Considering Inflation, 80 Dollars for New Video Game Seems Fair

Everything is more expensive nowadays. It’s all going to hell, and we’re only gonna dig deeper. And everyone seems to harp on the Switch 2 costing too much with their 80 dollar games.

Nintendo raising its prices makes sense, because in terms of actual purchasing power, video games are more affordable than they were historically.
Let’s look at historical pricing and inflation-adjusted values:

In 1986, Super Mario Bros. 2 launched for $40 in the U.S.

That’s 118$ in 2025 money.

Well, maybe that’s because video games were a relatively new technology.

Here are some other comparisons:

1996 (N64): Super Mario 64 launched at $59.99 → ~$117 in 2025

2006 (Wii): Twilight Princess launched at $49.99 → ~$75 in 2025

2017: Breath of the Wild launched at $59.99 → ~$75 in 2025

And like, that’s despite massive increases in production costs. Think of how much more goes into games that have much bigger production teams, more QA, Voice Acting, R&D, etc.Game budgets have skyrocketed, but box prices have stayed mostly consistent.

And it’s not even the first time games have been sold for 80 bucks. Like Some Cartriges back then were 70 bucks. That’s 150-180 in todays money. Look it up: Phantasy Star IV (Sega Genesis, $99.99 in 1995), I think Chrono Trigger was also in the high $60s.

The real issue isn’t Nintendo or their Greed (though Nintendo has always been consistent on being greedy and anti-consumerist. You won’t catch me defending them, they’re not your friends).

It’s that inflation is going up, wages are stagnant, and I can buy 10 games on Steam for less than 50 bucks.
If video game costs are your primary spending concern, you’re not doing the worst you could be.
I’m concerned about the cost of food and where I can live. The cost of games was lifted by that same wave that’s lifting everything else up.

That being Inflation, tariffs, COL increases, and shit wages. 80 dollar games ain’t that bad when you have some perspective.