I think it was actually publishers like EA, Ubisoft, Blizzard, and Activision that started the price increase. For big titles they started raising them to $70 a year or two ago, then to 80. I think I remember Diablo 4 launching for $80, or so.

I only know this because I refuse to buy from these publishers.

They'll only get Game Pass on PlayStation with Sony's blessing, which is unlikely. And the next Xbox will just be a PC. I don't think any of the consoles are in the market of selling units at a loss anymore. Those days are done. So with tariffs and inflation, this is the only way it could go.

$80 on release day. $60 a month later. $40 a year later. $20 a year after that.

What you're paying for isn't the game, its the hype. An enormous component of a modern AAA game's budget is just advertising. That's what your $80 is going towards. You're paying to have people tell you to buy it.

Even assuming you don't feel like pirating... Just be patient, play something that came out a few years ago, wait for the next Steam Sale, and own the game for pennies on the dollar.

Yeah, buy most games at half price or less, fully patched up and with all the DLCs. Such a joy!

I've always been a console peasant for the convenience of having a dedicated gaming device hooked up to the TV that uses a controller as well as the ability to trade in games when I'm done with them, not to mention consoles are cheaper than comparable PCs. I do have a decent PC, but I find I rarely play through entire games when I have to sit at a desk to do so. With digital games looking like the only game in town in the future and consoles being walled gardens with no other places to buy games for them, that cost advantage will be gone and it will be cheaper in the long run to pay more up front for a PC and get games cheaper. I got a Steam Deck recently, and it's been a great showcase for how a PC hooked up to the TV using only a controller can work. I had no idea Steam had such a robust system for remapping controllers and have been able to play games with them that would have been a huge hassle before.

If Sony does away with physical games like Nintendo is come the PS6, I'm definitely switching to PC gaming.

if your running windows you'll still have to put up with Microsoft

Luckily, there is another choice. Linux runs pretty smooth and has gotten much simpler to use over the years.

Yeah, I've been an xnbox user since 360 but I don't think I'll stick with another console.

I've been looking at handheld PC`s....