Even without inflation gaming was just more expensive back in the 90s. Gaming has actually gotten cheaper. I bought games that were anywhere from $60 to $80 back then on a summer job income as a teenager. Or rented games.
And while the mainstream systems may have cost less when they launched there were other systems, Neo-Geo and CD-I for instance, that went for as much (or more) as the PS3 did.
Today's gamers have it made.