Cars are waaaaaaay fucking better than they were in the past. My dad had a Mustang in the mid 90s, paid about $20k for it, it had 225hp, cloth seats, crappy stereo, got like 16mpg, handled like crap with skinny 16" tires, and was a completely unsafe tin can of a car.
I have a newer one that I paid $35k for, it has 460hp, leather interior, a banging sound system, dozens of airbags, computer-controlled wizbangery that makes the car a breeze to drive, massive tires, and somehow gets 20mpg.
Adjusted for inflation, these cars cost the same, but the newer one is such an incredibly massive improvement in every aspect.
It makes sense that games would get so much cheaper over time, considering much more sophisticated manufactured goods have improved considerably while getting cheaper after inflation.
Cars have a higher development investment, as well as marginal costs per unit considerations. Adding a feature to a car, like a carbon fiber hood over a steel one, incurs an added unit cost, while adding a level or something to a game has almost no marginal cost increase.
> Lastly, the growth in the car market is roughly proportional with the increase in population, while the gaming industry has grown at double digits per year for decades now.
It's not like I'm getting five cheap 2008 Fiestas in a Humble Bundle any time soon :-P
EDIT: I stepped away for a moment and just noticed that you edited your answer. I'll keep my reply intact anyway.
I have a newer one that I paid $35k for, it has 460hp, leather interior, a banging sound system, dozens of airbags, computer-controlled wizbangery that makes the car a breeze to drive, massive tires, and somehow gets 20mpg.
Adjusted for inflation, these cars cost the same, but the newer one is such an incredibly massive improvement in every aspect.