Games haven't really gotten more expensive over time, most console go roughly for the same price today as they used too (adjusting for inflation) and games are a bit cheaper, there's subscription for some online play, but that used to flat out not exist. And the F2P market has plenty of good things (Genshin can be a perfectly fine game even with 0 purchase, there were plenty of worse game on most console when I was that age). As far as PC, its far simpler to get a get/make a decent PC nowaday (notwistanding the PC part sourcing issue, but not much dev/valve can do about that).
The Roblox stuff is pretty sad, but I don't really see that as a game, its more of a social hangout things.The kind of kid who gravitate toward it would never have gone for gaming back in the day.
Adjusted for inflation, the Atari 2600 on launch was crazy expensive. But I've always said buying tech is not a hurry. Expect prices to go down as the tech improves. Around 2005ish, I bought a brand new platinum gamecube with Super Smash Bros, controller, $100. That 20 years later, I'm paying about 14 times that much for a new gabecube? This does seem insane and industry wrecking. Was it done on purpose (If I can game on it, and maybe use Office Libre or Open Office, and more open source apps, what is the purpose of Windows?)
And now all hope I had for the Steam Frame is gone. Thanks, AI, for ruining yet another thing I might have liked.
It's not gone for me, but it is in critical condition and the priest has been called. My Q3 is awesome, but the Frame offers so much to hope for. That wireless dongle would help in so many ways. And the reason I don't have more VR games is due to storage. That problem, especially with the SD cards, could have been a game changer is. As it is? I got a 512 before things got nuts for about $30. More like $110 on Amazon now. Even that simple solution has been made, well, not a deal.
They got screwed by the memory/storage apocalypse.
It could have been a great deal at $700, but at $1100 it's a completely unreasonable value proposition. If it had come out a year earlier it would have flown off shelves.
Timing is everything.
Look at the Steam Deck. I got mine around launch, LCD, 64 gig, for $400. Handheld youtubers were all saying for advice? Just get a deck. And they were flat out sold out.