Getting into pinball really reminded me how cheap video games are. Especially if you are patient, you can get just about any major release for $30 or less within a year. These day I'm thrilled to find a decent pin for under $2,000

I'll probably buy a PS5 this fall and not think about it. $400 or $600. It doesn't matter. I've used the same PS4 that I bought for $400 for seven years now. I'm fine if it's $600 and a PS5 lasts me another seven years.

I'm curious how the changes in architecture for the next gen systems will change PC gaming. The 360 era hugely influenced PC gaming and it took a few years for most PC hardware to catch up (like 2005-2008). But the PS4/XO era saw a relatively little jump over PCs and then PCs quickly caught up and surpassed it. The new high transfer rate storage formats are exciting, especially if game designers take advantage and no longer have to use all the same tricks to obfuscate loading screens (eg riding an elevator, running down a long hallway, doing a quick time event or other canned animation with specific timing). It may provide a technological distinction that was lacking this past generation. (At least until the new storage formats proliferate in PC gaming)