chuckwalla Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Video game heaven. How I wish I could go back to that time.... $470 for an Atari 800 $310 for a C64 Disk Drive $30 for 10 5 1/4" floppy disks $150 for a Vectrex system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Vectrex for $149.95 looks appealing for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Dart Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 But Pac-Man for $30? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 It seems like a paradox to me. These games and systems are less common now than when they were new, yet the average sales prices in almost all cases are lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50TBRD Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Vectrex for $149.95 looks appealing for sure. Even CIB Systems aren't much more expensive than that these days. I have seen 4.99 sale stickers on games like Star Castle, Polar Rescue and Pole Position which all sell for 100+ these days. I'd take that deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Remember that 149$ from 1983 doesn't equal 149$ from 2013. This graph shows the prices at launch, ajusted according to inflation (as in, how much financial effort/working time would you need to spend to get one now ) : The launch price for the Vextrex here was 200$, but even if you cut 25% off, that's still a whopping 360 (actual 2013) $ you have to pull out of your pocket, NOT 150 actual us$ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSA Starfire Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 1980 UK Tandy Catalogue!! Atari stuff circa 1984. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Looking at Intellivision prices, all the Intellivoice games are priced $5 higher than others, and are not necessarily better games. Goes to show how marketing people work their magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 1980 UK Tandy Catalogue!! Atari stuff circa 1984. More marketing hype. That 1980 Tandy catalog advertises the 2600 Jr. as having 'advanced controllers for precision gameplay'. It shows the proline sticks which were a downgrade from the CX-40 sticks. I wonder how many got suckered in on that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 More marketing hype. That 1980 Tandy catalog advertises the 2600 Jr. as having 'advanced controllers for precision gameplay'. It shows the proline sticks which were a downgrade from the CX-40 sticks. I wonder how many got suckered in on that one? I don't think the Jr. was available in 1980. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 You're right, so the poster must have gotten the years confused on that ad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSA Starfire Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 You're right, so the poster must have gotten the years confused on that ad. Sorry folks it was late. Top page is 1980, next 3 pages are 1984. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 The prices in that TRS-80 ad are completely insane. Looking at the ones in the original post for games here in the US refreshes my memory on why I never had that many games back then. $20 - $30 a game was a hell of a lot to e back then. I remember paying an awful amount for Zaxxon for the CV, around $45 or $50. Had to save up for that one. I distinctly recall my father telling me I was insane for "wasting that much money". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 "$50.00 in 1983 had the same buying power as $117.62 in 2013. Annual inflation over this period was 2.89%." http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm People like to bitch about today's new game prices but they're cheaper than they used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRV Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Of course, wages haven't necessarily adjusted for inflation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 The prices in that TRS-80 ad are completely insane. I remember TRS-80 and Apple II prices being so high that they seemed completely unobtainable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I remember TRS-80 and Apple II prices being so high that they seemed completely unobtainable. Yes, I certainly remember that being the case while looking at ads for the Apple ][. Over two grand to get a complete system. Unless you were quite wealthy, which I wasn't nor am now for that matter, there wasn't a remote chance of getting one. Of coarse now I have several. It really helps when the rest of the word doesn't want them anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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