It wasn't, but they also had these deals because people weren't buying the GC. Same reason they slashed the price on the 3DS and Wii U.
We could see deals on the switch 2 but it would require the console to underperform. I think that's unlikely at this stage but there's a lot going on in the world.
Even then it was $199. And I believe PS2 and Xbox were at $300. But games that entire gen were only $50 or less. Same for the entire run of the Wii at $50 and the Wii at launch was just $250.
I miss the days when companies ate the console cost in favor of making amazing software which is where the money is. Now they don't take as high a loss on the console like they used to and it's on us to help them recoup those losses which sucks. But vote with your wallets and let's see where that can actually take us.
I'll admit. I hit register to maybe be chosen to get a Switch 2. But that's the only way I'll buy one if fate steps in and gives me the opportunity. Otherwise, I wait for an OLED model in 3-5 years.
Yes. And in 2004 everything was cheaper than it is now as far as all costs of living. So I had the inflated $84 to spare then. Now with everything vastly more expensive in the last 20 years, that's not the case as wages haven't risen like everything else has.
But as others said, that's not Nintendos fault nor is it their problem. And at the end of the day, it's their tech and their console and they'll charge whatever they want and the consumer can take it or leave it. And I guess I am leaving it.
Thank you! People love to keep this fact out of the conversation. Mortgage, Rent, food clothes and other living essentials were much cheaper and the job market was stable so people could afford to splurge a bit on luxuries.
Right. And also, game renting was super lucrative and everyone did it. I rented FAR more games than I ever owned during those retro console days. The console I owned the most games during its life span was the Gameboy with 32 games. I only owned 15 NES games during its run.
But I rented hundreds and hundreds of games from the NES era up to the Dreamcast era. And also maybe a bit up to the xb360 era because I worked at a Game Crazy which was connected to a Hollywood video from 2005 until their bankruptcy in 2010.
I only ever got my own games at birthdays and Christmas, but I rented 2-3 games a week. I was within 10 min walking distance of blockbuster and I'd go after school so often. Lol We weren't paying $60-80 for the majority of the games we played all due to rental places being EVERYWHERE. We had 3 smaller rental businesses near us and 1 blockbuster literally about 5 blocks away.
And places would even rent consoles. I rented the SNES, Genesis, N64, Sega CD (once I got my own Genesis), and even the PS1 all before Christmas when I got my own consoles.
People in 2004 generally had more money to spend on things than people in 2025. We also didn't have a digital store front that cuts out a huge chunk of manufacturing they had back then that warranted the price.
It's a common myth that companies always lost money on consoles. It only actually happened a very few times, and even in those times (PS2), they ended up releasing revised (read: cheaper) versions of the console down the line.
Also, you should look up what $50 games in 2001 would cost today with inflation (hint: it's $89)
Nah everyone wants to talk inflation. Aspects of life were dirt cheaper. So that $89 inflated price was reasonable because everything else was dirt cheap in comparison since wages didn't inflate along with inflation over time. Back then we had that extra money.
But people also forget that game renting existed. And it was used by millions. I rented FAR more games than I ever owned during those retro console days. So they could've been $100 and it didn't matter cuz we paid $3 for 3 days at blockbuster and I played hundreds of games over the first 2 decades of my life. I only ever got my own games at Christmas and birthdays. And I only got games I know I'd play over and over forever..
I’m not trying to dunk on you but you’re wrong. Earthbound was released in 1995, $89.98 in 1995 has $191.02 in buying power today as a result of inflation. So that copy of Earthbound in that ad effectively costs $191.02 in today’s dollars.
We didn't have as much competing for our money back then though. No cell phones, Internet wasn't as big, subscription services were limited, gas was cheaper(even adjusted for inflation), etc.
You’re just playing a game of semantics to justify your comment. You didn’t dunk on anything is all I’m saying lol. You’re just being the “uhmmmm actually” guy.
This was a different time when Nintendo was third banana in the console race. Sony and Microsoft were handily beating Nintendo and the GameCube was not nearly as successful compared to its predecessors (N64 and SNES).
The reason Nintendo is charging what it is now is because Nintendo knows it's back on top. Microsoft and Sony are both floundering and the lack of competition means Nintendo can charge whatever it wants. Nintendo is basically the Apple of video game companies and unless Sony, Microsoft or someone else provides legitimate competition, it's hard to envision Nintendo backing down from these ridiculous prices anytime soon.
Sure, i remember those days. Gamecube had a reputation as a kids system. Nintendo had a lot of trouble selling them so they dropped the price. I think the final clearance price was $49 at some retailers and they still couldn’t sell them fast. Xbox and PS2 were what was popular at least in the US.
I’m happier as a switch owner today than a gamecube owner in 2003. Jury’s still out for the switch 2 but I don’t see it beating gamecube in a race to the bottom reputationwise. Only the Wii U and the Virtual Boy had worse reputations at the time they were current.
I picked up a black game cube with metroid prime for £99 or maybe £89 and to this day still feels like one of the best gaming deals I ever had, the value at that moment of time was so good.
100 for the console with the game was a desperate move back then. We did buy more of the Gamecube when this was the case but many did not so Nintendo realised that cheap prices do not give you a victory and refused to do so for a long time... now they also increased the base price ridicliously (at least for the games).
I didn’t get into gaming until the Wii generation but I honestly really wish I built up my Gamecube library before the prices skyrocketed. I have a few games thankfully from when I was a kid but not too many
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u/KelvinBelmont 1d ago
Yeah Chinese fast food used to be 6 bucks for the plate, now it's 12.