Nintendo’s launch prices ranged from $79.95 for the Game Boy Color to $349.99 for the 32GB Wii U in the U.S. comparison below. These are nominal U.S. and U.K. prices, not inflation-adjusted values. “Launch” means the price and release configuration reported for each market; it does not imply every system launched in both countries at the same time. The list includes Nintendo handhelds as well as home consoles, following Nintendo Life’s 2025 comparison.
U.S. and U.K. Nintendo launch prices
The table reproduces the original-price figures published by Nintendo Life in 2025. Prices are in the currency shown and are not adjusted for inflation. NES pricing requires special care: its U.S. figure refers to a launch bundle, not a bare console.
| System | Launch year | U.S. launch price | U.K. launch price |
|---|---|---|---|
| NES | 1985 | $199 | Approximately £179.99 |
| Game Boy | 1989 | $89.99 | £99 |
| SNES | 1991 | $199.99 | £150 |
| Virtual Boy | 1995 | $179.99 | Not listed by Nintendo Life |
| Nintendo 64 | 1997 | $199.99 | £249.99 |
| Game Boy Color | 1998 | $79.95 | £69.99 |
| Game Boy Advance | 2001 | $99.99 | £89 |
| GameCube | 2002 | $199.99 | £129.99 |
| DS | 2004 | $149.99 | £99.99 |
| Wii | 2006 | $249.99 | £179 |
| 3DS | 2011 | $249.99 | £229.99 |
| Wii U, 8GB | 2012 | $299.99 | £249.99 |
| Wii U, 32GB | 2012 | $349.99 | £299.99 |
| Nintendo Switch | 2017 | $299.99 | £279.99 |
Source for listed figures: Nintendo Life’s 2025 price comparison. Its figures are reported launch prices for systems or bundles; included items can vary by SKU. “Not listed” means the comparison does not provide a U.K. figure, not that the system had no U.K. price.
Why the NES figure is not a simple console-only price
Nintendo Life’s $199 U.S. figure for the 1985 NES is for the Deluxe Set, which included two controllers, Duck Hunt, Gyromite, the Zapper and R.O.B. That package makes the number a poor like-for-like comparison with a console sold on its own. The Video Game History Foundation describes the October 1985 introduction as a New York test market, rather than a nationwide U.S. launch. WIRED recounts the limited New York release, followed by expansion to other cities in 1986 and a later nationwide rollout.
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Retrospective sources do not agree on a single NES package price: Kotaku gives $129 for a package it describes as including two controllers and Super Mario Bros., while Nintendo Life and a Boston University sample table report $199. Those figures describe different reported packages or source conventions; they should not be collapsed into a universal NES base-console MSRP. See the Nintendo Life comparison, Kotaku’s comparison, the Boston University paper, and the Video Game History Foundation’s account of the NES launch. WIRED’s history is at WIRED.
Wii U had two launch price tiers
The Wii U is listed at two prices because the 8GB and 32GB configurations were separate launch offerings. In Nintendo Life’s table, the U.S. prices are $299.99 and $349.99, respectively; the U.K. prices are £249.99 and £299.99. Kotaku also distinguishes the two U.S. configurations. Comparing only the lower tier would leave out a substantial part of the launch range.
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What inflation-adjusted prices can—and cannot—show
Nintendo Life also estimated 2025 equivalents using the Bank of England inflation calculator for U.K. prices and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for U.S. prices. Examples from that table include the NES at $602 and £547, SNES at $472 and £339, Nintendo 64 at $399 and £483, Wii U 8GB at $420 and £353, and Switch at $363 and £370. These are Nintendo Life’s estimates in 2025 terms, not 2026 values or independently recalculated figures. The U.S. and U.K. adjustments use different national inflation measures.
Inflation adjustment offers a purchasing-power comparison across time; it does not account for different bundle contents, household incomes, or the value buyers received from each system. A separate historical compilation by Don Daglow expresses adjusted prices in November 2023 dollars, so its figures should not be mixed with Nintendo Life’s 2025 estimates as though they shared a base year.
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Prices could change soon after release. Nintendo Life staff writer Jim Norman notes that the 3DS and Nintendo 64 in Europe were among systems that saw price drops shortly after launch to counter poor initial sales. The launch-price table therefore records an opening point, not what every buyer paid throughout a console’s life.
For the Switch, Nintendo’s investor-relations schedule records a hardware release date of March 3, 2017 in Japan, Europe and the United States. That shared date helps anchor the system’s launch year, while the listed price still depends on market and launch package. The date is recorded in Nintendo’s official hardware and software release schedule.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
