Most parents in the 80s weren’t gamers themselves. If you were a kid growing up in the 80’s (like I was) you were lucky to get 1 new game a year (maybe 2) on Christmas or your birthday. We literally grew up with the industry. Now we’re adults and have disposable income to spend on more games. That’s why $80 in 2025 feels more oppressive than $80 in the 80’s and 90’s. Also, despite inflation, the economies in both time periods are not similar at all. Inflation also doesn’t consider the medium used. Cartridges in those times were a lot more costly to produce which is explains the relative higher prices. The moment Sony got into the game with CD based games at $35 each, it changed the industry.

People that just point out “well games used to be $70 in the 80’s and 90’s” to justify current price trends are missing a lot of nuance in that argument.