The first year (or two, I can't recall exactly when the price dropped), Aces High sub alone was 51$ per month in Canada (30$ USD at the time), so playing the game when it first came out was 600$ per year not even including the ISP connection or PC and HOTAS. I spend 550$ on a CH hotas set, 500$ on the Thrustmaster F22/F16TQS, and then another 500$ on the Cougar when that came out, along with a 60$ per month Cable internet bill, all in and around 2000 to 2002. That didn't include the 2 PCs which were 2200$ each at the time, upgrading every 2 years or so. Just to play one game, AH, that's 8000$ with one upgrade done in 2 years for both PC and HOTAS, incl sub and ISP cost.
Hearing complaints about price now, is laughable, as you can get a cheaper, better performing PC now than then, the game is 1/2 the cost, and internet pricing has come down, while going up in speeds, depending on location. HOTAS prices have stayed pretty flat IMO, for the best ones at least.
