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Adjusted for inflation, Legend of Zelda sold for $70.79 in 1987

Always interesting to look back at what prices were and why people are complaining now. :lol

As most games were $29.99 back then ($55.89 in today's dollars), things are just about the same.

I used this inflation calculator: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

And curse you Section Z - ridiculously hard shooter.

1988nintendo.jpg
 
How much was a McD hamburger back then?

You'd get a better picture if you worked out prices in hamburgers rather than money inflation.

(It gives you a better perspective of price comparison to other "typical" goods.)
 

epmode

Member
I love the "artist's interpretations" of Jaws and The Karate Kid.

Bionic Commando looks a little zany too.
 

bob_arctor

Tough_Smooth
King_Slender said:
And curse you Section Z - ridiculously hard shooter.

It was more confusing then hard to me--all sorts of warps get triggered somehow and I'm going "Why the hell did that just happen and where the hell am I?"
 

supercake

Member
$55.89 for Ghosts and Goblins, ouch.

I estimated paying $49.99 for Secret of Evermore in 1995. $69.44.

Gaming has been a steady price it seems.
 
King_Slender said:
Always interesting to look back at what prices were and why people are complaining now. :lol

As most games were $29.99 back then ($55.89 in today's dollars), things are just about the same.

I used this inflation calculator: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

And curse you Section Z - ridiculously hard shooter.

1988nintendo.jpg

You're also forgetting factors such as Moore's Law, and the fact that cartridges were used back then.
 

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
I'd love to see the inflation-adjusted prices for some of Genesis's Mega cartidges (8 Megabit, 16 Megabit, etc.), as well as some of the big SNES games like Final Fantasy.

Crap, Strider, Phantasy Star 2/3/4, Sword of Vermillion, Final Fantasy were like $59 - $69 MSRP back then (and I bought them :p)



Jeepers ... think of Neo Geo 0_0
 

RumFore

Banned
Games where $29.99 back then? No way. Well my neighborhood stores I guess ripped us off. I remember getting 1 or 2 games year because they were expensive for a kid.
 

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
There were quite a few games that sold around $80 and even $90 during that time, weren't there?
 

Chrange

Banned
Adjusted for inflation, making $40,000 back then would be making over $100,000 now. Now THAT I find more fascinating.
 

Chemo

Member
I am pretty damn sure most games were fifty bucks back then, and some were even more... regardless of what that image says.
 

sk3tch

Member
$29.99...seems about right. I just remember my Mom flipping out when she found out that Sega Genesis games were $49.99 - $59.99. She recalled Nintendo games being much cheaper and she was right. Ah...the "old" next-gen tax. :)
 

ElNino

Member
Oblivion said:
There were quite a few games that sold around $80 and even $90 during that time, weren't there?
Yep. I remember paying $115 CAD for Romance of the Three Kingdoms on the NES.
 

Kodiak

Not an asshole.
AstroLad said:
WOW, side-scrolling Zelda ("Adventure Link")? WTF!?

joke post?

first game I ever bought with my own money was Banjo Kazooie when I was nine.

today: 64.91

worth it.
 

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
AstroLad said:
WOW, side-scrolling Zelda ("Adventure Link")? WTF!?

Wait ... are you making fun of the typo for the game ... or are you completely unaware of Zelda 2?

0_0







quit making me feel old, n00b/junior/son
 

Grayman

Member
RumFore said:
Games where $29.99 back then? No way. Well my neighborhood stores I guess ripped us off. I remember getting 1 or 2 games year because they were expensive for a kid.
The prices do seem way to low. Stores probably made money off of games in the 80s.
 

supercake

Member
wackojackosnose said:
How much was a McD hamburger back then?

You'd get a better picture if you worked out prices in hamburgers rather than money inflation.

(It gives you a better perspective of price comparison to other "typical" goods.)

I remember looking at the back of Ninja Gaiden while my mom got me Mcdonalds.
 

MisterHero

Super Member
I remember saving/paying $60 for NES games. 0_0

But Zelda as a Famicom Disc Drive game was 500 yen, if you already had a FDD floppy and didn't want the manual. :O
 

bill0527

Member
Manufacturing cartridges is more expensive than optical media.

Licensing fees were also more expensive back then (which is one of the reasons Sony took the crown from Nintendo back in the late 90's).

While it did not cost as much to make a game back then, games did not sell anywhere near the amount they do today. The gaming audience is also much bigger and diverse.

When you consider these factors, I think it clearly points to inflation NOT being the reason why you have a rise in game prices.
 

Ilchymis

Member
I think the SNES days were the heyday for outrageous prices, especially when you look at them adjusted for inflation.

Earthbound (1995) - $69.99 = $97.22 in 2008 dollars
Street Fighter II (various iterations) - $69.99 between $97.22 and $102.54
Chrono Trigger (1995) - $79.99 = $111.11 in 2008

Them shits were outrageous!
 

Bamihap

Good at being the bigger man
The Dollar isn't very strong at the moment. Your nearing a recession, so I'm not sure if you can compare the economical situations.
 

HoTHiTTeR

Member
astrolad said:
WOW, side-scrolling Zelda ("Adventure Link")? WTF!?
Onix said:
Wait ... are you making fun of the typo for the game ... or are you completely unaware of Zelda 2?

0_0







quit making me feel old, n00b/junior/son

I was in the WTF-boat too until I googled it and realized they butchered the title name.
 

Ilchymis

Member
Bamihap said:
The Dollar isn't very strong at the moment. Your nearing a recession, so I'm not sure if you can compare the economical situations.

Even without adjusting for inflation, SNES titles were some of the most expensive games ever sold in stores. It's crazy looking back at prices, and how much of a family's income was required for gamers to game.
 

MisterHero

Super Member
Ilchymis said:
Even without adjusting for inflation, SNES titles were some of the most expensive games ever sold in stores. It's crazy looking back at prices, and how much of a family's income was required for gamers to game.
It was awesome that Arcades existed at the time.

;_;
 

Grayman

Member
Ilchymis said:
I think the SNES days were the heyday for outrageous prices, especially when you look at them adjusted for inflation.

Earthbound (1995) - $69.99 = $97.22 in 2008 dollars
Street Fighter II (various iterations) - $69.99 between $97.22 and $102.54
Chrono Trigger (1995) - $79.99 = $111.11 in 2008

Them shits were outrageous!
N64 games were really expensive weren't they?
 

soco

Member
most games were 29.99$ ???

i remember NES games being like 49.99$ on average, and i remember harder to find games like Zelda going for more. there was quite a long period where i couldn't find the legend of zelda in stock in my area.
 

Grayman

Member
Guy Legend said:
Adjusted for inflation, I spent $551.61 back in the day for my Sega Saturn. Ha, my 80gb PS3 was cheaper...
PS3 and PS2 in Canada were really close in price at launch times. At least I recall the PS2 as being really expensive.
 

Slightly Live

Dirty tag dodger
Guys, here is an eye opener, Street Fighter 2 for the snes was released over here in the UK in the nineties. It cost £70, which in modern American dollars is 182.588 USD. :lol
 

bionic77

Member
epmode said:
I love the "artist's interpretations" of Jaws and The Karate Kid.

Bionic Commando looks a little zany too.
:lol

Some of those pictures are very sketchy.

Johnas said:
Yep.

I definitely remember paying more than $29.99 for the average NES game though...
My memory might be wrong, but I thought most games were between $20-40 in that era.
 

Jirotrom

Member
KyanMehwulfe said:
SNES games were all $79.99 to $99.99 in Canada.

I remember Microplay wanted $140 for a Chrono Trigger pre-order.

I knew something was wrong with those prices... way to cheap.
 
Wow, a side-scrolling Zelda, looks hot!
I wonder if this was a fan hack of Mario or some weird Chinese bootleg or something.
 

Guy Legend

Member
Grayman said:
PS3 and PS2 in Canada were really close in price at launch times. At least I recall the PS2 as being really expensive.

Yeah, the 80gb and 60gb systems launched in the US for $599.99. I got my 80gb after the $100 drop, so I'm glad the Saturn remains my most expensive console so far. Didn't want to break that record...:D
 
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