Game consoles have always been considered a budget alternative to an expensive gaming PC. However, this advantage is currently fading.
For those who want to game, there are three options: mobile gaming on a phone, on a gaming PC, or on a game console. Consoles are especially regarded as a price tip, as you can play for years at high settings for comparatively little money.
However, this price argument is currently losing its strength: With the PS5 Pro and the Nintendo Switch 2, there are already two consoles that are both very expensive compared to older generations.
Technological advancements are slowing down, and consoles are consequently not getting cheaper
In the past, chips used in graphics cards and processors regularly became smaller, more efficient, and cheaper, and manufacturers could pass on these cost savings to consumers. This generally resulted in significantly more performance for the same or a lower price.
However, this development has been slowing down for several years. The reason is “Moore’s Law”: Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years, leading to increasingly powerful and cheaper computers. This is an observation and not a physical law.
Moore’s Law is reaching its limits because the current chips are already very small and offer little room for physical improvements. Additionally, smaller manufacturing processes are becoming increasingly expensive: The costs for new chip generations have reportedly increased about tenfold since 2010.
Hardly any price reductions, but instead significantly higher prices for consoles
What else leads to higher prices? Besides the slowing technological progress, there are hardly any real price reductions to speak of. The last significant price reduction occurred in 2016 with the PS4 Slim. In recent years, there have instead been significant price increases in the console sector, such as with the Nintendo Switch OLED or the PlayStation 5 Slim.
With the PS5 Pro and the Nintendo Switch 2, there are already two consoles that have become very expensive compared to older generations.
Manufacturers often cite inflation and supply chain issues as reasons for the high prices. The aggressive trade policy under US President Trump is also said to play a role. Additionally, there is a strategic shift among manufacturers: Many no longer deliberately sell their consoles below value, intending to recoup the money later through games or digital purchases.
Steam boss Gabe Newell stated back then that the price of the Steam Deck is very painful, but it can convince many players to make a purchase. Whether the Steam Deck 2.0 will also adopt such a “painful” pricing policy remains unknown.
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