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Console Costs Across Time and Instant Emulation of Past Console Hits


On 01/07/2014 at 03:29 PM by KnightDriver

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      Saw this today on my Facebook page. It's kinda cool. Apparently someone put this together on redit and it was reposted on geekxgirls.com (the image is bigger there) and then a friend of mine made a facebook post. It's a chart of all the consoles and what they would cost in today's dollars. The Intellivision at almost $1000? The 3DO IS $1000. Ha! The Colecovision and Atari Jaguar look like real bargains by comparison.

                                   consolestoday

                                       archiveorg

   This other one is an article on archive.org called The Internet Archive Console Living Room. There you can download games that run in your browser for systems like Atari 2600, 7800, Colecovision, Odyssey, Astrocade and SG-1000. Now that's a cool name, SG-1000. Why couldn't they've named the new Xbox the Xbox-1000. Wow! That's so futuristic!


 

Comments

Aboboisdaman

01/07/2014 at 03:38 PM

I'd pay $412 for a NES. That system has brought me infinitely more joy than the PS3. I've heard that NEO GEOs go for a lot... but damn! Money Mouth

KnightDriver

01/07/2014 at 03:48 PM

I'm looking at getting one of those Hyperkin Retron3 systems that play NES, SNES and Genesis games for $70. A new retro game store has opened in my area and I can't wait to pick some old cartridge games again.

retron3 

Aboboisdaman

01/07/2014 at 04:02 PM

I don't know about the Retron3, but I had bought a FC Twin (plays NES and SNES games) awhile back, and that was the best $40 I ever spent. There are usually some compatibility issues with those clone systems. Like no Castlevania 3 or Super Mario RPG. So you might want to do some research before you buy one. Don't forget about ebay too! Sometimes you can find games where the shipping costs more than the actual game lol.

KnightDriver

01/07/2014 at 04:27 PM

No Castlevania III? I AM going to have to look at this thing a little closer.

SanAndreas

01/07/2014 at 07:49 PM

I actually kind of wish they'd come out with Retrons with CD-ROM drives that are capable of playing PlayStation/Saturn/Dreamcast/PS2/Gamecube games, especially now that backwards compatibility seems to be getting rarer and rarer.

KnightDriver

01/08/2014 at 03:26 AM

Yea, I want one for the Sega CD games. I really don't want to have to piece together a Genesis and that CD player again. That was a mess. Seperate power bricks and a connecting wire.

segacd

Just look at that thing. What a monster!

NSonic79

01/21/2014 at 01:45 PM

That reminds me, I need to take a pick of my Sega Beast!

goaztecs

01/07/2014 at 04:19 PM

I remember seeing this on Reddit, interesting stuff. Why I get a kick out of, is that the Jaguar came out in '93 and I think five or six years later, I bought one at Kay Bee Toys for $25 and got a couple of games for $5 each. 

The Dreamcast is a steal just for the homebrew community and emulators along with the actual Dreamcast Library.

KnightDriver

01/07/2014 at 04:29 PM

I got my Dreamcast similarly when Gamestop was just getting rid of them. I seem to remember $20. That thing will never leave my sight I tell you.

goaztecs

01/07/2014 at 04:55 PM

Haha I too got my Dreamcast when it was $20. Awesome console. 

Coolsetzer

01/07/2014 at 06:57 PM

I definitely remember how much everyone complained about the price of the PS3. It's interesting to note that the Nintendo consoles stayed around $200 for for nearly 20 years.

KnightDriver

01/08/2014 at 03:09 AM

Seems like they steadily decreased since the $400 NES. Interesting. I think Nintendo was never about making a premium device to wow your friends with like maybe Sony was. Maybe it's that they tend to aim a bit younger in their audience. 

jgusw

01/07/2014 at 07:19 PM

It's always good to wait for console price drops.  

KnightDriver

01/08/2014 at 03:11 AM

Yea really. The GameCube was the cheapest at $260. The Vita was almost that price. Come to I think of it, I'd like to see a handheld comparison chart now.

SanAndreas

01/07/2014 at 07:43 PM

This is true, but it's only part of the picture. The problem is that whether something is a fair price or not is a matter of perception, and when you're used to seeing $200, yeah, seeing $500 is going to hurt. There is nothing that can be done about simple human psychology, but it is what console makers must contend with, because their job is to persuade the consumer to agree that $500 is a fair price, not the consumer's job to accept $500 as a fair price, especially in a time when there are plenty of other options. The 3DO in particular was kind of a ripoff, but that doesn't make price complaints over the launch PS3 or Xbox One any less valid.

The other problem is that wages haven't kept place with inflation for the most part, so unless your last name is Gates or Buffett, $500 is still a lot of money for most people even if it's worth what $200 was in nineteen-something, and especially when there are other, much cheaper options. The mobile market, with all the freemium and 99-cent garbage glutting it, is also creating a race to the bottom. When someone tries to put out a good game on mobile platforms, one that's a little more involved and cost a bit more to make than matching three candies, buying darling dresses for your virtual paper dollies, or cutting strings to drop candy in some nondescript googly-eyed creature's mouth, people scream in protest all over the App Store and Google Play. Never mind trying to get those same people to invest $20 or $30 into games like Fire Emblem: Awakening or A Link Between Worlds.

Jamie Alston Staff Writer

01/07/2014 at 10:03 PM

Nice breakdown of the facts, quite impressive.

KnightDriver

01/08/2014 at 03:17 AM

I just started listening to the TouchArcade podcast and I'm hearing them talking about games either being free, or one dollar, or, in GTA: San Andreas case, a whopping $7. You can get an iPad for what these new consoles are going for and most of the games are under $10. Interesting isn't it. 

Cary Woodham

01/07/2014 at 07:49 PM

All I can say is, hooray for the SNES!

KnightDriver

01/08/2014 at 03:19 AM

Very competitive with the Genesis, wasn't it.

It's weird how collectible the SNES is getting right now. I'm looking at getting some games for it, but I'm afraid they are all going to be very over priced. 

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/08/2014 at 12:58 PM

That Dreamcast would look like a bargain, if you and Goaztecs hadn't mentioned the $20 ones you purchased. lol

KnightDriver

01/09/2014 at 02:02 AM

That is a sweet price for the Dreamcast on day-one. If the PS4 was that price I'd have one right now.

NSonic79

01/21/2014 at 01:44 PM

Interesting chat. I tried to show my insurance company a similar list when I had all my systems/games insured but they didn't believe me that was what they were worth. Though I would not be too shocked if that Neo Geo still sold for that price used.

I'm personally holding out for the Retron 5. it's suppose to be able to play NES, SNES, Super Famicom, Genesis, Mega Drive, Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and GBA cartridges! It's also suppose to be able to support original controlers and clean up games so they look better. If it can play Castlevania III I know I'd want to get one.

Xbox 1000? More like Xbox HAL 1000.

"Play my used game."
"I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that."

KnightDriver

01/21/2014 at 04:29 PM

I was just thinking of Neo Geo and how I would probably never play any of those games, but then I realized I had a SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 for Wii that has 16 Neo Geo games.

I didn't know it could do GB carts. That's cool.

I shold have said XB-1000 and that it would come with a custom Kinect renamed GLaDOS that totally f's with you at every oportunity like making you play exercise games instead of Titan Fall.

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