Share.

    42 Comments

    1. TraditionalTackle1 on

      I remember clipping coupons out of the Toys R Us catalog for Donkey Kong Country. 

    2. doctorthemoworm on

      Yeah, some cartridge games cost a bunch back then, so we just rented from Blockbuster or local rental places back then most of the time.

    3. AcesSmokedKipper on

      Zelda II was $70 when it came out.

      Not many other hit the $70 tag for many years after

    4. Games could be super expensive, it’s why a lot of my collection from my youth was built on Blockbuster or other video stores selling used rental games. Buying a game was like a once or twice a year event.

      That said, cartridges were expensive to produce, very limited since you had to buy them specifically from the producer (Nintendo in this case), and when games went to disc, they got cheaper and more accessible.

    5. N64 games were hella expensive compared  to PS1 games.  

      Lots of them were 60 to 70 bucks.

    6. mustbeshitinme on

      My folks bought us an Atari($99) for Christmas when they first came out, then we had to play the damn games that came with it because space invaders and asteroids were $49 and no way in hell they were paying that.

    7. DefiantRadish1492 on

      I saved my birthday and Christmas money and every penny in between and got my 64 for $199.99. My brother thankfully saved $70 so we could get a game for it the same day. A lot of the early games we played were rentals.

    8. EvilTodd1970 on

      Yes. Games for the Super Nintendo were 50 and 60 dollars in the early 90’s.

    9. skaterstimm on

      that is why it is kind of ridiculous that people are complaining about $84.99 aka $14.99 more 30 years later.

    10. Yes!! All desirable games since around 1990 have been between $60-$100. This shit is not new.

    11. HighSeasArchivist on

      Yes, even NES games were $60. This is why I can’t take the children today seriously when they’re whining about game prices. 

    12. We got our money’s worth, though. We played it and replayed it, often loaning it out to friends and playing it altogether at sleepovers.

    13. I payed Kaybee Toys $79.99 for Mortal Kombat II [snes]. This was the first game I bought.

    14. phunkydroid on

      People complain about game prices but it’s amazing that they haven’t risen with inflation, considering how much more work goes into making modern games.

    15. Senator-Dingdong on

      I distinctly remember paying $110AUD for Turok on N64 back in 1997, in 2025 money that’s a whopping $234AUD or $169US, €145. I remember absolutely hating the game and regret it.

    16. Indeed it was. Cartridges were expensive. SNES and genesis games were up at $60 and some up to $80 as well.

    17. ripyourlungsdave on

      Goldeneye was $90 at my local store back at release.

      That’s what I keep trying to tell you people. Y’all are all freaking out about these price increases, but prices have somehow magically stayed the same for 30 years now. In some cases, its even cheaper.

      Doesn’t mean I’m defending Nintendo, they can absolutely afford to sell at the regular price.

      But prices are not going as crazy as everyone acts like they are. To count ourselves lucky that we were paying the same price for this long. Especially considering most of these console developers sell their consoles at a loss with the understanding that they’ll make it back up in first party game sales.

    18. Mate I remember when my mother bought me Kid Icarus for NES when it came out for my birthday. It was $60, and that was $60 in 1980’s dollars.

    19. djdiphenhydramine on

      Yeah, the way that games have jumped from $59.99 to $69.99 or so and people act like it’s the end of the fucking world for some reason is SO weird to me. We were paying close to $70 for games you could beat in like three hours back in the 1990s. Video games being expensive is NOTHING new, and I feel like people are completely ignoring the way things have been historically just so they can have something to complain about.

    20. UltraFanatic on

      Aye, but look at that console price. Compared to almost 1k for PS5 pro, which won’t likely last as long as the old catridge systems. Heck my SNES and N64 outlasted my PS3 and PS4.

    21. grassesbecut on

      This is the reason why I never really got into video games as a kid. Parents couldn’t afford it.

    22. three-sense on

      We paid $72.99 for Street Fighter II on SNES in 1992!

      I still am kind of surprised that the current $69.99 price for games was the subject of aggression. This is a situation for the James Franco “first time?” meme

    23. Rallythebeast on

      Yep, modern games technically cost less for the consumer (but are more expensive to produce) than ever before.

      I remember paying a similar price for OoT and MM when they came out, as well.

    24. We’ve shifted to controllers being 1/3 of the price of the console instead 🙁

    25. Final Fantasy, NES. $49.99. 1990. People complain about today’s prices and hikes show their lack of age.

      Every new snes cart was $59.99. Atari games prior to NES were higher in early years.

    Leave A Reply