The Evolution of Video Game Consoles: Prices From 1977 to Today

The evolution of video game consoles is partly a story about technology and partly a story about price. Every few years a new generation arrived with sharper graphics and bigger games, and each time the manufacturer had to decide what buyers would be willing to pay. Looking at those decisions in order shows something unexpected: launch prices have stayed within a surprisingly narrow band of roughly $180 to $500 for nearly fifty years.

The Nintendo 64, part of the evolution of video game consoles, launched at $199.99 in 1996. — Photo: Evan-Amos, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Here is a tour of the main steps, with the launch price of a representative console from each.

The cartridge age: Atari 2600 (1977), $199

The Atari 2600 went on sale in the United States in September 1977 at $199, and the box contained the console, two joysticks and the Combat cartridge. Its great idea was that new games were sold separately on cartridges. The Atari 2600 launch price page has the full story.

The 8-bit revival: Nintendo Entertainment System (1985), $179.99

After the American video game market collapsed in 1983, Nintendo reintroduced the idea carefully, selling the NES in a package with a robot and a light gun so that it looked more like a toy than a computer. It launched on October 18, 1985 at $179.99. See the NES price page.

The 16-bit rivalry: Genesis (1989) and Super Nintendo (1991)

Sega’s Genesis cost $189.99 in 1989 and Nintendo’s Super Nintendo cost $199.99 in 1991. These were the first consoles whose marketing openly compared one brand with another. Both pages, the Genesis launch price and the Super Nintendo launch price, explain the rivalry.

The 3D age: PlayStation (1995) and Nintendo 64 (1996)

Sony entered the market in 1995 with a $299 console that used compact discs. Nintendo followed with the cartridge-based Nintendo 64 at $199.99. Between them they made 3D graphics ordinary. See the PlayStation price page and the Nintendo 64 price page.

The online experiment: Dreamcast (1999), $199

Sega’s Dreamcast shipped with a modem built in and 18 games on its first day, according to CNN Money. It lasted barely two years, but it prepared the ground for online play.

The new entrants: Xbox and GameCube (2001)

Microsoft joined the market with the Xbox on November 15, 2001 at $299.99, and Nintendo released the GameCube three days later at $199.95. The two pages, the Xbox launch price and the GameCube launch price, set out how they differed.

High definition: Xbox 360 (2005), $299.99

The Xbox 360 went on sale in North America on November 22, 2005. The basic Core System cost $299.99 and the version with a hard drive cost $399.99. Microsoft’s own press release announced both figures, and our Xbox 360 price page carries the rest.

The modern era: PS4 (2013) at $399 and PS5 (2020) at $499.99

Sony revealed the PS4 price of $399 at E3 on June 10, 2013, $100 below the Xbox One. The PS5 followed on November 12, 2020 at $499.99, or $399.99 without a disc drive. In August 2025 Sony raised the US price of the standard PS5 by $50. The details are on the PS4 price page and the PS5 price page.

What the pattern shows

Prices in actual dollars hardly changed, so once inflation is taken into account the consoles became cheaper to buy for most of the period. A $199 console in 1977 is the equivalent of roughly $1,092 in today’s money, which is a higher figure than most modern consoles cost. What changed is how much came in the box: online services, large storage and, increasingly, games that are downloaded rather than bought on a disc.

Play it yourself

You can test how well you know these figures yourself. Price Time Machine is a free daily price-guessing game, with a new question every day and a way to challenge your friends.

Questions about evolution of video game consoles

What was the first video game console?

The Magnavox Odyssey of 1972 is generally regarded as the first home console. Because early prices are harder to check from primary sources, this guide starts at the Atari 2600 in 1977.

How much did the Atari 2600 cost?

The Atari 2600 cost $199 when it launched in the United States in September 1977.

How much did the PS5 cost at launch?

The PS5 cost $499.99 at launch on November 12, 2020, and the Digital Edition cost $399.99.

Have console prices gone up over time?

In dollars at the time, launch prices stayed between about $180 and $500. Adjusted for inflation, early consoles were often as expensive as, or more than, modern ones.