The fact is that videogames have got incredibly more expensive to make (and maintain - since most generate an ongoing cost after development, which wasn't the norm before 1999), while their price has essentially not followed the general inflation trend. In USD, a loaf of White Bread (1 lb)cost $0.76 in 1994 and $2.08 in 2026. This is 2.73+ times more expensive. A typical SNES SRP was $49.99 – $59.99, for some games with more Mbits of storage for the cartridge, $69.99 – $74.99. If prices for videogames are now reaching $79.99 then at best prices have risen by 1.6 times, or have in fact not risen at all if you take the larger figure. This is why it takes crazy numbers to break even. When I went to study video games development at Uni, I still remember when our lecturer (a former Gremlin software engineer and graphics engine creator) told us that we are essentially trying to enter a rock star industry. Most of us would not make it, not even to the doorsteps of a software developer.
And he was right. Gamers think they have a unique right to getting cheap (or free) games. It's unrealistic.
