Video game console prices have been a subject of debate ever since they were conceived more than 50 years ago, and that debate has been reignited once againwith the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2and its higher price point both for the games and the hardware itself. Gaming can be an expensive hobby, and as consoles get more powerful and games become higher quality, it seems like the prices will keep going up with each new generation, partly due to the actual components, partly due to the loving hand of inflation.
The consoles of old made so many strides in revolutionizing the gaming world from a hardware perspective, introducing new graphical levels, memory speeds, and support for the ever-advancing video game development cycle, allowing makers to push the limits of what can be brought to life on screen. It is also nice to take a moment to appreciate how far the landscape has evolved, and though it is nice to poke fun at and criticize modern companies for their pricing models, console prices were never exactly cheap, and some of the most iconic and respected ones, were locked behind enormous paywalls that tower over the majority of consoles in the modern day.
10Playstation
The Start Of An Era
An absolute icon in the gaming world and a console that spawned several generational titles that still exist today, the original Playstation isamong the best consoles Sony has ever produced, and the games speak for themselves.Resident Evil, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid,just to name a few, and the list goes on and on, spanning all manner of genres and styles, all available on a single console more than 30 years ago. Comparing what was available back then for the price to now feels like night and day, and the idea of being able to access gaming giants and household names for under $300 dollars sounds amazing and hilarious now.
It’s no wonder the console sold over 100 million units across its lifespan, having so much power and so many games, it was hard to choose another console at the time. As the new kid on the block, Sony looked to cement itself as a mainstay in the gaming world and could not have had a better breakout hit than the Playstation. Decades on, the console line contains some of the best-selling names out there, and if it wasn’t for the success of the original, who knows whether the world would have seen some of the breathtaking and awe-inspiring experiences that were hand-crafted just for the later consoles.
9Xbox One
Team Green Strikes Again
The early 2010s were a battleground for gamers of all ages. Some adorned their blue Playstation banners, and others took the side of green, joining the console war between Xbox and Playstation. Before the release of the Xbox One, the competition was fairly tight, with sales numbers being practically identical throughout the lifespans of the previous generation, if not slightly in favor of the Xbox 360. But with classic titles likeHaloandGears of Warbeing exclusive to the Xbox club, Microsoft looked to pull away from the competition with their latest console and keep the competition blazing for years to come.
As it turns out, naming the newest console in the series “One” was a pretty lack-luster marketing tactic, and by the end of their respective runs, the Playstation 4 had nearly doubled the sales of the Xbox One, despite the amazing first-party titles and attempts to set themselves apart like the emphasis on backwards compatibility. In the end, Team Blue triumphed, and ever since then, Xbox has demonstrated that they don’t intend to win a war with hardware, shifting the focus over to Game Pass and acquiring a range of studios to publish games exclusively on their platform and PC. Despite losing the war, the Xbox One was still a great console in one of the best generations of gaming ever, boasting titles likeRed Dead Redemption 2for a price tag that was acceptable for a Christmas gift.
8Playstation 5 Pro
With Great Power Comes Great Controversy
Playstation has had success after success ever since it joined the gaming world, with nearly all their consoles sitting in the top 10 bestsellers list, and the Playstation 2 sitting right at the top. While the Playstation 5 hasn’t shattered any of the company’s top accolades, it was certainly a successful product that demonstrated the power and capabilities that Sony can produce with modern tools. As expected, the console came with a mid-generation revision, in this case being the Playstation 5 Pro, boasting even more powerful gaming capabilities, with a price point that had many gamers taken aback when comparing it to the original.
$700 dollars for a reasonable upgrade is quite the investment,but with the track record Playstation has had with its first-party titleslikeThe Last of UsandGhost Of Tsushima,the latter of which has a sequel on the horizon, the price may be justified, especially when comparing the console price to gaming PCs of a similar caliber. Playstation themselves have even admitted that they don’t expect many gamers to make the switch and that the intention for this revision is to give gamers who want it and are willing to pay a premium, a boost to their performance and capabilities, while they eagerly wait for what’s to come in the next generation.
7Playstation 3
The Golden Era Of Gaming
If two’s a pair, then three’s a crowd, and the Playstation 3 certainly had an absolute audience full of insanely good games and generational titles that not only played great, but are still around today through remasters and a few sequels as well.GTA 5, InFamous, Heavy Rain,just to name a few, the catalog is absurd and in one of the most competitive eras ever, being able to push out amazing game after amazing game, all on a single piece of hardware, is a crowning achievement and showed Playstation’s dedication to the industry and the future of its place in it.
The price back then wasn’t exactly cheap, but it also wasn’t asking too much of the consumer. A sub $500 starting point for a powerful console that would last nearly a decade before needing an upgrade? Sounds pretty enticing. Even adjusting it to today’s standards, the original PS3 comes in just a bit higher than the PS5 pro, and when looking at the exclusive titles that might lure gamers into a big console purchase, the PS3 wins by a country mile, having some of best titles that started entire franchises, and a boat-load of sequels that are still being revised and built upon today.
6Sega Saturn
Born In The Wrong Generation
In the early 90s, the gaming world was fast-paced and growing more than ever, making timing incredibly important for a console launch, asmissing the mark could spell a catastrophefor not only the console’s sales but the company as a whole. The Sega Saturn is an example of a console that arrived too soon to really benefit from the ambition of the creators. It wasn’t exactly lacking in power, but the dual-CPU architecture made it particularly difficult to develop titles for, despite being fairly advanced compared to the competition.
Retailing at $399 back in the mid ’90s, it wasn’t exactly a cheap investment, and bringing that price to today’s standards sends it closer to the $900 mark. Despite a premium price tag, the console still boasted a decent variety of arcade-style games and titles that are still being revised and played today from franchises likeCastlevaniaandSonic. Despite a game library that would raise eyebrows today, the console fell off the shelves after just a few years. It attempted something new and bet it all on the future but was simply pushed out too soon and fell short at the finish line.
4Atari 2600
An Entire Arcade In A Single Box
Few consoles can claim to have shaped an entire industry on their backs, but the Atari 2600 sits firmly among that elite class of exceptional pieces of hardware. Launched in the late 1970s, it was the system that brought video games out of the arcade and into living rooms, helping to establish the idea of a home console market. With titles likeSpace Invaders, Adventure, Pitfall!, andCombat, the 2600 wasn’t just delivering games, it was defining what games could be. Its iconic joystick, wood-grain finish, andinterchangeable cartridges became cultural touchstones, and the foundational design of many genres can be traced back to the games that first appeared on its groundbreaking platform.
When it debuted for $199, the Atari 2600 was seen as a luxury entertainment device, and adjusted for inflation, that price tag pushes close to $1,000 today, placing it at the top tier of historical console pricing. But with not a whole lot of competition around in the early days, the 2600 despite pushing the price a little high, was one of the best options around and the content available on it more than made up for spending a few extra dollars. For a system that used simple graphics and minimal memory by today’s standards, the cost seems steep, but at the time, it was a marvel of consumer technology. The 2600 didn’t just sell video games to consumers. It sold the concept of gaming itself, and its influence on future generations of consoles is immeasurable, laying the groundwork for everything that followed and proving that video games could be more than a fad.
3Intellivision
In the early days of the gaming console world, many companies were still figuring out how to define themselves and understand the full potential of home gaming. Mattel had a vision and shot straight for the stars with the Intellivision, positioning the console as a more sophisticated option to the 2600, with better graphics, sound, and a uniquely styled controller that set itself apart from the rest of the crowd. The games available were generally more strategically oriented, likeAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons,catering to a more refined audience and stepping in a different direction than other contemporary consoles.
Launching at a fairly steep $299, the Intellivision wasn’t exactly aimed at budget consumers, and when adjusting it to today’s standards, the idea of paying over $1200 for a gaming console seems absolutely absurd. The high pricing was a reflection of where Mattel saw the product in the market. A high-end console with a lot of technical ambition that deserved premium pricing to accommodate the advanced interior, which provided some healthy competition in the early console days and certainly had an impact on innovation in the scene and raised the bar for what a home console could and should be.
23DO Interactive Multiplayer
A Revolutionary Product For A Wallet-breaking Price
The future has always been in the minds of console developers, and each one tries its hand at creating an innovative and boundary pushing experience that cannot be found anywhere else. The 3DO was the perfect example of this. Backed by electronics giant Panasonic, it was so much more than a console that could play video games. It was a hallmark achievement in the technology world and paved the way for many successes to follow after it. Multimedia-capable, full-motion video, 32-bit architecture that was years ahead of the curve, and a varied library of titles likeGexandRoad Rash,the 3DO pushed the limits of what was possible at the time and helped thrust the console world into a new era.
Despite the good, the console struggled to gain serious momentum on the shelves, partly due to temperamental third-party support and a fragmented hardware ecosystem that felt disconnected when compared to the competition. And the price certainly didn’t help the sales either, starting at $700, nearly double other consoles at the time, making it a less than desirable console for the average consumer. The pricing was set at that height due to the platform’s open-licensing model, which allowed manufacturers to create their own iterations of the product, but this led to some market confusion and limited accessibility, which hindered sales as a result. It still stands as a significant step along the way towards the future of gaming, despite the pitfalls the product had in its lifespan.
1Neo Geo
A Small Fortune Indeed
An arcade machine that could fit in a TV cabinet right in the heart of the home, the Neo Geo was unapologetically designed for hardcore gamers who wanted the absolute best and were willing to pay a premium. The ’90s was a booming age for gaming, starting with this monster of a machine,boasting amazing ports of classic arcade gameslikeMetal SlugandSamurai Shodown,and delivering an unmatched home experience for the consumer. Part of what set it apart was the gigantic cartridges that dwarfed those currently on the market, as well as a powerful, premium machine that earned it the reputation as being the Rolls-Roye of home gaming consoles.
Adjusting the price for inflation, it stands as the single most expensive individual home console ever released, and even at the time, it wasn’t considered an everyday purchase but rather for diehard gamers looking to level up their gaming setup at home. The sales were nothing to ride home about, but a mass market was never the intention behind the product in the first place. It was designed as a statement piece, the show-off console that spawned a large cult following and garnered plenty of attention in the fighting game community, as well as cementing it as the king of home arcade systems at the time.
