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How Much Did It Cost? Launch Prices of Famous Products

How much did it cost? Here are the stories behind famous products from Price Time Machine. How much did the first iPhone cost? What was the Nintendo 64’s launch price? Each page gives the original US launch price, the release date, where it came from and the price in today’s money.

The original Apple Macintosh. How much did it cost? $2,495 in 1984.
Photo: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

We research every page from the sources it lists. Today’s prices use official US inflation data (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. We compare the launch month with the latest published month, and the prices update automatically.

Big purchases

Polaroid Land Camera Model 951948 · launched at $89.75Cadillac Eldorado Brougham1957 · launched at $13,074Xerox 914 copier1959 · launched at $27,500Learjet 231964 · launched at $540,000Cray-1 supercomputer1976 · launched at $7.9 millionSony Walkman1980 · launched at $200Motorola DynaTAC 8000X1984 · launched at $3,995Cadillac Allanté1987 · launched at $54,700Ford GT (2005)2004 · launched at $139,995Amazon Kindle2007 · launched at $399Apple iPhone2007 · launched at $499

Cars & transport

Chrysler Airflow1934 · launched at $1,345Porsche 3561948 · launched at $3,750Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing1954 · launched at $6,820Edsel Ranger1957 · launched at $2,484Chevrolet Corvair (1960)1959 · launched at $2,038Citroën ID191959 · launched at $2,833Buick Riviera (1963)1962 · launched at $4,333Ferrari 250 GTO1962 · launched at $18,000Ford Mustang1964 · launched at $2,368Lamborghini Miura1966 · launched at $20,000AMC AMX (1968)1968 · launched at $3,245Subaru 3601968 · launched at $1,297Chevrolet Vega1971 · launched at $2,090

Food & drinks

Swanson TV Dinner1953 · launched at $0.98AriZona Iced Tea (big can)1992 · launched at $0.99KFC Double Down2010 · launched at $4.99

Gaming & tech

HP-35 Calculator1972 · launched at $395Sears Tele-Games Pong1975 · launched at $98.95Apple I1976 · launched at $666.66Fairchild Channel F1976 · launched at $169.95Apple II1977 · launched at $1,298Atari 26001977 · launched at $199Commodore PET 20011977 · launched at $795TRS-80 (with monitor and tape recorder)1977 · launched at $599Apple III1980 · launched at $4,340IBM Personal Computer1981 · launched at $1,565Xerox Star 80101981 · launched at $16,000Commodore 641982 · launched at $595Timex Sinclair 10001982 · launched at $99.95Apple IIe1983 · launched at $1,395Coleco Adam1983 · launched at $725Compaq Portable1983 · launched at $2,995Apple Macintosh (128K)1984 · launched at $2,495NES / Famicom1985 · launched at $179.99Apple Macintosh Plus1986 · launched at $2,599NeXT Computer1988 · launched at $6,500Game Boy1989 · launched at $89.95Sega Genesis / Mega Drive1989 · launched at $189.99TurboGrafx-161989 · launched at $199.99Super Nintendo (SNES)1991 · launched at $199.99Apple Newton MessagePad1993 · launched at $699Sega 32X1994 · launched at $159.99PlayStation (PS1)1995 · launched at $299Sega Nomad1995 · launched at $179Apple Pippin @WORLD1996 · launched at $599Nintendo 641996 · launched at $199.99PalmPilot Personal1997 · launched at $299Game Boy Color1998 · launched at $79.95PlayStation 22000 · launched at $299Power Mac G4 Cube2000 · launched at $1,799Apple iPod2001 · launched at $399Microsoft Xbox2001 · launched at $299.99Nintendo GameCube2001 · launched at $199.95Xbox 3602005 · launched at $299.99Microsoft Zune 302006 · launched at $249.99Wii2006 · launched at $249.99MacBook Air (first model)2008 · launched at $1,799Apple iPad2010 · launched at $499Nintendo 3DS2011 · launched at $249.99Google Glass (Explorer Edition)2013 · launched at $1,500PlayStation 4 (PS4)2013 · launched at $399Xbox One2013 · launched at $499.99Amazon Fire Phone2014 · launched at $199Apple Watch Sport2015 · launched at $349Nintendo Switch2017 · launched at $299.99Meta Quest 22020 · launched at $299PlayStation 5 (PS5)2020 · launched at $499.99

Toys & childhood

Barbie1959 · launched at $3Rubik's Cube1980 · launched at $1.99Tamagotchi1997 · launched at $17.99Furby1998 · launched at $29.95

Guess before you look

Every product here is a real question in Price Time Machine, the free daily game where you pin where things came from on a map and guess their launch price.

Play today’s daily challenge  →

How much did it cost? Some favourites

Why launch prices matter

A launch price shows how big a purchase really was. A $2,495 computer in 1984 was a huge expense for most families. Inflation makes old prices look small, so we always show both figures side by side.

Prices are the US launch price in US dollars. Some products launched in other countries first, and each page explains where it came from.