See what retro games really cost in today's money. USD · GBP · JPY
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Average game price by decade
Nominal launch price vs inflation-adjusted to 2026 (USD). Games are cheaper in real terms than they were in the 90s.
Nominal price2026 equivalent
Hours of work to buy a new game
Based on average US hourly wage. A standard NES game in 1987 cost the equivalent of nearly 5 hours of work.
USAUK
Average launch price by genre
RPGs commanded a significant premium — Dragon Quest IV launched at $60 in 1992, equivalent to ~$130 today.
Average launch price by publisher
Did first-party Nintendo titles cost more than third-party? Spoiler: not always.
Most expensive games ever (2026 money)
Phantasy Star IV launched at $99.99 in 1993 — that is over $210 in today's money.
Average game price per console
N64 games were premium — cartridge costs kept prices high even as CDs brought SNES prices down.
Nominal2026 adjusted
How many games could you buy for the price of the console?
The Neo Geo AES launched at $649 — you could buy 14 NES games for that. But Neo Geo games cost $200 each.
Game prices over time
Every game in our database plotted by launch year and price. The steady climb from $20 to $70 is clear.
What did $50 buy in each era?
How many full-price games could $50 get you in each decade — and what that $50 is worth in 2026 money.
Gameflation — Retro Video Game Prices Adjusted for Inflation
Classic game launch prices in USD, GBP and JPY adjusted to 2026
Gameflation shows what retro video games cost at launch, adjusted for inflation to 2026. Browse over 500 games across NES, SNES, Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, Game Boy and PlayStation. See original launch prices in US dollars, British pounds and Japanese yen, plus how many hours of work it took to buy each game at average wages of the time.
Consoles covered
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), Sega Mega Drive (Genesis), Nintendo 64 (N64), Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Atari 2600, Neo Geo and more.
Featured NES games and launch prices
Super Mario Bros. ($29.99, 1985), The Legend of Zelda ($49.99, 1986), Metroid ($29.99, 1987), Mega Man 2 ($39.99, 1989), Castlevania ($39.99, 1987), Contra ($39.99, 1988), Tecmo Super Bowl, Duck Tales, Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads.
Featured SNES games and launch prices
Super Mario World ($49.99, 1990), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ($49.99, 1991), Super Metroid ($59.99, 1994), Donkey Kong Country ($59.99, 1994), Street Fighter II ($69.99, 1992), Final Fantasy VI ($69.99, 1994), Chrono Trigger ($74.99, 1995), Secret of Mana ($54.99, 1993).
Featured PlayStation games and launch prices
Gran Turismo ($49.99, 1997), Final Fantasy VII ($49.99, 1997), Metal Gear Solid ($49.99, 1998), Tekken 3 ($49.99, 1998), Crash Bandicoot ($49.99, 1996), Resident Evil 2 ($49.99, 1998), Silent Hill ($49.99, 1999), Castlevania Symphony of the Night ($49.99, 1997).
Video game franchise price history
Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Castlevania, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear, Pokemon, Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider, Tekken, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Doom, Halo, Call of Duty, FIFA, Assassin's Creed, God of War, Fallout, Fire Emblem.
🏆 Classic Gaming Franchises
Average launch prices across every entry — adjusted to 2026 money. Some franchises cost the same for 20 years. Others quietly got more expensive.
💡 Fun Facts & Gaming Economics
The surprising economics of retro gaming — from cartridge costs to the streaming effect.
WHY YOUR $50 ISN'T $50 ANYMORE
A plain-english guide to inflation and gaming costs
THE CORE IDEA
Imagine a magic shrinking machine that quietly makes your money worth less every year.
Your $50 note still says $50. But each year it buys you slightly less stuff — smaller shopping, fewer litres of petrol, a shorter taxi ride.
That's inflation. Over 40 years it adds up to something enormous.
$50 in 1985 × 3.2 =$160 in 2026
THE SAME PURCHASING POWER — 41 YEARS APART
So when we say Super Mario Bros cost $29.99 in 1985, in today's money that is closer to $96. For a single cartridge.
HOW WE MEASURE IT: THE BASKET
Governments use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — they track the price of a fixed "basket" of everyday things. When the basket costs more than last year, that rise is the inflation rate.
TYPICAL ITEMS IN THE INFLATION BASKET
🍞
FOOD
+178%
🏠
RENT
+412%
⛽
PETROL
+290%
👕
CLOTHING
-12%
📺
ELECTRO
-74%
🏥
HEALTH
+620%
Electronics got cheaper — which makes it even more striking that game prices barely dropped at all.
WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY EARNED
A $50 game means something very different on a $10,000 salary vs a $100,000 one.
THEN — 1983
🇺🇸 USA
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
$15,239
≈ $293/wk
NES PRICE
$179.99
61% of weekly pay
TYPICAL GAME
13.6% of weekly pay
THEN — 1986
🇬🇧 UK
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
£8,900
≈ £171/wk
NES PRICE
£89.99
53% of weekly pay
TYPICAL GAME
17.5% of weekly pay
NOW — 2026
🇺🇸 USA
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
$63,800
≈ $1,227/wk
PS5 PRICE
$499.99
41% of weekly pay ↓
TYPICAL GAME
5.7% of weekly pay ↓
NOW — 2026
🇬🇧 UK
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
£37,500
≈ £721/wk
PS5 PRICE
£479.99
67% of weekly pay →
TYPICAL GAME
9.7% of weekly pay ↓
The UK finding: A NES in 1986 cost 53% of a week's wages. A PS5 in 2026 costs 67%. Console hardware has tracked wages almost exactly for 40 years — but individual games have become far cheaper relative to income.
THE PAIN INDEX
Each game's price as % of the average US weekly wage in its launch year.
Duck Hunt · 1984 ($19.99)
6.8%
Super Mario · 1985 ($29.99)
10.2%
Zelda · 1986 ($49.99)
17%
Street Fighter II · 1992 ($69.99)
22%
Chrono Trigger · 1995 ($69.99)
25% 🔥
Modern game · 2026 ($69.99)
5.7%
Chrono Trigger cost a quarter of the average American's weekly wage. Today $70 games are a genuine bargain by historical standards.
TRY IT YOURSELF
PURCHASING POWER CALCULATOR
AMOUNT
FROM YEAR
CURRENCY
2026 EQUIVALENT
$160
MULTIPLIER
3.2×
That $50 in 1985 had the same buying power as $160 today.