Looking at the bigger picture, as a whole, adjusted for inflation, looks like games have actually gotten a bit cheaper. An NES game was $30-$40 in 1988[1], that's $65-$85 in 2018 dollars.
You also have a whole category of "basic" games (like phone games or indy games) that are nominally (unadjusted) cheaper than a retail NES game for the full version. I'm not an expert on this category by any means but I bought a few games from the Switch store that are very comparable to an NES game for $5-20. That's only a max of $9 in 1988 dollars!!
I'd agree that "consumer [un]friendly practices" are still a problem though. (could be a case of a few "whales" making large purchases on stuff like loot boxes subsidizing everyone else)
Perhaps you're replying to the wrong comment? I certainly didn't say, nor imply, they weren't. Nor am I "buy[ing] the industry bullshit" (whatever that means), I'm speaking as an end consumer.
When someone says "X has gotten cheaper" they mean when you walk into a store and buy X you pay less than you did in the past, either in real (adjusted for inflation) or nominal (unadjusted for inflation) dollars.
You also have a whole category of "basic" games (like phone games or indy games) that are nominally (unadjusted) cheaper than a retail NES game for the full version. I'm not an expert on this category by any means but I bought a few games from the Switch store that are very comparable to an NES game for $5-20. That's only a max of $9 in 1988 dollars!!
I'd agree that "consumer [un]friendly practices" are still a problem though. (could be a case of a few "whales" making large purchases on stuff like loot boxes subsidizing everyone else)
[1] http://videogamecomicads.blogspot.com/2012/12/sears-nintendo...
DISCLAIMER: I only play single player console games.