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Why is gaming becoming so expensive? The answer is found in AI
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2026
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Tell me you didn't read the article whithout telling me you didn't read the article. The point this article is making is that AI is driving up the cost of purchasing NEW components, and that this issue is affecting console makers as well as the PC market. Additionally, consoles that have been out for several years, (PS5 released in 2020,) haven't dropped in price, since in theory, demand should be low by now, but instead the prices have risen since their original release date.
I updated my PC a year ago, because before that I was rocking DDR3 ram and a 12 year old processor and GTX1060. My old PC was struggling to render newer titles with high settings and was not win11 compatible.
Fuck the gamers that want to upgrade their rigs to play newer titles on high, or people that don't already have a PC or console and are making their first purchase, DireTech already has a PC that can play titles and a backlog of games.
Tell me you didn't read my post without replying without...you know. Where did I mention new anywhere? Yes, bubbles ruin the price on the latest and greatest. We've been dealing with it since crypto. However, we don't NEED the latest and greatest anymore and haven't for years.
Despite the bubble, this is still a better time when it comes to ability to play awesome games for cheap than ever before.
I understand what you're both trying to say and I think you're talking past each other.
A new person entering the market doesn't have the option to rely on a backlog of games and if a component in your rig failed tomorrow it would be exhorbitantly expensive to replace it even if it were a budget rig.
The more budget you go, the harder it is to replace existing components because lots of things are incorporated and solder together as a cost cutting measure.
So say you're a new gamer hoping to buy a rig. New or used you're screwed right now even if all you want to play are AA or indie games and you never touch a AAA game. Buying used is going to be expensive because theres now a high demand for used hardware because new hardware is exhorbitantly expensive.
So even if what you say is true and we can all just get by with budget hardware, that hardware is still going to be prohibitively expensive and the reason is Generative AI and capitalism.
Yeah but I’m not even talking budget gear from this generation. Heck used 3080s go for as low as 350 on eBay and those are still great and those will let you play 1440p on high, far from the minimum you need to play these days.
Admittedly I have no idea of the price for used laptops or full systems.
I think the key here is that this market hasn't been affected yet but it will be more than likely. Also just because you can get the card doesn't mean you can get all the rest of the components to build a PC. I definitely don't have the newest latest or greatest. No DDR 5 RAM, no fancy current gen or even previous gen video card. I own a PS5 and a gaming handheld with Linux on it. And those two pieces of hardware have gone up in price instead of down in price and will more than likely continue to rise.
Last gen hardware will see a price increase it it hasn't already the longer the AI bubble BS goes on. Because you're right. people will opt for that if they can't afford the latest and greatest. Are they going to pay $650 for that same 3080? Harddrives are twice as expensive and not something that last forever. Mobos can die and the fabs that make them may in fact be switching to making other components to fuel production of AI chips. RAM isn't a magical component that never goes bad and it's going to dwindle in availability for DDR4 and possibly DDR3 when businesses realize they can't get the new stuff for their business suite computers. They're already salvaging RAM and in some cases Harddrives from their used computers before they sell them off.
AI is a symptom but it is making things worse and has the trajectory to continue that trend until it crashes and dies.
It's going to be interesting to see how this affects market expansion to, as you mentioned, audience that currently don't have rigs or consoles.
Im in this thread's op shoes: My PS5 is still rolling and so is my Switch that I've bought during COVID. Even my shitty laptop plays the strategy game Remakes that I would rather play there. I've got backlogs on all these devices, on PS5 even some physical ones. They could stop making games and I'd have enough to do for a while. So if you're in that kind of position right now you wouldn't notice the price increase. However, if you're now entering the market it's obviously bad timing, especially in PC gaming.
I just hope they're not pumping out a new PlayStation anytime soon. Let's get some more well optimized games there instead.