Why Are Gaming Consoles So Expensive

By Philip Woods

Why are gaming consoles so expensive? This is perhaps a question many have asked themselves over and over, usually just before they are handing over their debt or credit card to the electronics merchant. Many also ask themselves if it is really worth it, considering how quickly gaming platforms become obsolete.

So what answer can a consumer look for when he or she is concerned about spending hundreds of dollars on a gaming console that may become quickly outdated? The answer to such a question will not likely be found in a popular electronics or entertainment magazine. They generally do not deal with issues related to the high costs of such models and their highly expansive game systems.

Why do consumers worry so much about games and systems becoming outdated? The history of video game consoles can reveal the source of such worry. The very first gaming systems released on the market were the legendary Atari systems. Such systems truly shocked and dazzled people at the time. Even though the games are stunningly primitive by modern standards, they were quite well received at the time of their original release.

At the same time, while some households may have had a home computer, these were just basically word processors, and were still more like an advanced typewriter. Then, almost out of nowhere, the Commodore 64 came out, which was not only a word processor, but could also play games from a floppy disk. There were far more options that Atari, including flight simulation, which was a totally new thing in gaming. This opened up the doors to many air-real combat games, as well as many other combat situations.

To the consumer, it truly did appear that technology radically changed overnight. More and more gaming companies started to appear on the consumer landscape. Nintendo quickly emerged at the forefront and many of the most ardent gamers quickly purchased this system. Nintendo offered some things that no one had seen previously such as the strange fantasy worlds of the Mario Bros.

More and more systems made their debut roughly around the same time. All of these system competed fiercely with one another. Atari was losing ground and tried to keep up but it was quickly fading from the market. Systems such as Intellivision, and ColecoVision had arrived and were doing stunningly well. Out of this new competitive marketplace, it seemed Nintendo, Sega, and Playstation were the real winners since they were a hit with consumers.

The growth of computer gaming expanded as well as graphics and sound on PC games became better. Consumers started to take a second look at computer gaming and this made it a hit once again. As the games became more interactive, more people were drawn to them.

Soon after, the development of the CD game arrived and this was another huge plus. The amount of info capable of being stored on a CD was vast. This further created opportunities for advanced sound and graphics.

It continues to go back and forth between computer games and console games, Once upon a time, console as well as computer games were limited to one or two players. Then it became four, and then it changed to role-playing games. When the internet was born, this opened up a whole new world for the gaming industry. Now if you had a computer, you could play games with people from all over the world. Now, you have gaming consoles that connect to the internet as well. So when you are wondering who to blame for the high cost of consoles, look over at the computer section. - 29852

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