Which console had the most infamous pricing?

[Frickinfrik]

Consoles that were infamously very overpriced.

 

[Antilocal123]

Idk man I don't buy consoles

 

[CheelaCheela's icon]

The neo geo

 

[Stare best girl]

where's Neo Geo

 

[TropicalFreeze3499]

599 US DOLLARS

 

[Sakitoshi]

all of those were mocked at the time. but the ps3 is the most (in)famous just because the internet was common by then.
neogeo too, as many mention, still has a high price tag, but at least it delivers all that it promises. unlike the rest.

 

[ciro64]

3DO.

Like you must really have wanted to play Gex to buy this at launch price.

 

[SpcDaicon]

The PS3's botched launch was a defining moment for Sony for all the wrong reasons.

Its ironic that a company that once destroyed their competition (and effectvely burried them in the long run) by simply announcing a cheaper price would themselves charge so much for a console.

Can't say I ever was a Sony fan (or fan of any company at all) but all the good faith I had in them due to the PS1 and PS2 vanished in the PS3 era.

where's Neo Geo

Also this x10

 

[popckorn]

By far PS3.
At least in Mexico its early release price was absurd, almost twice as much as it was in the US.

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2025

Oh well and the NeoGeo, sure...
But the NeoGeo was so rare in Mexico, it was simply cheaper to get proper Arcade Clones than that incredibly over-priced, almost esoterically niche, console,
Of course a bunch of rich kids had it in Mexico, but those were mainly Mexican-Unitedstatians who travel to the USA once every other month to change their wardrobe.
At the REAL CONSUMER level, in Mexico the NeoGeo was non-existent.

 

[MasterEn]

i remember reading about a fun fact about the ps3. it was the cheapest on the market at that time: for blu-ray players. those were still around $1,000 for the cheapest one you could buy off of store shelves.
$599 is about a little less than half that price. expensive for a game system, but cheap for that market.
i think sony was wanting to recrate the success of the ps2, which most people bought because it double as a game system and a dvd player, with the built in function of playing music cds as well.

 

[popckorn]

i remember reading about a fun fact about the ps3. it was the cheapest on the market at that time: for blu-ray players. those were still around $1,000 for the cheapest one you could buy off of store shelves.
$599 is about a little less than half that price. expensive for a game system, but cheap for that market.
i think sony was wanting to recrate the success of the ps2, which most people bought because it double as a game system and a dvd player, with the built in function of playing music cds as well.

This is 100% accurate as well.
That was their angle. It was a cheap multimedia system FOR ADULTS and FAMILY MEN.
But for a Kid's toy, it was a hard ball to throw at a parent without interest on the NEWLY EMERGING MEDIUM, remember it was still a bet. DVDs were 99.99% of the Movie market still.

The stupid-silly movie "Tropic Thunder" has a scene in which that kid from "Popular Science" explains to Robert Downy Jr how Porn defined the success of new experimental media. I think PS2 and PS3 truly where format pushers to an extent as well, and did have a lot to do with the early adoption of said medium.

Here check that rant out:

 

[jankusanagi]

As others have stated, the Neo Geo was insane. And its games, even more so!

 

[ciro64]

As others have stated, the Neo Geo was insane. And its games, even more so!

The games too?! It was really a pricey system then. Still voting for the 3DO for the timing being, like at least Neo Geo had a point to it, which was playing high quality arcade ports at the time. 3DO on the other hand was a critical failure from the start.

 

[CheelaCheela's icon]

The games too?! It was really a pricey system then. Still voting for the 3DO for the timing being, like at least Neo Geo had a point to it, which was playing high quality arcade ports at the time. 3DO on the other hand was a critical failure from the start.

The only thing cheap with the 3do were the licenses to make games and even that didn't help because we got cases like the Doom Port that some dude with no experience grabbed and forced a single developer to got it done in less than a 3 months. Soo yeah 3DO was also a mess

 

[popckorn]

Soo yeah 3DO was also a mess

Wasn't it a VERY popular MultiMedia console in Love Hotels @ Nippon?
I think it was its angle, being a DVD player, and having a bunch of porn media jaja

 

[Bomberman]

Ps3 for the memes. But there is no denying the theoretical value proposition that was on the table.

Both PS3 and 360 are notorious for their poorly designed initial models tho with YLOD and RROD.

If everything worked as intended PS3 would have been worth the price. HD entertainment system that lasts many years.

 

[MasterEn]

This is 100% accurate as well.
That was their angle. It was a cheap multimedia system FOR ADULTS and FAMILY MEN.
But for a Kid's toy, it was a hard ball to throw at a parent without interest on the NEWLY EMERGING MEDIUM, remember it was still a bet. DVDs were 99.99% of the Movie market still.

The stupid-silly movie "Tropic Thunder" has a scene in which that kid from "Popular Science" explains to Robert Downy Jr how Porn defined the success of new experimental media. I think PS2 and PS3 truly where format pushers to an extent as well, and did have a lot to do with the early adoption of said medium.

Here check that rant out:

yeah, they always got a lot of success from getting on board with the new media format. psx uses cds, which had a massive amount of storage space for the time, 650 mb to 850 mb on average. it also plays music cds, both kids and parents had music discs. ps2 uses dvds; second verse, same as the verse as the saying goes.
the main problem with the ps3 is that its disc format was too new. blu ray came out in june of 2006, ps3 was launched in november of that year.
cds came out in1982, and dvds in 1997. as i have observed from many different kinds of technology; the longer it is out, the cheaper over time it gets. so, sony made quite a bit of profit from the more cheaper storage tech.
blu-ray, was brand new and still very expensive. i'm fairly certain that this is the reason why they took out the ps2 hardware to lower the price a bit and get people to buy it.

 

[popckorn]

i'm fairly certain that this is the reason why they took out the ps2 hardware to lower the price a bit and get people to buy it.

Was it backwards compatible because of a full fledged PS2 inside?
I did not know that!

 

[Bomberman]

Was it backwards compatible because of a full fledged PS2 inside?
I did not know that!

Me too, I thought it was just the emotion engine.

 

[MasterEn]

Was it backwards compatible because of a full fledged PS2 inside?
I did not know that!

Me too, I thought it was just the emotion engine.

yeah. the early models with 4 usb ports and had 20 or 60 gb storage have the ps2 chip systems in them. they could play discs from all 3 systems.

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2025

i found some more info on the ps3 ps2 backwards compatibility. i had to get google's ai to find the actual info that i was wanting. here it is:

• Early "Fat" PS3 Models (Hardware Compatibility):
  • CECHA (60GB) and CECHB (20GB): These models have the full PS2 hardware (Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer) and are fully backwards compatible with PS2 games.
    
    
  • CECHC (60GB) and CECHE (80GB): These models have only the Graphics Synthesizer, meaning they partially emulate the PS2 CPU and have slightly reduced compatibility.
    
• Later PS3 Models (Slim and Super Slim): These models do not have any form of hardware-based PS2 compatibility and rely on software emulation or digital downloads from the PlayStation Store.
  
  
• • PS1 Games: All PS3 models can play PS1 games from discs or through digital downloads.
    
  • PS2 Classics: All PS3 models can play PS2 games that have been made available for download through the PlayStation Store as "PS2 Classics".
    
  • Identifying PS2 Compatible Models: Look for the "fat" PS3 models with 4 USB ports on the front.
    
  • Modding: While not recommended, it's possible to install Custom Firmware (CFW) or Home Entertainment Network (HEN) on PS3s to enable PS2 game emulation, even on models that don't natively support it.

 

[ThePeon]

Switch 2. Yeah PS3 sure had a pricing but dropped fast and also you did not over pay for less performance like Jesus a switch 2 more expensive than a PS5 but offer less are you shitting me.

But if we shall go the most expensive console well that would be the Pioneer LaserActiv with consoles packs.

First of you paid what 970 bucks in 1993 for the Pioneer LaserActiv
Then you paid additional money for the packs.
you had the
Mega LD pack
PC Engine PAC
Karaoke PAC
Computer Interface PAC

Just buying the LaserActive and the mega and PC Engine pack could land you around 2000 bucks to build something that could play games and watch movies on like you could do with the PS2 and PS3.

I would say Second most expensive one is the Neo geo which back the retailed at around 649.99 bucks. And the games where not cheap the AES games cost like 300 a pop when then you basically got Arcade at home.

Yeah LaserActive and the Neo geo may been expensive at their times but they offered arcde at home or movies+ games at home before the PS2 even did that.

What does Switch 2 offer ? Sit on the toilet and play and some elusive titles you can´t get anywhere because Nintendo hates you.

So most dumb pricing goes to Switch 2. Most infamous goes to PS3 thanks to internet but most infamous back in it´s time Neo geo and LaserActive.

 

[Pjira]

Either PS3 or PS5 pro in my experience. I know Neo Geo and 3DO were very expensive but I also had no idea those even existed at the time. And Switch 2 is more infamous for Mario Kart's price than the actual hardware.

 

[Sheepy765]

While some of the others have been more expensive, I think the PS3's price being high is probably the more famous of the lot, though the Switch 2 might show it up, who knows.

 

[NotReallyHere]

Surprised nobody's mentioned the Sega Saturn yet? Unless I just missed it...?

It was surprise-launched for $399 at E3 1995. Infamously, the same day - at the same event - Sony formally announced the release date for the PlayStation, and the price, "$299."

It's the stuff of gaming legend, and a moment that longtime Sony fans still hold dear.

For the rest of us? $399 for a console with one controller and an iffy port of Virtua Fighter packed-in. Or you could wait a few months, save $100, and get a PlayStation, instead. Sega dropped the price to $299 right around the time of the PlayStation release a few months later, but at that point, the damage was done. And I'm pretty sure that anyone who paid $399 for the Saturn - only to have it drop by $100 a few months later - felt completely hosed.

 

[MasterEn]

Surprised nobody's mentioned the Sega Saturn yet? Unless I just missed it...?

don't worry. this thread is a couple of hours old at the moment. plenty of people will bring up probably every system and then probably some games like action 52, which retailed at the same price as the snes. i'll probably compile a list later of every gaming system and post the release prices here when i have some spare time. it would be interesting to see what the prices were over the years for new releases.