.99 ➡ ~$168
Final Fantasy III (1994): $79.99 ➡ ~$173
Star Fox (1993): $69.99 ➡ ~$155
Super SF II (1994): $74.99 ➡ ~$162
Console (1991): $199.99 ➡ $~469
On SEGA GENESIS :sega :
Phantasy Star IV (1995): $79.99 ➡ ~$168
Virtua Racing (1994): $99.99 ➡ ~$216
Console (1989): $189.99 ➡ ~$469
On NEO GEO
Samurai Shodown (1993): $249.99 ➡ ~$553
Metal Slug (1996): ~$300 ➡ ~$611
Console (1990): $649.99 ➡ ~$1590
On Nintendo 64
GoldenEye 007 (1997): $59.99 ➡ ~$120
Ocarina of Time (1998): $59.99 ➡ ~$118
Console (1996): $199.99 ➡ ~$407
So, first of all, these prices are demented.
Second, what happened to make prices drop over the years?
I also took the prices of modern games and converted them in reverse with the CPI of each year from 1989 (when the Genesis came out) to 1998 (Zelda) and got:
Breath of the Wild ($60):
1989: ~$23
1998: ~$30
Tears of the Kingdom ($70):
1989: ~$27
1998: ~$35
Mario Kart World ($80):
1989: ~$31
1998: ~$40
Something must be wrong...
...Impossible, my maths are impeccable.
📊 📈
On SUPER NINTENDO
Chrono Trigger (1995): $79.99 ➡ ~$168
Final Fantasy III (1994): $79.99 ➡ ~$173
Star Fox (1993): $69.99 ➡ ~$155
Super SF II (1994): $74.99 ➡ ~$162
Console (1991): $199.99 ➡ $~469
On SEGA GENESIS :sega :
Phantasy Star IV (1995): $79.99 ➡ ~$168
Virtua Racing (1994): $99.99 ➡ ~$216
Console (1989): $189.99 ➡ ~$469
On NEO GEO
Samurai Shodown (1993): $249.99 ➡ ~$553
Metal Slug (1996): ~$300 ➡ ~$611
Console (1990): $649.99 ➡ ~$1590
On Nintendo 64
GoldenEye 007 (1997): $59.99 ➡ ~$120
Ocarina of Time (1998): $59.99 ➡ ~$118
Console (1996): $199.99 ➡ ~$407
So, first of all, these prices are demented.
Second, what happened to make prices drop over the years?
I also took the prices of modern games and converted them in reverse with the CPI of each year from 1989 (when the Genesis came out) to 1998 (Zelda) and got:
Breath of the Wild ($60):
1989: ~$23
1998: ~$30
Tears of the Kingdom ($70):
1989: ~$27
1998: ~$35
Mario Kart World ($80):
1989: ~$31
1998: ~$40
Something must be wrong...
...Impossible, my maths are impeccable.
📊 📈
@Rasterman As an oldfag, I can confirm that the prices of N64 games were insane, adjusting for inflation.
People are also talking about BotW now being a 90 dollar game on the Switch 2 (with all the DLC), as if Smash Bros. Ultimate wasn't a 120 dollar game when you factored in all of its Paid DLC.
I'm never been one who considered (good) video games remotely overpriced, certainly not compared to any other form of entertainment media - I just don't really talk or argue about it because hey, why would I fight against getting cheaper games? I believe in taking my own side, and I'm a video game consumer, not a video game maker, so do the math.
That said, I've certainly never committed myself to refusing to pay 80 bucks for a game if it's actually good, nor would I ever even entertain that idea. And I'm hardly outraged about a premium portable console that's apparently stronger than the PS4 and actually has games being priced 449 dollars, when Soyny sold a glorified doorstop for 499 and people acted like that was reasonable.
As someone with a full-time job, money saved up, and who only really splurges on vidya, the Switch 2 is a total no-brainer day 1 purchase, given just how well the Switch 1 has served me. Either it won't drop in price, in which case delaying the purchase won't achieve anything, or it WILL get an early price drop, in which case I'll almost certainly get a bunch of nifty Ambassador rewards for buying it early, like I got when the 3DS got its early price drop (I didn't even get that one at launch, just when Ocarina of Time 3D dropped).
People are also talking about BotW now being a 90 dollar game on the Switch 2 (with all the DLC), as if Smash Bros. Ultimate wasn't a 120 dollar game when you factored in all of its Paid DLC.
I'm never been one who considered (good) video games remotely overpriced, certainly not compared to any other form of entertainment media - I just don't really talk or argue about it because hey, why would I fight against getting cheaper games? I believe in taking my own side, and I'm a video game consumer, not a video game maker, so do the math.
That said, I've certainly never committed myself to refusing to pay 80 bucks for a game if it's actually good, nor would I ever even entertain that idea. And I'm hardly outraged about a premium portable console that's apparently stronger than the PS4 and actually has games being priced 449 dollars, when Soyny sold a glorified doorstop for 499 and people acted like that was reasonable.
As someone with a full-time job, money saved up, and who only really splurges on vidya, the Switch 2 is a total no-brainer day 1 purchase, given just how well the Switch 1 has served me. Either it won't drop in price, in which case delaying the purchase won't achieve anything, or it WILL get an early price drop, in which case I'll almost certainly get a bunch of nifty Ambassador rewards for buying it early, like I got when the 3DS got its early price drop (I didn't even get that one at launch, just when Ocarina of Time 3D dropped).
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@ChristiJunior @rasterman for the most part, as a kid we got games for Christmas and sometimes for birthdays. My siblings and I would often strategize what games to ask for so we could get all we wanted haha. There was also a LOT of game renting, which made things a lot easier on my dad's wallet I'm sure. The only consoles I've ever gotten at launch were the ps4/ps4 pro, because I saved up for them. Everything else was always like a year after launch at least. People are acting extremely entitled about this whole thing man. Especially when I'm sure they've all been paying that much money for slop anyway.
