The Xbox 360 release is right around the corner, and it got me to thinking. What happened to the good ol' $199 price tag for new gaming systems? It seems like Nintendo is the only company making games for the frugal gamers of the world.

The first wave of consoles in the late 70's were pretty darn expensive for the time, but that's because you paid a definite premium for being one of the first families to have video games in your home.

Atari 2600: $249
Intellivision: $299

As soon as systems started becoming ubiquitous, the prices dropped to the sub-$200 level and stayed there for over 10 years.

Nintendo: $159
Genesis: $199
Super Nintendo: $199
Nintendo 64: $199
Dreamcast: $199

Sony and Sega raised the bar in 1995 with their new systems.

Playstation: $299
Saturn: $399

The $299 price tag remained the norm for the next generation of systems in 2000/2001.

Playstation: $299
Xbox: $299

Now the next wave of consoles is fast approaching. The Xbox 360 will officially be debuting at a hefty $399 next month, and that doesn't include the $50/year for Xbox Live. (Yes, there is a $299 version of the 360, but I don't count that stripped-down version.) And there are rumors that the PS3 may cost $600 when it's released next year. Yikes!

I'll stick with my current Xbox for another year or so, thank you very much.