Comparison of 1996 game and console prices to today.

[Tamron]

freedquaker said:

In 1996 : 50 percentile HH Income : $35 883  (in 2012 dollars, $ 52 289)
In 2012 : 50 percentile HH Income : $52 173

Playstation 1's relative price in 1996 =  299 / 35 883 = 0.833% of income
Playstation 4's relative price in 2013 =  399 / 52 173 = 0.765% of income (approximated with 2012)

And there you have it, the consoles and games now are cheaper than they used to be, while the prices of PC and PC hardware has decreased SIGNIFICANTLY as technology has matured and improved too.

All in all, in the past, things were significantly more expensive than they are now.