The current cost of gaming is the worst I've seen it.

[McGroose]

I'm looking at the current GPU situation and I've never seen prices this high and supply this low, I'm so glad I bought my PC when I did cause my timing was cutting it close to when all this BS started. I bought a gaming PC with a I5 10400 and GTX 1660 for around $750 on black friday last year, which is a deal that's basically impossible to find now. I kept hearing since then how bad the cost of consoles and desktop hardware has been getting and I never paid much mind to it cause I thought I've seen it before in the past, but after having just recently looked more into the situation, this is easily the worst I've ever seen it. 

A GTX 1650 is at least $450 on Amazon, nearly 300% the MSRP, iirc. A 1660 is at least $600, anything in the RTX range than that isn't even available to purchase at all for the most part outside of the thousands of dollars. Try to find a gaming desktop on amazon, the results are laughable and depressing. 

Just get a console instead then, right? Well sure, but It doesn't help that you only get like 2 minutes per week (if not per month) to buy a XBSX or a PS5 before stock runs dry and the PS4 and Xbone are still surprisingly expensive outside of used or refurbished models, which are still usually higher than their MSRP nearly everywhere I look. 

I'm sorry to anyone who is interested in getting into computer hardware or trying to buy a console, older or newer generation. This is the absolute worst I've ever seen it. I've seen many GPU price hikes/supply shortages in the past, none of them have ever been this bad. I'm not sure if I hate the scalpers or the cryptominers more, at least the scalpers sell the products back, albeit at the horrible prices. 

I heard that the PS2 launch had a similar situation with the cost of consoles for a few months, but I don't know enough about that. I'd certainly appreciate if anyone could compare the current situation to a previous time where they believed it was nearly as bad. 

 

[Tornado]

The issue with the PS2 was a bit different. Sony was having such a serious problem actually producing them, even after a massively staggered launch and having the original Japanese version being cut down in functionality, that there were none to be had at all which was combined with the massive amounts of hype the system had and really high demand; but other consoles were readily available everywhere.

 

 

I believe the problem in that case was specifically poor yields when manufacturing it; and happened throughout I think March of 2001.