Update: A new rumor suggests that the price of the Nintendo Switch could be approximately $250, thanks to a listing on the Canadian Toys R Us website. (The listing lines up with a report from Let's Play Video Games.) While that price is not confirmed, we'll suspect we'll be finding out about the Nintendo Switch's price in just a few hours when the big Nintendo Switch reveal live stream happens.
With that in mind, check out IGN's look at the historical list of console prices at the year of their launch and what that would equate to at a 2016 price point due to inflation. Recent Nintendo numbers to note are the price of the Wii U, which launched at $299 and $349 price points, which would run about $313.66 and $366.11 today, while the Wii launched in 2006 at $249.99 and would now cost about $297.48.
Read on for a wider look at console prices throughout the last few decades and stay tuned to IGN for more on the Switch.
Original story follows:
But what exactly is the standard for traditional console pricing? Has that standard changed over time, and has inflation altered what we consider "expensive" for these pieces of hardware?Phil Spencer recently spoke out to temper concerns that the upcoming Project Scorpio, an evolution of Microsoft's Xbox One, would have a price point high above the standard for home gaming consoles. Specifically, he noted that players shouldn't be "worried that this thing is going to be unlike any console price you’ve ever seen."
IGN took a look at over 25 consoles, their launch years, prices, and what their current day price would be, adjusted for inflation. Take a look at the table below which compares console prices starting with the 1972 launch of the Magnavox Odyssey through the launch of the PlayStation 4 Pro.
| Console | Year | Original Price | 2016 Price |
| Magnavox Odyssey | 1972 | $99 | $570.44 |
| Atari 2600 | 1977 | $199 | $790.92 |
| Intellivision | 1980 | $299 | $873.97 |
| ColecoVision | 1982 | $175 | $436.78 |
| Atari 5200 | 1982 | $269 | $671.39 |
| NES | 1985 | $199 | $445.44 |
| Sega Master System | 1986 | $199 | $437.32 |
| TurboGrafx-16 | 1989 | $199 | $386.53 |
| Sega Genesis | 1989 | $189 | $367.11 |
| Neo-Geo | 1991 | $649 | $1,147.68 |
| SNES | 1991 | $199 | $351.91 |
| 3DO | 1993 | $699 | $1,165.10 |
| Atari Jaguar | 1993 | $249 | $440.33 |
| PlayStation | 1995 | $299 | $472.54 |
| Sega Saturn | 1995 | $399 | $630.58 |
| Nintendo 64 | 1996 | $199 | $305.48 |
| Dreamcast | 1999 | $199 | $287.69 |
| PlayStation 2 | 2000 | $299 | $418.21 |
| GameCube | 2001 | $199 | $270.64 |
| Xbox | 2001 | $299 | $406.63 |
| Xbox 360 | 2005 | $299/$399 | $368.74/$492.07 |
| Wii | 2006 | $249 | $297.48 |
| PlayStation 3 | 2006 | $499/$599 | $596.16/$715.63 |
| Wii U | 2012 | $299/$349 | $313.66/$366.11 |
| PlayStation 4 | 2013 | $399 | $412.52 |
| Xbox One | 2013 | $499 | $515.91 |
| PlayStation 4 Pro | 2016 | $399 | $399 |
The most common launch price point among the systems included in the above graph is $199, with eight consoles having debuted at that number. (Six consoles launched at $299). Adjusted for inflation, however, most of those systems, including the NES, Sega Master System, and Nintendo 64, would almost all retail today for between $300 and $500. (A notable exception is the Atari 2600 — released in the 70's, the console would now command around a $790 price point when adjusted for inflation.)
Those numbers line up largely within the price range of the last few systems that have been released — The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One's original price points would come to just over $400 and $500, respectively, today, while the Wii U would now cost over $300 when adjusted for inflation. (All three systems now retail at reduced prices.)
Considering Spencer's recent statements, and the trend of consoles over the last several decades, it would not be shocking to see Scorpio fall at the higher end, if not slightly above, that standard $300 to $500 range.
To stay competitive with the PS4 and the PS4 Pro, going far beyond that range would fall outside the norm of the console generations sampled in the chart. Noting groups of consoles released roughly within two to three years of each other, the price differences rarely have varied outside of $100 to $200. (Notable exceptions include systems like the 3DO and Neo-Geo, which, adjusted for inflation, would cost well over $1,000.
For more on the two upcoming pieces of hardware, check out IGN's comparison chart between the PS4 Pro and the Scorpio.
Stay tuned to IGN for more on the PS4 Pro, Project Scorpio, and all the latest console releases.
Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
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