Inflation applies to every consumer good. Real wages applies to paychecks and the buying power of those pychecks compared to inflation. Real wages do not keep up with inflation. The buying power of a dollar today is less than it was a few years ago. More than what only talking about inflation suggests. Dealing with inflation but not real wages is only looking at half the picture.
Some of it is subjective. $52.83 being more than $49.95 is not subjective. (or cheaper on Amazon, or $24.99 for a print on demand AD&D DMG on Drivethru right now, or $7.50 for BFRPG, or free download for 5E Basic, or...)
I repeat, this argument applies to literally every consumer good.
Yeah, it's the same argument you can make about any discretionary good. Though, I think the overall point that it doesn't account for how much more squeezed the average consumer is now than in 1977 is a valid one. Plus, as much as we all love RPGs, it would be one of the first things to get cut in a budget if you absolutely needed to.
I agree that, if your goal is to achieve some level of understanding (or "truth") that this kind of discussion is completely pointless. All you can get is a general idea of what people on this site think about the subject. There are no answers.
And yet extremely expensive smart phones have become ubiquitous. People spend more in relative terms on luxury goods than ever before. They also eat a winder range of more expensive luxury foods and pay more for media.
I think this is one of the things that helps prove how affordable RPGs are though. For most of us, regardless of how much we've spent on the hobby thus far, if we were suddenly financially squeezed and needed to tighten our belts RPGs have staying power. You can just keep playing without spending another dollar.
Yeah, 100%.
