The Real Cost of Gaming In 2023

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Prices are rising everywhere, and, unfortunately, that includes the gaming industry. Over the last year, several game publishers and developers upped the costs of their games and consoles, and gamers expect further increases moving into 2023. But what is the real cost of gaming in 2023? It might be more than you’re prepared for.

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Despite how it might look, game prices today are a lot cheaper than they used to be, primarily because of inflation. Let’s look at the Nintendo Entertainment System for reference.

When the console was first released, it sold in the US for $179.99, while its games averaged at $45. When you adjust those prices for inflation, today, the system would cost $432.71, with games averaging at $108.18.

Liam Deane, a principal analyst at Omdia, said that if game prices had risen steadily with inflation, games would have cost over $90 today. Fortunately, this is not the case and games today have settled around the $70 price mark, but that is gradually increasing.

One of the main factors behind the price increase in games is that they’re getting more expensive to make. Technology has improved, meaning that the gaming experience has also improved. With this improvement comes the demand for gaming companies to create games that either live up to players’ experiences or blow past them.

PlayStation 5 games can cost more than double the man-hours and resources needed to make PlayStation 4 games. Because of this, game developers have to hire larger teams and take longer to develop new games to ensure that what they give their consumers will outdo their past work and competitors. So it’s actually surprising that games aren’t more expensive with all the costs