Console Launch Prices (Adjusted for Inflation)

[IntvGene]

Well, just for the fun of it, I thought I would throw DP's original post about console prices at launch through the inflation adjuster. I used this one here: http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/index.cfm. Here are the prices in 2003 dollars:

Atari 2600 (1977)
Original price: $249
After inflation: $754.40

Intellivision (1979)
Original price: $299
After inflation: $756.15

Commodore 64 (1982)
Original price: $595.95
After inflation: $1141.54

NES (1985)
Original price: $199
After inflation: $339.56

3D0 (1992)
Original price: $699
After inflation: $914.73

SNES (1991)
Original price: $199
After inflation: $269.59

Of course, there are faults with this... although they are adjusted for 2003 dollars, the inflation rate each year is calculated for a basket of goods, not just electronics. It also isn't really fair to do them for electronics, because of the changes in electronics and their manufacturing have drastically changed things.

The one thing I think it does highlight is how much of an investment that Atari or Intellivision was back then.
And, the 3DO launch price still looks bad in 1992 or 2003 prices. :)

[WiseSalesman]

And, the 3DO launch price still looks bad in 1992 or 2003 prices. :)

So does the C64 price! Great googaly moogaly! :eek 2:

[nesuser2]

that's hilarious........i went to a garage sale and walked up on a bunch of C64 stuff and since it was before my era......it didn't jump right out as a commodore 64 so i scanned it over. this was a big box full of stuff......unit, drives, books of disks, printer, and all sorts of joysticks. so i was like hmmm, box says $5........so i get ready to walk into the garage, and i see nobody. when i walked into the garage...on the other side of the post...where she couldn't see me checking this stuff out, she walked around and slapped a Free!! sticker on the box. said her husband was a programmer or something of the sort and they always have tons of computer stuff. said something like she would be in trouble if he found out she gave it away. so.......what i'm getting at, she gave me something that cost them $600.......and not to mention all the joysticks and software and the printer. before inflation i'm sure all of this stuff cost around $1500 new. and many years later they give it away LOL and i was sucker enough to believe it would be worth anything :angry: (but it was free!!)

[lendelin]

Great work, IntvGene, it demonstrates, as a rule, systems became more affordable today (the prices for games adjusted for Purchasing power are even much more significantly lower today)

[Ed Oscuro]

And, the 3DO launch price still looks bad in 1992 or 2003 prices. :)

So does the C64 price! Great googaly moogaly! :eek 2:

Even funnier is the fact that good PCs or Applie computers could cost you $2000+ in 1986 :D

[Flack]

The C64 seems like the only thing on that list that doesn't seem that bad. I mean, now of course people think they are outdated, but people nowadays spend $1000+ on computer systems all the time.

The NES and SNES on that list are ballpark nextgen console prices. Which at the time, they were.

[Sylentwulf]

Now do it for the game carts themselves, Adjusted for inflation, games are cheaper now than ever before, a $50 Atari 2600 game is what, $151.00 for ONE game Cart :eek 2: Hope I didn't just depress the hell out of anyone who bought pacman or E.T. on launch day.