Inflation is a fact of economic life. Quite simply, costs of products and services fluctuate -- and typically increase -- over time, increasing the money needed to purchase those products and services. That means that a dollar today is worth a lot less than a dollar, say, two decades ago. (Indeed, one US dollar in 1912 has the purchasing power of over $23 today.)

“ ...games are essentially cheaper than they’ve ever been.

The five most expensive mainstream gaming consoles of all-time.

“ ...the NES is actually the most expensive Nintendo console ever released.

The real cost of Nintendo's consoles over the years.

“ Inflation has been far kinder to Nintendo’s handhelds...

Gaming's earliest mainstream handhelds weren't (and aren't) that expensive.

“ Nintendo’s DS line is newer, and hence doesn’t suffer as much from the rigors of inflation.

Newer handhelds haven't suffered much from inflation.

“ Saturn’s predecessors... have faired better because of their lower respective entry prices.

SEGA's Saturn, in particular, was inappropriately priced then (and now).

Strangely, PlayStation 4 is the cheapest PlayStation console yet.

Xbox consoles have gotten more expensive over time.

Mercifully, there’s a flipside to this equation. Though inflation is inherently destructive to the value of money, decreased purchasing power can be counteracted by how much similar products cost over a period of time. This is especially true when it comes to video game consoles and handhelds (or electronics generally), which have become more affordable over time, even when something seems to be more expensive.Hardware in particular is where differences in cost – when accounting for inflation – is extremely pronounced. The PlayStation 3 may have seemed expensive when it launched at $599.99 in 2006 – and it was – but it’s not the most expensive mainstream gaming console. That honor goes to the Atari 2600. Launched in September of 1977, the Atari 2600 cost $199.99. When taking into account the 258.9 percent inflation rate between 1977 and 2013, the Atari 2600 cost the equivalent of $771 today. ("Mainstream" gaming hardware typically had to sell over 10 million units in totality, or currently be on the market.)The cheapest Nintendo console, when taking inflation into account, is the GameCube, which launched in 2001 for $199.99 and today would cost $264.25. From there, the Wii ($249.99 in 2006, $290 in 2013), Nintendo 64 ($199.99 in 1996, $298.11 in 2013), and Super Nintendo ($199.99 in 1991, $343.41 in 2013) round out the list. The Wii U, having only come out last year, suffers from only a 1.9 percent inflation rate, spiking its price only $6.63.Compare that to SEGA’s competitor to the Game Boy, the battery-eating, color-screened Game Gear. When Game Gear launched in 1991, it cost $149.99. That’s $257.56 in 2013 money, taking into account a 71.7 percent inflation rate between then and now.PlayStation’s competition to Nintendo’s handhelds – the PSP and, more recently, the Vita – both launched at $249.99 in 2005 and 2012, respectively. That means PSP, today, would cost $299.37 (at 19.8 percent inflation), with Vita faring better, with only a 1.9 percent inflation rate, and hence costing only $4.66 more than its initial asking price.Saturn’s predecessors, on the other hand, have faired better because of their lower respective entry prices. Master System, launched in 1986 at $199.99, would cost $426.76 today, with a 113.4 percent inflation rate. Genesis, launched in 1989 at a slightly lower price point -- $189.99 – would cost $358.34 today, with an 88.6 percent inflation rate. Dreamcast, which came to market on the other side of the Saturn’s failure, cost $199.99 in 1999, equivalent to $280.75 today.Not surprisingly, Sony’s PlayStation brand saw its most expensive entrant in 2006’s PlayStation 3, and with a mild inflation rate between then and now of 16 percent, its $599.99 cost equates to $696.05 today. The original PlayStation, launched in the west in 1995 at $299.99, would cost $460.37 today, while PlayStation 2, launched in 2000 for an identical $299.99 price point, would cost $407.44 today.Microsoft’s three Xbox consoles have gotten more expensive over time. The original, OG Xbox, launched in 2001 at $299.99, costs more like $396 today. Xbox 360, launched in 2005 at $399.99, would cost $479 today. And Xbox One, which comes out next month, will cost $499.99 in 2013 cash.

Colin Moriarty is IGN’s Senior Editor. You can follow him on Twitter.