Editing Video game console (section)

===Pricing===
{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="text-align:center; font-size:small;"
! colspan="5" | Console release prices (in [[United States dollar|U.S. Dollars]]) and total sales<ref name="arstech console price">{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/02/is-the-us-market-ready-to-embrace-a-500-game-console/ | title = Is the US market ready to embrace a $500 game console? | first = Kyle | last = Orland | date = February 20, 2020 | access-date = August 1, 2020 | work = [[Ars Technica]] | archive-date = October 19, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211019141440/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/02/is-the-us-market-ready-to-embrace-a-500-game-console/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="gamble chapter">{{cite book | title = Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases | editor-first1=Arthur | editor-last1= Thompson |editor-first2=A. J. | editor-last2 = Strickland III | editor-first3 = John | editor-last3 = Gamble | chapter = Competition in Video Game Consoles: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo Battle for Supremacy | first = John  |last = Gamble | pages = C-198-C211 | isbn =  978-0073381244 |year = 2007 | publisher = [[McGraw-Hill]] }}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" | Console
! rowspan="2" | Release year (U.S.)
! colspan="2" | Introductory price (U.S.)
! rowspan="2" | Global Sales (Units)
|-
! Originally{{NoteTag|Based on pricing of base model at launch within the United States}}
! 2020 inflation{{NoteTag|Based on the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] [[Consumer Price Index]]}}
|-
! colspan="5" | First generation
|- 
| Magnavox Odyssey || 1972 || $100 || $553 || {{Wikidata|properties|references|Q744987|P2664}}
|-
! colspan="5" | Second generation
|-
| Atari 2600 || 1977 || $200 || $882 || 30,000,000
|- 
| Intellivision || 1979 || $300 || $996 || 3,000,000
|-
| Atari 5200 || 1982 || $270 || $740 || 1,400,000
|-
| Colecovision || 1982 || $175 || $480 || 2,000,000
|-
! colspan="5" | Third generation
|-
| NES || 1985 || $200 || $490 || 61,900,000
|-
| Atari 7800 || 1986 || $150 || $380 || 3,770,000
|-
| Master System || 1986 || $200 || $470 || 13,000,000
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| Game Boy || 1989 || $110 || $234 || 118,690,000
|-
! colspan="5" | Fourth generation
|-
| TurboGrafx-16 || 1989 || $200 || $426 || 5,800,000
|-
| Genesis || 1989 || $190 || $405 || 30,750,000
|-
| SNES || 1991 || $200 || $384 || 49,100,000
|-
| CD-I || 1991 || $400 || $768 || 1,000,000
|-
| Neo Geo || 1991 || $650 || $1248 || 980,000
|- 
| Sega CD || 1992 || $300 || $561 || 2,240,000
|-
! colspan="5" | Fifth generation
|-
| Atari Jaguar || 1993 || $250 || $453 || 250,000
|- 
| 3DO || 1993 || $700 || $1267 || 2,000,000
|-
| 32X || 1994 || $160 || $282 || 665,000
|-
| PlayStation || 1995 || $300 || $516 || 102,490,000
|- 
| Sega Saturn || 1995 || $400 || $688 || 9,260,000
|-
| Nintendo 64 || 1996 || $200 || $334 || 32,390,000
|-
! colspan="5" | Sixth generation
|-
| Dreamcast || 1999 || $200 || $314 || 9,130,000
|-
| PlayStation 2 || 2000 || $300 || $459 || 155,000,000
|-
| GameCube || 2001 || $200 || $294 || 21,740,000
|-
| Xbox || 2001 || $300 || $441 || 24,000,000
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| Game Boy Advance || 2001 || $100 || $147 || 118,690,000
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| N-Gage || 2003 || $300 || $416 || 3,000,000
|-
! colspan="5" | Seventh generation
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| Nintendo DS || 2004 || $200 || $278 || 154,020,000
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| PlayStation Portable || 2004 || $250 || $348 || 82,000,000
|-
| Xbox 360 || 2005 || $400 || $540 || 84,700,000
|-
| PlayStation 3 || 2006 || $500 || $680 || 87,400,000
|-
| Wii || 2006 || $250 || $326 || 101,630,000
|-
! colspan="5" | Eighth generation
|-
| Wii U || 2012 || $350 || $399 || 13,560,000
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| Nintendo 3DS || 2011 || $250 || $293 || 75,280,000
|- style="background-color: aliceblue;"
| PlayStation Vita || 2012 || $250 || $293 || 15,900,000
|-
| PlayStation 4 || 2013 || $400 || $448 || 117,200,000{{NoteTag|name="inproduction"|Still in production}}
|-
| Xbox One || 2013 || $500 || $560 || 51,000,000 <small>(Estimate)</small>
|-
| Nintendo Switch || 2017 || $300 || $318 || 122,550,000{{NoteTag|name="inproduction"}}
|-
! colspan="5" | Current
|-
| PlayStation 5 || 2020 || $400 / $500 || $400 / $500 || 50,000,000{{NoteTag|name="inproduction"}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=McWhertor |first=Michael |date=2023-12-20 |title=PS5 sells 50M units, a big milestone after a turbulent start |url=https://www.polygon.com/24009247/ps5-sales-numbers-2023-sony |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| Xbox Series X/S || 2020 || $300 / $500 || $300 / $500 || 18,000,000 <small>(Estimate)</small>{{NoteTag|name="inproduction"}}{{NoteTag|name="noxboxsales"|Microsoft does not report exact sales for its consoles since the Xbox One, and sales are based industry estimates.<ref name=DataWitheld>{{cite web|url=http://www.geek.com/games/microsoft-decides-not-to-share-xbox-one-sales-figures-anymore-1637833/|title=Microsoft decides not to share Xbox One sales figures anymore|first=Matthew|last=Humphries|work=[[Geek.com]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|date=October 26, 2015|access-date=December 3, 2016|archive-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720024200/https://www.geek.com/games/microsoft-decides-not-to-share-xbox-one-sales-figures-anymore-1637833/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="guardian sales not focus">{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/nov/11/xbox-phil-spencer-interview-microsoft-series-x | title = Xbox's Phil Spencer: 'We're not driven by how many consoles we sell' | first = Keza | last = MacDonald | date = November 11, 2020 | access-date = November 11, 2020 | work = [[The Guardian]] | archive-date = August 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210818074609/https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/nov/11/xbox-phil-spencer-interview-microsoft-series-x | url-status = live }}</ref>}}
|-
| colspan="5" | Handheld units are shown in blue.
{{NoteFoot}}
|}
Consoles when originally launched in the 1970s and 1980s were about {{USD|200-300}},<ref name="arstech console price"/> and with the introduction of the ROM cartridge, each game averaged about {{USD|30-40}}.<ref name="arstech prices">{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/the-return-of-the-70-video-game-has-been-a-long-time-coming/ | title = The return of the $70 video game has been a long time coming | first = Kyle | last = Orland | date = July 9, 2020 | access-date = July 14, 2020 | work = [[Ars Technica]] | archive-date = September 8, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210908011228/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/the-return-of-the-70-video-game-has-been-a-long-time-coming/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Over time the launch price of base consoles units has generally risen to about {{USD|400-500}},<ref name="arstech console price"/> with the average game costing {{USD|60}}.<ref name="arstech prices"/> Exceptionally, the period of transition from ROM cartridges to optical media in the early 1990s saw several consoles with high price points exceeding {{USD|400}} and going as high as {{USD|700}}. Resultingly, sales of these first optical media consoles were generally poor.<ref name="arstech console price"/>

When adjusted for inflation, the price of consoles has generally followed a downward trend, from {{USD|800-1,000}} from the early generations down to {{USD|500-600}} for current consoles. This is typical for any computer technology, with the improvements in computing performance and capabilities outpacing the additional costs to achieve those gains.<ref name="arstech console price"/> Further, within the United States, the price of consoles has generally remained consistent, being within 0.8% to 1% of the median household income, based on the [[United States Census]] data for the console's launch year.<ref name="arstech console price"/>

Since the Nintendo Entertainment System, console pricing has stabilized on the [[Razor and blades model|razorblade model]], where the consoles are sold at little to no profit for the manufacturer, but they gain revenue from each game sold due to console licensing fees and other value-added services around the console (such as [[Xbox Live]]).<ref name="game over white paper"/><ref name="down many times">{{cite book | last = Ernkvist | first = Mirko  | chapter = Down many times, but still playing the game: Creative destruction and industry crashes in the early video game industry 1971-1986 | year = 2008 | pages = 161–191 | title = History of Insolvancy and Bankruptcy | publisher = Södertörns högskola | editor-first=  Karl | editor-last=Gratzer | editor-first2=Dieter | editor-last2=Stiefel | isbn = 978-91-89315-94-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/6/22422691/microsoft-xbox-consoles-profit-software-services-revenue-apple-epic-games-trial | title = Microsoft would like to remind you the Xbox definitely makes money | first = Tom | last = Warren | date = May 6, 2021 | accessdate = May 6, 2021 | work = [[The Verge]] | archive-date = October 19, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180522/https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/6/22422691/microsoft-xbox-consoles-profit-software-services-revenue-apple-epic-games-trial | url-status = live }}</ref> Console manufacturers have even been known to take losses on the sale of consoles at the start of a console's launch with expectation to recover with revenue sharing and later price recovery on the console as they switch to less expensive components and manufacturing processes without changing the retail price.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/11/8239/ | title = Sony taking big hit on each PS3 sold; Xbox 360 in the black | first = Eric | last = Bangeman | date = November 26, 2006 | access-date = September 2, 2020 | work = [[Ars Technica]] | archive-date = September 9, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210909052410/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/11/8239/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Consoles have been generally designed to have a five-year [[product lifetime]], though manufacturers have considered their entries in the more recent generations to have longer lifetimes of seven to potentially ten years.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Entering the Economic Models of Game Console Manufacturers | first1 = Nabyla | last1 = Daidj | first2 = Thierry | last2 = Isckia | journal = [[Communications and Strategies]] | volume = 73 | issue = 1st Quarter 2003 | year = 2003 | ssrn = 1427231 }}</ref>