/vr/ - Retro Games

Consoles were pricey enough that you had to get one per gen and then had to make up some convoluted reason why you needed the newer one.
>Mom, I want Nintendo 64!
>But Billy, what about your Super Nintendo?

>>10197450
well, I thought the price didn't change much adjusted for inflation, and they all cost roughly as much as modern consoles do? (this chart is a bit old, from 2013)

>>10197430
>on this board I've seen enough people who owned 2+ consoles every gen.
Few idorts doesn't make majority of people.
If you had the luck of getting at least one real console for christmas (and not some Polystation 4 Famiclone Extreme) then you sticked with it for few years.

>>10197430
My bro and me would usually work out some kind of fund-pooling idea where we'd get parents and grand parents to get us a console one year, and if we wanted the other (e.g. like a ps1 AND an n64) another console the next year. Birthdays and Christmases were usually a small pile of video games and some VHS/dvds, we were mad for it.

>>10197430
>Is it true that back in /vr/ era most people only owned 1 console per gen?
Most normalfaggots? Yes.
Most "gamers"? Absolutely not.

Games were ridiculously expensive. God damned MK for SNES was $80.

>>10197465
>If you had the luck of getting at least one real console for christmas (and not some Polystation 4 Famiclone Extreme) then you sticked with it for few years.
Meanwhile in America it was normal to ask and get a console for Christmas, and fairly common to ask for the competition the next year and also get that. MANY kids got the N64 and PS1 within two christmases of each other from 96-99.
Then you bought a Saturn at Funcoland for $30 in 2000 lmao.

>>10197462
inflation is higher and they are more expensive then modern consoles.
take as an example when people complained of skyward and twilight princess costing 70 dollars on switch someone made the maths according to real inflation (not the one is said) and the value of the original was really high bording 200 modern dollars each game at moment of release.
The easy way to know inflation is the price of a can of coke or cigarretes
>y2000 cigarrete box 25 cents of dollar
>now same box and brand 8 dollars
>y2000 can of coke 365 ml 10 cents.
>can of coke now 1 dollar

>>10197523
>I'm a richfag and my experience is the common one.
lol no
I'm in the US and myself and everyone I knew got new consoles only at the middle or tail end of each generation when the current ones would start to go on sale and have bundles and that kind of thing. And yes, it was absolutely only ever 1 console each gen and only 1 or 2 games each birthday and Christmas at most. The only exception I can think of were Game Boys because they lasted much longer than the home consoles and generally were cheaper and had cheaper games, so those would often be a companion to whatever home console someone had.

>>10197465
>If you had the luck of getting at least one real console for christmas (and not some Polystation 4 Famiclone Extreme)
This was not a problem if you lived in a first world country

>>10197519
weird how games cost $60 nowadays despite the inflation. $80 in 1993 would be $170 today

>>10197547
>it was absolutely only ever 1 console each gen and only 1 or 2 games each birthday and Christmas at most.
this puts far more weight into the choice of a console. no wonder people still cope after so many years that they got X and not Y. though I must say, maybe N64 having fewer games didn't matter that much if an average person owned like 5 games total

>>10197430
For what it’s worth I had two every generation. I lucked out on Genesis + Snes since I got my snes for $20. I saved up and bought the console of interest that I didn’t have mid-late generation after there were usually price cuts. Ps1 - N64, GameCube - Ps2, Wii - Ps3, then I was an adult and just bought the Wii U - PS4.
My family was not wealthy, I just knew what I wanted and saved money wisely to get it. I didn’t have a lot of games for each system though, so I usually stuck to games I knew would be good like Marios, and Final Fantasys.

>>10197545
>>10197565
Modern games have lower distribution costs(mostly due to digital distribution) and many are full of microtransactions and DLC. This is how they managed to remain so "cheap"

>>10197621
yeah, back in the day you had to pay a lot for the carts, but PS1 introduced cheap CDs, and then stuff got even cheaper with digital. still, games cost way more to develop nowadays too

>>10197430
I had all of the mainstream ones but not stuff like neogeo.

All of you are lucky. My parents refused to let me get my own game console until I was about 16, and by that time I barely had time to play anything, so I bought all the consoles I'd missed as a mid-20s adult just to see.

>>10197462
>Adjusted for inflation of 10 years ago
Add another 50% to everything in that chart.

>>10197591
I remember we had 6 games for the N64 by the end of its life and at the time I felt like there were still games I wanted and I even had friends I'd borrow games from and lend games to. The small library really wasn't that big a deal in reality, though it was something that the consolewar type kids would bring up.

>>10197462
>atari 2600 was $800 fucking dollars
what the fuck.

>>10197591
For owning, but there's always rentals. I rented plenty of games for the N64. Nome the less my Genesis. But it's true about game ownership. You'd get 2~4 new games a year from your birthday and Christmas.

>>10197430
Well I guess that depends on where you lived.
I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The price of a console from the Atari to the ps2 eras, you could buy a motorcycle, they cost like 4-6 times the minimum wage.
So I always got a new console 3-4 years later than it's launch and 1 game every 3-4 months.
So yes, people had to actually choose one system per generation, because their parents wouldn't keep up with buying games and controllers and accessories for 2 different systems at the same time.

>>10197803
>though it was something that the consolewar type kids would bring up.
I guess part of the people who bring this up on /vr/ are 3rd worlders who owned 50 pirated discs for PS1/2 (with 20 of them being footy games of course)

>>10197828
>>10197803
I'm >>10197832
It was the end of 1998 and my dad took me to the game store to choose a N64 game.
Then we caught the glimpse of a brand new PlayStation's box and it's pricetag was just about the same as the N64 cartridge.
The games for the PSX, though, were all pirated and cost 2,50 Real each (0,50USD nowadays).
We went home with the PlayStation and some good 6 games.
Then came the glorious times of actually buying PSX games like you bought popsicles. I still have like half the thing's library in pirated CD's on my mom's basement.

>>10197430
I remember my older brother at the time wanted a N64 really bad but when my dad went to the store he came back with a PS1. I actually feel like this is ond of the significant events in my life because N64 Gamecube kids growing up were always a bunch of weirdos and actual aitists, while we had cool games like Final Fantasy SNES remasters best catalog in history of console gaming and 2 analog sticks.>>10197450
Switched to pc in the mid 2000's after PS3 came out because my whore mother wouldn't get the new gen console. I remember my brother getting an Xbox cheaply after it has been out for a few years. Really enjoyed Fable, Conker and Sid Meiers pirates, but mostly it was a shit console with a small handful of very cool exclusives.

i think most people got only a consolle for every gen, and probably no more than 3/4 games a year. parents usually are not too eager to spend their money on "stupid games". of course if you're rich you're more likely to get spoiled, but also consider vidya became a normie thing only recently, most parents didnt play vidya at all.

>>10197462
>saturn: 595
>dreamcast: 272
jesus christ the dc was a fucking steal back then, shame it didn't work

>>10197860
Thats why it didnt work, sega was bleeding so much money for each DC sold, money they couldn't afford to loose in the first place

>>10197848
Yeah, piracy makes a huge difference here. In the US you couldn't just go to a store and buy 50 cent pirated games, so all but the most tech-savvy of people were restricted to purchasing new games or renting them, depending on where you lived there might not have even been used games available (in my city we didn't have any stores selling used games until the early 00's). So the Playstation kids would gloat about their big catalog but in reality even they only owned 5-10 games, too.

>>10197523
Nothing of what you posted is normal, you fucking fruitcake.

>>10197547
Not a richfag.
Keep huffing that copium.

>>10197547
>myself and everyone I knew got new consoles only at the middle or tail end of each generation
Then who do you think was buying and receiving the consoles in the first three years? Hint: it wasn't only the "richfags".

>>10197749
They weren't lucky. They were normal. You were unlucky.

We need flags on /vr/.

>>10197618
Every single one of my "enthusiast"-level gamer friends had at least two consoles from the current generation, even the poorest ones living in trailer parks.

>>10197430
I'd imagine a lot of adult gamers just bought whatever the fuck they wanted. Kids though, yeah, it wasn't uncommon for them to get one per generation, which is probably why you see console warriors. I think the first time I had more than one per generation was when I got an original PlayStation after I got an N64. After that, I'd wind up with multiple, like I got a DC at launch, then a PS2, then a GC the year it came out, and finally an XBOX (after it had been out for a year or two).

yes. unless you were some adult hardcore gamer but those only really came about later, like 6th gen.

>>10198175
What is an adult gamer and what is a kid?

>>10198162
>Then who do you think was buying and receiving the consoles in the first three years? Hint: it wasn't only the "richfags".
Well no, you're right about that. That he described getting a console for Christmas one year and the other console the very next year and games for both and so on as the norm is what makes him obviously a richfag and/or a spoiled only child. Typical families weren't buying different consoles annually.

>>10198206
do you know words?

>>10197430
I always had just one, and always one generation behind since I would just get a hand-me-down of whatever my older cousin was done with (my parents thought video games were basically a scam). I had an NES until after the N64 came out.

>>10197465
>and not some Polystation 4 Famiclone Extreme
hey don't you dare insult my polystation 99 in 1 console, it made me who I am

>:(

>>10198213
i know a couple.

>>10198206
People who were old enough to have disposable income just bought whatever consoles they wanted, while kids who had to rely on gifts from their parents were more likely to be stuck with one console per generation. Honestly only having one current system could make things fun, like I always enjoyed going to a Sega-kid's house because I got to play stuff like Dick Tracy which I didn't have as an SNES-kid.

>>10197430
I had two per gen, mainly because of my sister. She got the SNES and I got a Genesis, she got PS1 and I got N64, she got PS2 and I got GameCube, etc. The SNES and PS1 later became mine, the PS2 is still here but I never really got into it. She also had a PSP while I had DS, but I never really got into it either.

>>10198303
Whoa, rude.

>>10197430
I has nintendo from nes to gamecube. Then ps2 to ps3.

The 3ds was my last new syste,.

>>10198661
I got one of those genesis at games and nes mini.

>I didn't have any game systems because my family was po-
NES was < $20 at yard sales and thrift stores throughout the 90s.

Also had game boy pocket

>>10197430
Yeah, most parents don't want to buy their kids two versions of the same shit. You're lucky you get one.

>>10197430
I had every console until the 7th gen. It's not like these other consoles were expensive, if you only got 1 per generation your family literally didn't love you. Not sorry to break this to you, you should have found this out by now.

Doesn't mean the 64 sucks any less even if I had one from 1997 to this very day. Console is still a nogaems box.

>>10197817
Boomers had it good.

>>10197759
>~50%+ inflation in the last 4 years
future so bright

It was pretty expensive compared to say, buying your kid a toy. The closest thing to an idort I knew in the 90s was someone having both a console and a computer, but PCs were for PC games only.

>>10197621
It's more that the standard was 60 for so goddamn long that game companies knew they couldn't raise the price without an uproar. It's only now that they finally went to 70, and even then most games are not that.

>>10199010
Yeah he's bullshitting you unless he lives in fucking Turkey or Egypt, places that actually have 50-60% inflation.

>>10197430
Myself and everyone I knew at the time only had one console per gen. I had a Genesis, my best friend had a SNES, I got a PS1, she got a N64. It was always a nice excuse to hang out since we'd both be seeing games the other one didn't have.
The only "exception" was having both one portable and one home console, but it was very rare to meet someone who had two home consoles for the same gen. Even today most people pick either Sony or Xbox while making that portable exception with Nintendo or a steam account.

>>10197430
If you were a single child or came from a lower income household, maybe. Most people I know, especially larger families, had basically every console and handheld though.

>>10197545
Cigarettes are a bad indicator of inflation, because their prices are driven up by regulations more than inflation.

>>10197430
If you don't remember, you're too young to be here.
>>>/v/

When I was growing up, I always got a console late in the generation, usually almost when the next was going to release.

>Got NES in '91
>Got SNES in '94
>Got PSX in '97, first time I got one in the middle of a console's lifecycle, specifically got it because I loved FFI, FFIV, and FFVI and wanted FFVII, picking it over Legend of Zelda: OoT (Barely)
>Neighbor gets PS2, pick one up in 2003. Also pick up an N64 in 2004 since the prices had dropped on them.
>Wanted Gamecube, couldn't justify buying another console (Eventually got access to it through the Wii)
>Wanted an original Xbox for a handful of games on the system, but it didn't have enough games for me to justify buying it

So I guess I technically did own a 64 and PSX, and due to backwards compatibility I did get to play Gamecube stuff, but there was never a time that I had picked up two consoles of the same generation on their launch window. Furthermore I was always behind the times which is why I was playing NES well into the 90s even after I had an SNES and still went back to the SNES after the PSX was a thing.

I stopped getting consoles at all after the Wii though. I found I was spending almost 99% of my time on the PC and once my CRT TV went kaput I just started emulating console games instead of trying to play them on an LCD. I borrowed a PS3 to play Armored Core 4, but I haven't been interested in very many console games that didn't get ported to PC eventually.

>>10197591
As the other guy said, renting was a big deal. I had a PSX, and going to the video store there were far more choices of mid tier games to rent for the PSX. Tons of RPGs, action games, etc that the 64 didn't have.

That said, the 64 did have Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Pokemon Stadium, Super Smash Bros, and Mario Kart, games which me and my friends spent almost all of our time playing together over the two player PSX games. Even having a multitap, there weren't a lot of PSX games that supported four players. However, since I was the only one with a PSX, everyone wanted to play it because certain games like FFVIII and Metal Gear Solid were things you couldn't find any direct analog to on the 64.

For the most part, PSX was the thing you played when you were alone and 64 was what you played with your friends.

Western Europe

Got NES in 92, and PSX around 98-99 I think; and GB somewhere between the two, followed by GBC later on.

All the kids I knew played NES and GB until teenagehood (2000). You could still find NES games in shops in 98, even some sealed ones. I think parents considered the NES kid friendly while 16-32 bit consoles were considered for teenagers.

Between the age of 14 and 18 is when I made up for lost time. I grouped my pocket money together with a friend and we bought consoles and games together that'd we share and play together. We bought an N64, Dreamcast, GameCube, GBA; one console after the next, selling and buying constantly.

All this time though I had access to a computer which is where most of my video gaming input came from. I started typing on a computer before I could write.

I genuinely believe that not having computer AND consoles at the same time growing up is how you end up as a jaded console warrior who participates in stupid console war threads.

I was a poorfag that only had a Gameboy but fortunately my best friend has always been rich so I'd go to his place and he had everything. He was really generous about letting me borrow stuff too.

>>10198212
>Typical families weren't buying different consoles annually.
They were.
That this causes emotional trauma for you is not my problem.

>>10199775
>muh trauma
Stop being so dramatic.

I had all the Nintendo/Sega/Sony consoles. Never had a TG-16/3D0/CD-i etc. since they weren't really sold hardly anywhere near me and too expensive in the case of the latter two.

I didn't know anyone who only had a single console per generation. I guess I truly was spoiled, because most families in my neighborhood also owned boats.

>>10199797
You're the one immediately jumping to the richfag excuse when anons have told you they were not so.

There are those who had games as a kid growing up, and then there are those who were gamers as kids. There is a difference.
And then there's the fact that teenagers and adults bought and played games too.

>>10197430
Starting with the NES I had every major console and still do. I didn't get things like the 32x or Pippin but it's not hard to figure out why I never even asked for them.

A lot of my friends were limited to one console and were years late getting a new gen. But they were also pretty poor. We weren't rich but definitely upper middle class back when that existed.

>>10197430
Let us not forget the co-op aspect of early gens when games like Street of Rages were there to be 2p. I don't feel like I've to *pick a side* for consoles because I could get to play some titles of the console i didn't have if someone else had them. Later a few games like Pokemon kind of missed the point by requiring both to have the handheld(ok) AND extra cable.
So if you were a poorfag, had no friends and not even a cousin or some family member with Polystation you'd stick with one console.

>>10197462
>>10197759
>>10197817
This isn't the full story. You can't just plug numbers into an inflation calculator and call it a day for luxury items like electronics since back then people had more money to spend on those items thanks to necessities like rent, food, and gas being waaaay lower and in the last few decades have way outpaced inflation while wages remained stagnant. TL;DR--people could afford an "$800" Atari in the late 70s a lot easier than they can afford a $500 PS5 today.

People point out how the Simpsons is now a relic of a time when a single income family of five could afford a house and two cars. If both parents were working in 1990, even ordinary jobs like a full time retail worker, you'd be in pretty good shape and could likely afford a console or two every so often. Especially since rentals were a thing. You could buy most consoles at $150-$250 a pop, they often came with a game packed in so you were good to go out of the box, and then rent stuff weekly, saving game purchases for birthdays and Christmas.

>>10197430
I grew up with the sixth gen consoles so just barely /vr/ era. I had an Original Xbox and a GameCube, never had a PS2 though. Most kids I knew just had a GameCube though

It was definitely the case for me.

I had a Genesis and Gameboy Color as a Christmas gift
The PlayStation and PS2 (DVD Player) were bought as family devices.
My Dreamcast and GBA were from saving up allowance money and doing extra chores.

Unfortunately by that point my undiagnosed autism started rearing its head and video games got the blame for anti-social behavior and slipping grades. I'm not sure if my dad would have bought a PS3 for Blu-ray playback or if we would have ended up with a Wii otherwise

>>10198270
my polystation 99 in 1 console, it made me who I am
My condolences.

>>10197430
If you had more than one console you were loaded or a spoiled brat.
Unless you flipped burgers during summer.

>>10200485
I was absolutely spoiled as a kid. I'm not at all ashamed to admit it. In fact I wish every kid can have such an upbringing.

>>10200070
Even that isn't the full story, purchasing power is a lot more complicated than that.

>>10200083
>People point out how the Simpsons is now a relic of a time when a single income family of five could afford a house and two cars.
Not to be pedantic but Homer couldn't afford the house, Abe had to sell the farm and they used that money to buy the house with the idea that Abe would move in with them. They got tired of him after about 3 weeks and put him in a home.

>>10197430
First I had a C64. Then I had an NES and an X86 that I played Indy 500 and Space Hulk. Then years latter I had a Model 2 Sega Genesis and a Pentium MMX with Voodoo that I played alot of Blood on. Then I bought my self a 3DO for cheap. Then I got a Jaguar for cheap. I got Sega Saturn for Christmas. Then I bought my self a Playstation and Resident Evil Directors Cut. Then I bought my self an N64 because of Mario 64. Then I had a Pentium III 667 with a GeForce DDR for Quake 3 and D&D CRPGs. Then I bought my self an Xbox. Then a PS2 shortly before Silent Hill 2 launched. Then I built my self an Anthlon XP with a Radeon 9800 Pro for Morrowind and Oblivion Then I upgraded to an Intel Q6600 with an 8800GTX. And played a lot of Stalker. At some point I had got a 40GB PS3 new that died on me after only a couple years. AMD Hex Core with Radeon 5970. PS4. Intel i5 Hazwell wiht GTX 780 that I built in an ITX form factor. I got a HTC Vive that worked rather well with that. I got a i78600 GTX 1080ti. Got a XboneX whose Disc Drive died and started putting rings on discs. Now I've got a i713700K with a Liquid Cooled 4090. And XboxSeX. PS4Pro. I regret keeping the PS4 Pro and getting the XboxSeX. They're not needed.

I had both megadrive and snes. I wasn't rich or anything, I just saved up for them.