How Much Does it Cost to Play Video Games?

Entertainment Can Cost More Than Gas

Every time the next-generation consoles are released, avid gamers all around the world prepare themselves for pretty graphics, and awesome marketing to come. I call them “avid” gamers because they are willing to shell down the hundreds of dollars for their new toy. But that one time fee isn’t the last thing they’re going to see.

When I bought my Xbox 360 the hardest part was finding one, the second was how much it was going to cost me. Although that thought was subconscious and muddled by all the hype, it bothered me, it still bothers me. It may come as a surprise but the companies such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are losing money every time you buy their console, lots of money. Reports a few months back indicated that it cost Microsoft around $900 for them to produce one "premium" Xbox 360, a lot higher than its retail price of $399. This concept is nothing new, and it isn't exclusive to Microsoft. Almost every gaming console that has been released in the past 15 years has been losing money on the console itself. Why would they do this you ask? It's a very simple answer: it would simply cost too much per console if they decided to make a profit initially. The $399 for the Xbox 360 was hard enough to explain to my family, but $1000 would be insane.

The object of lowering the price is to sell enough consoles to secure a user-base in order to sell accessories and games to the users. That's where they make-up the money lost for the console and eventually turn-up a profit. Microsoft released their accessories for the Xbox 360 several days before the console even saw store shelves; at that point they made millions of dollars. I purchased my Xbox 360 from Bestbuy.com and was scheduled for arrival in 3 days. During that time, I bought a wireless controller ($49.99), two games ($129.98), and 3600 Microsoft Points ($39.99). If you have sharp math skills, you would have calculated that I spent $219.96 (Without sales tax) on games and accessories before I even got my Xbox 360 (Add $399.99).