Keeping in mind at this point both the PlayStation and Saturn were out, and the SNES was a 5 year old console.
Keeping in mind at this point both the PlayStation and Saturn were out, and the SNES was a 5 year old console.
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The used SNESs I’ve seen aren’t far off that price now
I wanna see the original
CD’s are still $15, movies are still $20, books are still $20
Can gaming execs stop coming on reddit and pushing their “we gotta keep up with inflation bro” narrative? And gaming market has grown the most too since the 90’s
The controller price disparity is wild. I’d love to be able to replace my drifting POS Playstation 5 controllers for $30.
Cartridges were more expensive to manufacture than CDs/DVDs. Digital downloads mean you don’t own games or have resale value, a sealed copy of Mario is practically an investment. There are no printed manuals with cool pictures anymore.
I love the original pic people acting like games werent 60-70 bucks back in the day. They always stop having anything to say when you show it to them.
Can you imagine paying 118$ for madden 97 😀 ?
A controller for under 30 dollars…
Yoshi’s island sold 4 million copies, at $100 each that’s 400 million in revenue in 2024 dollars.
Super Mario Odyssey sold 27 million units. At $60 each that’s 1.6 BILLION dollars in revenue.
Games might effectively be cheaper these days but the video game market is so much larger it overwhelmingly makes up for the lower prices. These companies are still making money hand over fist, especially when you factor in things like microtransactions.
War of the gems was my all time favorite blockbuster rental
Yeah but how much did the rest of life cost 30 years ago compared to now?
We owned the console but practically no games. It makes sense why we did game rentals! I miss those days, where you could just bring any cartridge home and play it with no issues.
The SNES will remain a prime of example of being a console that did not have to be cutting edge for it’s time to still be a fantastic console. In the time since the PS1 and Saturn launched in 1994 in Japan, the SNES still had all time classics released that kept Nintendo very much in the race. Super Metroid, the DKC trilogy, Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario RPG. The list goes on and on.
I was working the video game section at Toys r Us in 1996. Used to ride razor scooters around the store.
In the UK the console was about £100 at that point, arguably even less since there was often bundles.
Also in those days you could go to different stores and barter i.e one store has console and game for £120, another is £140 go to store 2 that has it more expensive and not only would they price match but throw in extras like controllers and maybe even a cheaper game too.
“People shouldn’t complain about 70 dollar games in 2024 because games in 1996 were 150 dollars.” I hate this argument because it is very disingenuous. Economics and pricing isn’t that simple.
Please explain to me how come a flat-screen tv in 2001 costs 10.000 dollars but only 500 dollar in 2024. How come a computer in 1980 costed 20.000 but I can now buy a more powerful laptop for just 400 dollars? How come most people couldn’t afford a car in 1950 but everyone has one now? How come my parents could buy a house for 10.000 bucks in 1970 and I will never be able to afford a house?
There are many factors that determine a products price and it’s the same for videogames. You can’t just point at prices from 1996 and act like that’s proof that 2024’s prices are fine. It was totally different time with a different economy.
Inflation is not a good argument to use when comparing with todays prices because it assumes wages, bills and everything all were adjusted according to inflation, which they clearly weren’t btw, and would totally rob the purpose of a government inflating their currency.
I would absolutely pay $104.29 for Yoshi’s Island and it would be worth every penny if it were the only way to play it today.
I still remember begging my mom to buy me it when I was a child. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have been upset if she had said no because it was too expensive. I’m so glad she got it for me though! I still have it stored somewhere along with all the games I had on it
Cool. Now do the PS1.
Now adjust the average wage at the time for inflation.
Isn’t this from Canada?
I just looked at the Argos catalogue for Autumn/Winter 1996/97 and SNES games in there were selling for £18.99 or £36.30 in today’s money. I find it hard to believe that those numbers are US dollars.
Damn, I’ve only seen this same post 500 times today.
remember though
Console game with 2 controllers and a game..
Not to take away that games should cost more than 100 dollars, but I think it would be better for the industry if there was more flexibility in pricing based on what you’re getting. Baldurs Gate 3 physical release is a great example where it’s nearly this expensive with shipping but they’re going above and beyond to deliver a physical product with lots of extras on top of a huge, expansive game. Tears of the Kingdom is another example where they went above standard pricing for that console but it was a much bigger, more valuable game than most. On the other hand games like Helldivers 2 are appropriately priced less than AAA retail since they sell cosmetics etc. Pushing everything into a 60-70 USD box at launch just doesn’t make sense.
Gamers itt seriously whining about how bad we have it nowadays compared to le epic good old days under a picture of DKC2 *with a coupon* still costing $100+ when DKC3 is out already lmao.
This is exactly why I laugh at people who bitch about the prices of games. If they kept up with inflation, you’d be BEGGING for $70 games.
$120 nowadays gets you the “base” game that launches broken but with a functional “cosmetic only” item shop and a battle pass plus the promise of a road map of content that may or may not be abandoned down the road! 🤣🤣🤣
Craaaaazy!!!