Retro look at expensive computer gaming systems

With all the buzz about Gamestop's super stupid Xbox 360 game bundles there's been a lot of speculation that the packages are the most expensive in the history of video games. Well, I had an inkling that this was probably a bit naive. So I dusted off my retro gaming books and loaded up Firefox and set off in search of the most expensive video gaming systems. Suprisingly, some of the most expensive systems were the most popular and groundbreaking. So here's the list with the prices at the time of release as well as prices adjusted for inflation, as they would be today. I used The Inflation Calculator to help me with price conversions. The main references I used were "High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Video Games" and Wikipedia.org.

The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer - $920.36 (originally valued at $699.99 in 1993)

This games console was the result of a partnership between Panasonic, Sanyo and Goldstar. The console featured an advanced feature set for the time, which was largely under utilised by games developers. All the titles of note were ports from other games platforms. This is a good example of where sticker shock really did put people off; $700 (or nearly $1000 today) was too much for people to pay for such an unoriginal game collection. The one legacy that the console left behind was the start of many of game franchises by EA and Crystal Dynamics. Whilst the system completely flopped, franchises such as Fifa, Need for Speed, Soul Reaver and Gex made their debut on the console, which later led to extended franchises on other (more popular) 32-bit consoles.

Neo Geo - $966.77 (originally valued at $650 in 1990)

 
The Neo Geo, released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK, was technologically years ahead of its time. It features colorful 2D graphics and high quality sound at the level of arcade machines of the day. However, there was a downside, the price. At just under $1000 of today's money, the Neo Geo was an outrageously expensive console. It also featured cartridges that would cost $300 dollars today ($200 then). The console gained a niche following of rich gamers that could afford to buy the console and the games. The main innovation was memory sticks that players could plug into arcade versions of the console, which they could save to, take home and continue on their own console. Neo Geos still reach relatively high prices on eBay.

Commodore 64 - $1207.04 (originally valued at $595 in 1982)

Despite being the most popular computer model of all time, selling between 17 and 25 million units, the Commodore 64 was a relatively expensive games machine by today's standards. However, it offered extremely good value for money by offering unprecedented sound and graphics quality. Around 10,000 titles were created for the computer, including thousands of video games. Even today it has an established following, with several emulators for multiple platforms in development. The C64 would win the prize for best price/performance ratio ever.

Apple II with 48KB RAM - $8560.26 (originally valued at $2638 in 1977)

Ironically this system was extremely popular due to it's low price, relative to the computers of the day. It was the first time middle class families could actually afford a computer. Like it or not PC lovers, this computer practically single handedly created the personal computer gaming market, inspiring home computer/gaming systems like the Commodore 64. Apple Computer itself released some popular titles, like versions of Hangman, Breakout and the popular 'Adventure' game. Steve Jobs' and Steve Wozniak's experiences at the early Atari helped make the Apple II such a popular gaming machine.

PDP-1 with SpaceWar! - $760,410.51 (originally valued at $120,000 in 1960)

This $760k behemoth tops our chart as the most expensive video gaming system of all time. Later on in 1971, Nolan Bushnell created a coin-op version of Spacewar called Computer Space. A series of events with this space game led to him founding the revolutionary game company Atari. Of course there were dozens of university computers used to create games, but Spacewar was the first. It also set the groundwork for game creation today. Spacewar was derived as a way of taxing the MIT super computer as well as demonstrating a consistent framework in a pleasurable and active way. You could say that today's games creation is carried out with exactly the same aims. Game developers are still trying to fully utilise the hardware of their chosen platform, whilst creating bigger and more diverse game worlds all the time keeping the game fun and active! So was the $120,000 that MIT paid for the computer worth it? Well since the Spacewar title developed for the computer kicked off a several billion dollar industry over the proceeding 40 years, I'd say so!

[Update: Due to a reader's request I've put up a preliminary listing of systems with their prices at release and their prices today. I wasn't originally planning on putting this with this article but whatever! I'll add any extra numbers that people want put in, so submit your numbers to the comments thread. Make sure to head over to The Inflation Calculator and calculate how much it's worth today.]

[Update #2: Added Neo Geo]