One of the interesting things about Nintendo is they’re a stickler for finding a price point that is good for the market both in terms of their bottom dollar and the consumer. Their first four consoles all launched at the same price point. It wasn’t until the Wii debuted at $250 here in the United States that we saw a general rise in console pricing.
The Wii U is Nintendo’s most expensive home console ever in terms of launch price, but that’s not really the case when you adjust those launch prices for inflation. When you do that, it turns out it’s the NES that’s the most expensive comparatively speaking. In fact, the introduction of the SNES caused some parents to rant that Nintendo was only after their money.
Check out this news report from 1991, with parents accusing Nintendo of releasing a new console to capitalize on making more money.
Curious about the inflated launch costs of other Nintendo consoles? Check it out:
SNES Classic – $79.99
