Today's video game consoles are hundreds of dollars more expensive than you'd expect based on historic pricing trends. That's according to an Ars Technica analysis of decades of pricing data and price-cut timing across dozens of major US console releases.
The overall direction of this trend has been apparent to industry watchers for a while now. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have failed to cut their console prices in recent years and have instead been increasing the nominal MSRP for many current consoles in the past six months.
Kyle Orland If the original Switch followed historic pricing trends, it could be selling for a bargain basement $100 to $150 right now. If the original Switch followed historic pricing trends, it could be selling for a bargain basement $100 to $150 right now. Kyle Orland Kyle Orland Even accounting for inflation, some PS5 consoles are more expensive today than they were at launch. Even accounting for inflation, some PS5 consoles are more expensive today than they were at launch. Kyle Orland Kyle Orland Despite cratering Xbox hardware sales, Microsoft has been unwilling to cut prices on Xbox consoles. Despite cratering Xbox hardware sales, Microsoft has been unwilling to cut prices on Xbox consoles. Kyle Orland Even accounting for inflation, some PS5 consoles are more expensive today than they were at launch. Kyle Orland Despite cratering Xbox hardware sales, Microsoft has been unwilling to cut prices on Xbox consoles. Kyle Orland
But when you crunch the numbers, it's pretty incredible just how much today's console prices defy historic expectations, even when you account for higher-than-normal inflation in recent years. If today's consoles were seeing anything like what used to be standard price cuts over time, we could be paying around $200 today for pricey systems like the Switch OLED, PS5 Digital Edition, and Xbox Series S.
Crunching the numbers
To determine the extent of today's relative console overpricing, we dug through old news reports, press releases, advertisements, and store catalogs for annual price data going back to the Atari 2600's launch in 1977. We used permanent MSRP announcements wherever possible so that temporary sales or store-specific closeouts wouldn't affect the data. If a console dropped in price multiple times in one year, we took the lowest price from that year. We then adjusted all the nominal prices for inflation to consistent July 2025 dollars using BLM's CPI calculator.
Kyle Orland Almost every classic console saw significant price drops by its second or third year on the market (and beyond). Almost every classic console saw significant price drops by its second or third year on the market (and beyond). Kyle Orland Kyle Orland Today's console prices, by contrast, have remained stubbornly at or near their launch prices (compare with the pre-2016 graph to see the difference). Today's console prices, by contrast, have remained stubbornly at or near their launch prices (compare with the pre-2016 graph to see the difference). Kyle Orland Kyle Orland Close-up on post-2016 game console pricing trends to highlight the overall flatness. Close-up on post-2016 game console pricing trends to highlight the overall flatness. Kyle Orland Today's console prices, by contrast, have remained stubbornly at or near their launch prices (compare with the pre-2016 graph to see the difference). Kyle Orland Close-up on post-2016 game console pricing trends to highlight the overall flatness. Kyle Orland
The resulting trendlines can be a bit noisy from console to console. Some classic consoles saw significant, drastic price drops after just a year on the market, often before disappearing from shelves altogether shortly afterward. Others stayed at their nominal launch price for a year or three, letting inflation slowly chip away at that value of those dollars before finally dropping the price as a way to bolster lagging sales for aging hardware.