In general, however, you see a clear and considerable downward trend for the annual prizes for game consoles that were released before 2016. After three years on the market, the Median GameConsole cost less than half as much (based on an inflation-corrected basis) during this period as with the launch. Consoles that kept on the market long enough could expect further slow price losie over time, until they sold around 43 percent of their launch prize in year five and about 33 percent in year.
That kind of Extreme Price Nede is a distant memory for today's game consoles. By year three, the Median Console currently costs around 85 percent of its real launch prize, thanks to the effects of inflation. By year five, that median launch price ratio for modern consoles actually raised Up to 92 percent, thanks to the nominal price increases that many consoles have seen in their fourth or fifth year on the market. And the eight-year-old Nintendo Switch currently sells around 86 percent of its inflation-corrected launch prize, or more than 50 percentage points higher than the median trend for previous long-lived consoles.
Although the data is noisy, the overall trend in older console prices is very clear over time.
Kyle Orland
Although the data is noisy, the overall trend in older console prices is very clear over time.
Kyle Orland
Today's consoles have been considerably above the historical price reduction trend for years.
Kyle Orland
Today's consoles have been considerably above the historical price reduction trend for years.
Kyle Orland
Looking at the median, shows how abnormal price trends have become from a historical perspective.
Kyle Orland
Looking at the median, shows how abnormal price trends have become from a historical perspective.
Kyle Orland
Today's consoles have been considerably above the historical price reduction trend for years.
Kyle Orland
Looking at the median, shows how abnormal price trends have become from a historical perspective.
Kyle Orland
To be honest, today's game consoles are not the most expensive industry ever seen. Systems such as the Atari 2600, Intellivision, NEO Geo and 3DO launched money in 2025 at prizes that would be more than $ 1,000. More recently, systems such as the PS3 ($ 949.50 at the launch in 2025 dollars) and Xbox One ($ 689.29 at the launch in 2025 dollars) were considerably more expensive than the range of $ 300 to $ 600 that includes the most consoles of today.
But when classic consoles were launched at such high prices, those prices never lasted very long. Even the most expensive console launches of the past quickly fell in price rapidly that they were three or so by the inflation-corrected prices that were comparable to today's consoles. And classic consoles that had been launched at more reasonable prices usually saw price reductions that brought them into the range of $ 300 (in 2025 dollars) within a few years, making them a relatively bargain from today's perspective.
