Video Game Console Release Costs Adjusted for Inflation (1975-2025)

Video Game Console Release Costs Adjusted for Inflation (1975-2025)

Video Game Console Introduce Rates With Time

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While home console gaming’s share of the video gaming sector market has been reducing over the years, many gamers still turn to trusted favorites like the PS5 or Nintendo Switch to submerse themselves in the best games on the marketplace.

This visualization shows the launch costs of numerous video game gaming consoles, adjusted for rising cost of living and categorized by their maker (Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and others), using information from Inflation Terminal, in addition to additional information for particular console design costs from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and Shutoff. Inflation was determined as of August 2025, utilizing data from the united state Bureau of Labor Data.More Here retrogamingcollector At our site

Launch years are for The United States and Canada, and console costs are for launch variations of consoles unless otherwise noted.

  • For the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the 20GB variations were made use of.
  • For the PlayStation 5, the disc compatible variation was utilized.
  • For the Steam Deck, the 64GB version was made use of.

Which Console Had the Most Pricey Introduce Price?

Below, we show the launch cost for each console in its initial cost and in 2025 bucks, in addition to its launch year, and its maker.

Console Launch Year Original Price Readjusted Price (August 2025) Maker
Atari 2600 1977 $199 $1,020 Atari
Intellivision 1980 $299 $1,193 Mattel
Atari 5200 1982 $269 $864 Atari
ColecoVision 1982 $175 $564 Coleco
NES 1985 $199 $576 Nintendo
Master System 1986 $200 $571 Sega
Atari 7800 1986 $139 $402 Atari
TurboGrafx-16 1989 $199 $503 Hudson Soft & Nec Home Electronics
Sega Genesis 1989 $189 $477 Sega
Atari Lynx 1989 $179 $451 Atari

Looking back, a few of the earliest gaming consoles were relatively costly when adjusted for inflation, making them luxury items for lots of houses at once when gaming consoles were rivaling the supremacy of arcades in both popularity and top quality.

Changed for rising cost of living, SNK’s Neo Geo console was one of the most pricey video game console at launch. Launched in 1990, the Japanese console sold for $649, which is about $1,552 in 2025 dollars.

The Neo Geo video game system referred to both the business’s arcade system and home video game console, and was praised for its premium hardware and 2D graphics at the time. Neo Geo video game titles frequently retailed for over $200 each at the time, and were indicated to be specifically the same as its gallery counterparts.

The 3DO Firm’s Interactive Multiplayer console came in at a close 2nd, retailing for $699 in 1993, which is about $1,510 today, adjusted for rising cost of living. The 3DO Company was an American computer game business founded in 1991 by Electronic Arts owner Trip Hawkins, and went bankrupt in 2003.

One of the most economical computer game console at launch was Nintendo’s Video game Young boy Shade, an 8-bit handheld console launched in 1998 for $79, which has to do with $153 in 2025 dollars.

The Video Game Kid Shade was the successor to the extensively effective original Video game Kid, and its most significant brand-new function was the intro of full-color gameplay.

PS5 Pro Includes a Hefty Price Tag

The future PlayStation 5 Pro is priced at $699, making it the most expensive console in the PlayStation lineup, substantially greater than the PS5, which launched at $499, and the PS4 Pro, which debuted at $399.

In contrast, both the PS4 and PS4 Pro were released at the exact same cost point of $399, highlighting a raw rise in pricing for the most up to date generation of consoles.

Even when adjusting prices for rising cost of living, the PS5 Pro’s launch price is just defeated by the Playstation 3, which had an infamously high launch cost in 2006 of $499 ($780 when adjusted for rising cost of living).

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To find out more concerning the pc gaming industry, take a look at this visuals that reveals the most preferred pc gaming genres by generation.

Video Game Console Release Costs Adjusted for Inflation (1975-2025)
Video Game Console Release Costs Adjusted for Inflation (1975-2025)
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