What If the Cost of Games Continued to Rise Since the ’80s?

1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF MAY 21 | WHAT IF?

What If the Cost of Games Continued to Rise Since the ’80s?

Cover Story: A sad look at a hobby that became too damn expensive.

December 12, 1985

You’ll never guess what I got for my birthday! I woke up this morning, walked into the living room, and saw Dad playing Nintendo in front of the TV! He was having trouble with the first level of Mario, so I sat down and helped him jump over the pits until we got to the flagpole at the end. After that, we brought out the Zapper and played Duck Hunt until dinner time. Mom got kinda mad at Dad for buying something so expensive, but he told her that my birthday only comes once a year.