Hello to you and how you be… Dan Ryan here… you there. Thank you so much for checking out this post and if you like what you see please share around. Bit of a rambler this week but I’ve been in a bit of a gaming/creative rut. Thankfully the video game gods decided to provide some hot nonsense this past week. On Friday March 27th Sony announced via the Playstation blog that prices for their current product line would be increasing, again. Citing “continued pressures in the global economic landscape”, the price of a digital only PS5 is now $600, $650 for one with a disc drive, while the PS5 Pro has a suggested MSRP of a whopping $900. This comes on the heels of an August 2025 price hike that saw console prices rise about $50 per console. The Playstation Portal, an admittedly fantastic device, is also seeing an increase to $250. Microsoft also raised prices across their console line twice in 2025 with a top of the line XBox 2 TB Series X now going for $800. Rumors abound that Nintendo will follow suit with a price increase for Switch 2 but as of this writing, it remains priced at $500 for the Mario Kart World bundle. Add to this the projections for the upcoming Steam Machine slotting the MSRP anywhere between $600-$800 on the low end and it all starts to leak rather bleak. Now, the reasons behind why we are seeing an unprecedented rise in console prices, remember precedented times, are numerous and honestly, pretty gross. That’s a, as Kris and I like to say on the Stone Age Gamer Podcast (which you can listen to for free on your pod catcher of choice each and every Friday), podcast for another podcast however. This trend though is worrying. At some point the levy will break. And we will need Retro Gaming more than ever.  

The number of games available to us is frankly staggering. Looking just at Steam releases in 2025 we are looking at 19,994 new games published to the platform. Compare that to 10 years prior (a decent if somewhat nebulous definition of retro) in 2015 when there were only 2,822 games released and the problem becomes clear. There are simply more games released than is humanly possible to play. And with prices surging out of control, the retro space just makes sense.

If you’re anything like me, and let’s face it, you’re reading a blog post on a website called Stone Age Gamer, your backlog is absurd. You have games that you loved but never finished. You have games that you heard were cool so you bought them and never got around to them. You have games that you bought on sale because at that price it’d be silly not to. You have games that you hate but you bought because at that price it’d be silly not to. And those games are split between physical and digital, console and PC. (it’s like looking in a mirror right?) And what’s even worse, you’re a collector! That backlog is going to keep growing because the collection demands it. Retro conventions, retro YouTube videos, retro podcasts, etc., all drive that mentality for better or worse. And honestly, it’s fine. In fact it might be more than fine. By focusing on your retro gaming backlog, one could theoretically never play a bad game again. Now, if you’re the type of cat who wants to play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES just to see if it’s actually as bad as people say, it is, then more power to you. The point here is that with so much already in the world, most of us could never buy another game for the rest of our lives and not end up wanting.

xStation PlayStation ODE

$119.99

WARNING: We consider this an Expert Level upgrade for the PlayStation. Meaning only those with significant experience should attempt this upgrade. Neither Stone Age Gamer or...… read more

That’s not nothing. Gaming, for me and I assume many of you, is an escape. The world is a, well… an interesting place to say the least. It’s full of darkness and ugliness but also love and laughter. When it gets too dark or too ugly, gaming gives us a chance to be somewhere, someone, else for a little bit. To experience things we could not otherwise. And looking at the list of “officially” retro consoles, we find some of the greatest games ever made. I say “officially” since we all might have a slightly different definition of what retro means but for general discussion 10 years or 2 console generations previous is as good a benchmark as any. That means that by definition the PS3, XBox 360, and Wii are now retro. (yes, you’re old, so am I) Now, your mileage may vary obviously but games for those consoles especially are “affordable”. We did a segment on the show called Stone Age Starter Kits where we assumed you had a console a;ready and needed to spend $100 on games to start your collection. Using Price Charting as a price guide for loose games, I was able to get 17 PS3 titles including the Uncharted trilogy, God of War III, and The Last of Us for $100. I was also able to get 16 titles for the 360 and 9 for the Wii. (Nintendo is always more expensive, we know this) And that’s just the most recent retro consoles. PS2 is extremely affordable. Even the Super Nintendo has some real gems that won’t break the bank. That’s a heck of a lot of retro gaming for a relatively low barrier of entry. Older consoles are more expensive, sure, but let’s be honest, you have a collection already. (legally backed up and everything)

The price of consoles has certainly gotten out of hand. The threat of new consoles is overwhelming given the state of well… everything. But, I’m choosing to see it as a blessing in disguise. There are so many games that I just never got around to. My retro backlog is deep. I”ve never played Shenmue, Half-Life, or Bio-Shock. I never finished most of the 3D Zelda titles because they didn’t grab me at the time. I’m largely unfamiliar with the Saturn library. Heck, Kris and I have been working our way through systems like the Intellivision and Odyssey 2 for our Stone Age Standouts series since neither of us had a ton of experience with them. Not to mention the rom-hacks and fan translations of games that fans have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. Thankfully these games are as easy as they have ever been to play and they look great to boot. We’ve always needed retro gaming to remind us of where we have been and to teach us about where we are going. I’m more thankful for it now than I ever have been. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.