1982: Commodore 64, $595 USD

    1982: Median US Income: $14,531 USD

    Musings and observations...

    The Commodore 64 is, arguably, the best-selling computer system. Not of any particular decade, but of any computer system since the Abacus. And by Abacus, I mean one of these: Wikipedia: Abacus
    Sales of the Commodore 64 may have reached close to 30 million units, for a total of nearly $18 billion in gross profit. In 1982 money. For its time, it had high-quality graphics, sound, floppy disk and cartridge support; multiple types of input, including keyboard, joystick, and even mouse support. it came with a built-in programming language; later additions included a hard drive, and modern efforts have managed to connect it to the internet through its cartridge port.
    In short, it was one of the very best home computers you could buy, and all for $595. In short, it was cheap, and high-quality.
    But that's $595 in 1982 money.
    In 2014, the median US income was $53,657 USD. Today, a high-end gaming machine will cost around $1,500 USD.
    With inflation, that $595 in 1982 USD is now $1,485 USD.
    In 1982, a high-end gaming computer was 4% of US yearly median income. Today, a high-end gaming computer is around 2.8% of US yearly median income.
    Funny how the $595 seems smaller...