No More Cheap Portable Gaming?

I believe inexpensive portable gaming is now a thing of the past. I remember Game Boy Pocket at $59 USD and Game Boy Color $79. Competitors always fell in there close or was more expensive to lay hold of.

So many presently complain about the cost of portable gaming systems, but when you look at the technology, and how far we have come, we must realize that this pleasure does not come cheap. So much is being packed into that unit that we hold in our hands. The PSP 3000 has not dropped below $169. The PSP Go is still around $250. The DS at $129, DSi $169, and the DSi XL $189. The present generation of portables have not reached, or went below, that sweet spot of $99.

With the recent announcement of the Nintendo 3DS, I do not expect it to be given to us gamers on a silver platter with a sweet price. Portables are looking like they are, from here on out, toting price tags that are comparable to the home consoles.

I really don't expect the Nintendo 3DS to be below $199, if not more. Can Nintendo get it cheaper? I don't know. I'm wanting to hope they can. But at the same time, I'm not going to hold my breath.

But in the mean time, I have come to mentally except the fact, that, the golden age of inexpensive portable gaming is a thing of the past. It was my chew toy when my gaming habits were in its infancy.

Maybe I have never been able to accept inflationary influences on the cost of high tech entertainment gadgets. Maybe my expectation of giving me a high tech toy at a sweet price has been part of a fantasy world that I have lived in for too long.

I am forcing myself, to come to grips with the fact, that, the battery is not going to last as long, price of admission is going to be higher, upgrading my filmware will become common place, and, it is no longer just a toy.

Does anyone else see this, or am I just blowing things out of proportion? :?

The DS Lite was the only console that I've bought new instead of used for several years. My PS2 and Xbox were both used. My GBA/SP was new, but substantially cheaper. When I bought a GameCube for my parents, it was only $99 several winters ago.

Sony and Microsoft's offerings have been pricier than Nintendo's too.

Yes, the trend is definitely going more expensive.

There's enough used portable systems out there, too, that you should be able to find a better deal than paying full price for a brand new one.

Mai Valentine said:

There's enough used portable systems out there, too, that you should be able to find a better deal than paying full price for a brand new one.

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While that is basically true, I have this gut feeling that purchasing new systems is what maintains the industry. I think that is the point, or direction, that I am pondering here. And I will probably be one of those who will purchase used systems and games. (within the last two weeks I purchased my first PSP, $60) I think that maybe part of my problem here is how I, and maybe others, perceive portable gaming. Maybe it is time to view the portable market in the same category as the home consoles. I have always viewed the portables as a substandard system that usually complimented the home console of (input manufacturers name brand here). But I think the portables have grown up. Maybe to be viewed as a separate entity in themselves. Cost, multifunctional, and technology is causing me to think this. Does this make any sense?

retro junkie said:

While that is basically true, I have this gut feeling that purchasing new systems is what maintains the industry. I think that is the point, or direction, that I am pondering here. And I will probably be one of those who will purchase used systems and games. (within the last two weeks I purchased my first PSP, $60) I think that maybe part of my problem here is how I, and maybe others, perceive portable gaming. Maybe it is time to view the portable market in the same category as the home consoles. I have always viewed the portables as a substandard system that usually complimented the home console of (input manufacturers name brand here). But I think the portables have grown up. Maybe to be viewed as a separate entity in themselves. Cost, multifunctional, and technology is causing me to think this. Does this make any sense?

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I agree with you.

To me though, portable gaming has always been equal to console gaming.

but who knows maybe it is mostly economic change rather than just technological change, i mean it was on the 90s that the gameboy came out and way back then you could buy a lot of things for 1 dollar