A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how everything has become more expensive, while pay has gone down. There is at least one exception to the rule though: technology.
For example, a VCR in 1980 cost $200. If you adjust for inflation that would of be $550 in today’s dollars. Considering a Blu-Ray player can be had now for under a $100, that’s not bad. Another example, the first Macintosh launched in 1984 would of cost over $5500 in today’s dollars. An iMac costs about a fifth of that now, and probably has more than 128k of ram.
But, today I want to focus on video games. Video games have become longer and more complex, yet their price has hardly risen. Nintendo games in the 1980s cost about $50, adjusting for inflation it becomes $108. A new game for the Nintendo’s newest system, the Wii U, now cost $60.
Here’s a look of the average price of games for many systems, after accounting for inflation:
| Game | Cost |
| Atari 2600 (1978) | $123 |
| Nes (1987) | $102 |
| Snes (1991) | $83 |
| Genesis (1990) | $83 |
| Playstation (1994) | $78 |
| N64 (1996) | $101 |
| GameCube (2001) | $65 |
| Wii (2006) | $57 |
| Playstation 3 (current) | $60 |
| Xbox 360 (current) | $60 |
| Wii U (current) | $60 |
And here it is in a cool bar chart, for no reason:
Let’s not forget constant deals on services like Steam that let you get games at crazy cheap prices.
In a time where everything from movie tickets, to gas, to whoopee cushions seem to be getting more expensive, it’s nice to see something actually getting cheaper.
