Comparison of Every Home Console Launch-Price from the Beginning of Gaming
We're well into the 8th Generation of gaming. With the high price-tags on consoles today, many have wondered how our prices compare to consoles of the past. Well, it turns out, consoles have always been expensive.
Below is a complete list of major gaming consoles along with their launch year, launch prices (USD), and the gaming generation they belong to.
| Console |
Launch Date |
Launch Price | Gen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnavox Odyssey | Aug 1972 | $99.99/$561.48 | 1st |
| Farichild Channel F | Nov 1976 | $169.99/$701.07 | 2nd |
| Atari 2600 | Sep 1977 | $199.99/$774.62 | 2nd |
| Intellivision | Jan 1980 | $299.99/$854.54 | 2nd |
| ColecoVision | Aug 1982 | $199.99/$486.45 | 2nd |
| Atari 5200 SuperSystem | Nov 1982 | $269.99/$656.71 | 2nd |
| Nintendo Entertainment System | July 1983 | $199.99/$471.31 | 3rd |
| Sega Master System | Oct 1985 | $199.99/$428.30 | 3rd |
| Atari 7800 | June 1986 | $139.99/$299.81 | 3rd |
| TurboGrafx-16 | Oct 1988 | $199.99/$413.22 | 4th |
| Sega Genesis | Oct 1988 | $189.99/$376.96 | 4th |
| Neo-Geo | Jan 1990 | $649.99/$1,167.31 | 4th |
| Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Nov 1990 | $199.99/$359.16 | 4th |
| Phillips CD-i | Dec 1991 | $699.99/$1,206.34 | 4th |
| Atari Jaguar | Nov 1993 | $249.99/$406.08 | 4th |
| Neo-Geo CD | Sep 1994 | $299.99/$475.13 | 4th |
| Sega Saturn | Nov 1994 | $399.99/$633.51 | 5th |
| PlayStation | Dec 1994 | $299.99/$487.30 | 5th |
| Nintendo 64 | June 1996 | $199.99/$299.18 | 5th |
| Dreamcast | Nov 1998 | $199.99/$287.99 | 6th |
| PlayStation 2 | March 2000 | $299.99/$408.91 | 6th |
| Nintendo GameCube | Sep 2001 | $199.99/$265.21 | 6th |
| Xbox | Nov 2001 | $299.99/$397.82 | 6th |
| Xbox 360 | Nov 2005 | $399.99 - $299.99/ $480.73 - $360.54 |
7th |
| PlayStation 3 | Nov 2006 | $599.99 - $499.99/ $698.57 - $582.14 |
7th |
| Wii | Nov 2006 | $249.99/$291.06 | 7th |
| Wii U | Nov 2012 | $349.99 - $299.99/ $357.81 - $306.69 |
8th |
| Ouya | June 2013 | $99.99/$100.75 | 8th |
| PlayStation 4 | Nov 2013 | $399.99/$403.02 | 8th |
| Xbox One | Nov 2013 | $499.99/$503.78 | 8th |
Moral of the story? We probably shouldn't be complaining so much about console prices. It seems as though consoles have always had a relatively similar price range, but when considering the adjustment due to inflation, today's consoles are drastically cheaper.
This is especially true when compared to the Phillips CD-i and Neo-Geo, which take the first and second place for most expensive console, respectively.
The cheapest of all, with inflation considered, is the OUYA micro-console. This makes sense, as it has relatively low specs and was designed to run processor-light Android-based games.
However, when focusing on base-price alone, Ouya ties with the first home console ever released, the Magnavox Odyssey. It's nice to see that $99.99 price point has returned, even if it was attached to a micro-console. Could we see this price re-adopted into traditional home consoles in the future? I sure hope so.
amaadify
Amaad Delmar is a senior double majoring in Game Design and Creative Writing (May 2015 graduate). He's an avid gamer, and narrative creationist. Amaad's favorite game is the best game ever made (whether you like it or not): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Source giantbomb.com
-
All I see is that Nintendo and Sega had better prices than anyone else... and the consoles were better. Because they had better game support and less bitching at each other like Microsoft and Sony do.
-
Very interesting reading. I was expecting the older consoles to be dramatically higher (like PCs were when they first came out... I remember our first desktop could have brought some serious hardware in this day ad age)
-
I was surprised at the "inflation cost" of some of the originals. But your right, it seems that the price of consoles has pretty much stayed in a range over the years and if you add in the constant improvement of graphics and gameplay, it's really not horrible considering.
-
Yeah, it definitely surprised me that the consoles were able to sell at virtually the same price after the game market crash of 83. Though,a great deal of the marketing did go toward switching public perspective on games to being children's toys and family entertainment devices. I guess it worked!
-
Most concerning of all, only took a year and some change to inflate yet another $4. Ugh.
-
Which is weird... in the UK inflation was less than £1 this year, and last.
