I am glad I don't PC game much like I used to!


Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Well, anyway, that's what this article* claims, that shows that modern consoles aren't experiencing the same price drops as they age. It used
to be that you'd see significant reductions in sales prices of
consoles as the years went by, dropping down to a third or less of
their launch price within four or five years. But the prices of modern consoles haven't been similarly lowered. They've gone down, sure, but
not to the degree as in years-gone-by.

The reasons for this are numerous. Inflation and tariffs are one
reason, of course; so are disruptions to supply lines and changing
priorities of the tech industry (the AI-bros are paying top-dollar for processors, for instances, causing the fabs to churn out chips for
them and not gaming hardware). Corporate greed certainly plays a part
too.

But let's not also forget that console generations also last longer
nowadays; up until maybe a year ago, the PS4 still topped the PS5 in
daily usage, for instance. This means there is less incentive to push
out NEW models of consoles, which reduces competition... which in turn
keeps prices high. Plus, the biggest market for the cheap console
--the kiddies-- is less interested in dedicated gaming devices, being
more focused on mobile. So the console market is now aimed more at the
adult market... and they have more money to spend.

Whatever the underlying cause, more expensive hardware makes for more expensive games too. The price of the console sets a baseline; an
expectation of what other accessories and games should cost in
comparison. If you're paying $700 for your console, it doesn't seem as outrageous that your games cost $80. That's less the case if your
console costs only $100. And, unfortunately, these assumptions spill
over into the PC market too. If Call of Battlefield CXIV costs $79.99
on the PS5, it doesn't seem that unusual that it costs the same on PC.

Of course, the frugal gamer can make do by sticking to Indie titles,
or the rampant freebies being tossed out by publishers. Computer
hardware, too, is "good enough" that you don't really need to spend in
excess to get good performance. But if it seems like you're spending
more on the hobby than you used to.... well, the numbers show that
you're not wrong about that.

* This article. This one here. It's got some nice charts. Who doesn't
like a nice chart? https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/08/todays-game-consoles-are-historically-overpriced/

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