Remember when SNES and N64 games cost up to $80.

[Inglorious Man]

So with the rise of games going to $70 it reminds me of when some SNES and N64 games went up to $80. I remember when Chrono Trigger was $80 and Street Fighter II was $70. Also I remember many of Midway and Acclaims games being $70 and $80 like Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam. Though Nintendo games on SNES and N64 were usually at $60. The big reason for this was cartridge manufacturing for SNES and N64 were expensive compared to CD's. It was wild seeing new PlayStation games at $50 and SNES games being $60 to $80. The big difference now is games have DLC and special editions of games.

 

[Taco_Human]

Difference is I'm not buying a PCB with special chips on it. Still just a disc.

Games are huge in general so I get the price hike, but tell me with a serious face if you don't expect micro transactions to still be a part of it and still call it ok.

 

[skeezx]

I spent up to $150 on sfc games ... as a kid mowing lawns

Some of this wringing of the hands is kind of nuts to me but mtx adds a dimension of reasonability to it

 

[smuguire]

I paid $99.99 CAD for the UFC game on Dreamcast on release day. And I think over $100 before tax for FF6. And the dollar wasn't worth nearly what it is now.

 

[RockmanBN]

Wasn't alive then or too young to remember.

 

[Bradford]

I think about it all the time in the context of these discussions. Especially considering the cost of development is much higher.

 

[Deleted member 36578]

Game prices fluctuated like crazy back then. I think my friend spent $90 on Turtles in Time which we promptly beat in like a hour. Lol

I was all about buying cheap game boy stuff.

 

[Aeana]

Phantasy Star 4 was $100.

 

[LelouchViBritannia]

Mario 64 and Goldeneye were worth the $70

Ps5 games are not

 

[Guru Meditation]

It was obscene. Part of the reason why Sony ate Nintendo's lunch imo. Would regularly see PlayStation games at $39 and N64 games at $69 or $79.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

mickey's speedway usa was permanently $99 at blockbuster for some reason

 

[Joshua]

I remember paying close to $80 for Final Fantasy III (6) retail.

 

[jett]

I remember paying a cool $95 for Final Fantasy III on the SNES.

Madness.

 

[JuniperAndSage]

And about $250 if you wanted that import JRPG 2 years early...

 

[Viale]

Game prices fluctuated like crazy back then. I think my friend spent $90 on Turtles in Time which we promptly beat in like a hour. Lol

I was all about buying cheap game boy stuff.

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Holy shit. I'm not one to be like "I should get so many hours out of a game!" but that's pretty ridiculous.

 

[AlexMeloche]

Canadian here. Things are back to these days, it seems. :(

 

[Eeyore]

Wasn't that based on the cartridges that Nintendo were using at the time? At least that's superficially understandable as opposed to what's happening now where it's the biggest publishers raising the prices while they're making billions.

 

[vatstep]

I recall FuncoLand selling Shadows of the Empire for $99.99

 

[NoKisum]

Yeah this is why I don't get the butthurt about game prices going up.

"Ugh, we never had to spend $70 on a game." Bro, we paid $80-100 for SNES games on release and liked it. Just admit your parents bought you everything blindly as a kid and go.

 

[RoadDogg]

The only time I paid $80 for an N64 game was when I bought WCW vs NWO World Tour from Sears. Every other store (Babbage, EB Games, ToysRUs, and K-B Toys) charged $60 for N64 games but they were all sold out and I Didn't want to wait. Even importing VPW 2 was cheaper.

 

[deep_dish]

I think the most I ever spent on a game was WWF War Zone on N64. The game absolutely sucked, but in the summer 1998 there was no bigger game for a teenager.

 

[BlueManifest]

I never saw 80$ snes games, most I saw was 60$

same with n64, carts were always 60$ and discs were 50$

 

[nsilvias]

this is probably why my dad kinda loathed videogames once i started getting into them. he had already delth with having to buy my bro games in the 80's and 90's. when i was growing up games were 50 bucks

 

[Chaosblade]

Yep. That's why I only owned like 5 SNES games (including the pack-in) and like 7 N64 games.

And off the top of my head I think most of those were bought used.

 

[Indelible]

I remember paying $100 for certain N64 games, games have always been expensive in Canada.

 

[Urishizu]

Phantasy Star 4 was $100.

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Came here to post this. I will never forget.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

I would say game prices hit different when it's the 90s and the economy was booming.

 

[808s & Villainy]

My parents only got me used games from Funcoland/Babbages

 

[mute]

Definitely remember paying a lot for SNES games and not a lot at all for PS1 games.

 

[eraFROMAN]

Ridiculous then, especially ridiculous now.

49.99-59.99 USD was the sweet spot if DLC is gonna be normalized, but I expect the "Standalone" DLC to be more prominent to force that extra $30 without the idea that the base game is "incomplete."

 

[Freakylinks]

yep! I remember riding my bike up to walmart and getting street fighter 2 on snes launch day for 76 bucks!

 

[ProtossX]

Yeah remember that giant earthbound SNES box that thing was $80 at funcoland.
WHy are people saying 60 has been around forever I remember those 80 dollar games.

 

[2Blackcats]

For me it was crazy money on some Mega Drive games.

Yeah, madness

 

[skeezx]

And about $250 if you wanted that import JRPG 2 years early...

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My local mom n pop game shop made a killing buying imports and renting em out $10 bucks a pop for 2 days. They were balling enough to turn it into a mini arcade (newest cabinets, i forget the particular games)

FF7 literally ruined their lives as those games were generally localized quicker

 

[Why would you do that?]

Found this image...

Crazy how some Genesis games were 2/3 the cost of the entire system. With $100, you could either buy Strider, or an entire Game Boy with a game.

 

[halcali]

Street Fighter II (SNES) was $89.99 in 1992.

It was worth it, but my mum complained that the game cost about as much as the console ($99.99 at that point in time)

 

[Branson]

Back then I would rent a lot of games though. We didn't buy a lot.

 

[AllThingsPurple]

I think n64 games were like £50-60 but can't remember exactly

 

[SilverX]

I remember being with my mom at Sears, I was really little and just had a PS1 so I thought all games were like $50. Some guy was buying an N64 game and he looked like a sleazy rich guy at the time, ponytail and all, but even he was like "Eighty dollas?! Christ..... what the hell, I'll buy it!" when he was told how much some N64 game was, laughing and looking at people as if we cared. It wasn't till I was a little older where I looked back at that moment and thought "Shit, why was that game so expensive?" lol.

 

[Chief Malik]

Yall boomers was getting fleeced if y'all was paying that. I'd take my ass right to blockbuster or whatever else that existed back then.

 

[NoKisum]

FF7 literally ruined their lives as those games were generally localized quicker

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They must be seething with anger now with more major RPGs getting simultaneous worldwide releases.

Found this image...

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Bruh, Toe Jam & Earl was $100? And y'all complaining about Spider-Man being too much?

 

[Deleted member 25606]

Oh yeah. Especially since that period is when I played the most RPG's in my gaming life, so awesome when I picked up a PlayStation and most games where I was were only around $40 usd at the time.

Actually brought that up in a real life discussion today about the general increase to $70 usd. I understand it was based on the delivery method of chip versus disc, and I know the companies make a lot more, but everything cost a hell of a lot more to make except ironically the actual delivery method which is still disc, or I am going to assume even cheaper when digital. And one thing those games had over now was sometimes cool packaging but almost always a handy and cool manual. Remember when those were more than a cheap insert with the most basic of button layout and corresponding function?

But at the end of the day while I don't like I don't feel there will be anyway to really change it so fighting it is just a waste of energy, I am actually more thankful it has taken as long as it has for prices to reach that point again. I bet you see less first day sales and more tail end legs based on more people waiting for price drops deals and discounts is all.

 

[t26]

Difference is I'm not buying a PCB with special chips on it. Still just a disc.

Games are huge in general so I get the price hike, but tell me with a serious face if you don't expect micro transactions to still be a part of it and still call it ok.

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Difference is game back then weren't made by several hundreds people with motion capture and voice acting. Games like Spider-Man and Demon's Soul probably won't have any MTX

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Mario 64 and Goldeneye were worth the $70

Ps5 games are not

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How can you judge that at this point in time?

 

[Goddo Hando]

god i remember dropping like $74.99 on NBA Hangtime on the N64, but it was worth every penny tbh

 

[Renna Hazel]

N64 is when I started buying my own games and I recall them being 60. I think I'd be willing to pay 70+ for Nintendo games but not many Playstation or Xbox games making that list for me. Hopefully Nintendo stays at 60 for a while.

 

[Version 3.0]

Not only do I remember, I still have some receipts. There were quite a few games I paid $70 or $80 for. And not just on SNES and N64. Genesis games were like that, too. At least, the big releases; Mortal Kombat 2 & 3, Super Street Fighter, NBA Jam. Even Playstation games were $60 that first year, until the N64 arrived and Sony decided to undercut them at $50, which Nintendo couldn't match.

But if you think living through that makes me feel better about the price hike now, you'd be wrong. It's a very different situation, and much more favorable to publishers now.

 

[nihilence]

I was oblivious to game prices during the SNES/N64 era. But $60-70 sounds like a fair price.

I still struggle with the prices, as I tend to be a cheapo. But, what is your time worth, $10/h? Then 6-7 hours would justify the cost. We easily consume fast food for $10, and it's gone.

 

[AwakenedCloud]

How can you judge that at this point in time?

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He's not even taking into consideration that the $70 they were worth in '96/'97 is closer to $115 now.

 

[RowdyReverb]

Difference is I'm not buying a PCB with special chips on it. Still just a disc.

Games are huge in general so I get the price hike, but tell me with a serious face if you don't expect micro transactions to still be a part of it and still call it ok.

Click to shrink...

But dev teams were a fraction of the size and generally spent much less time making each game. I think it balances out, games used to be more expensive material costs aside