I have argued before that gaming doesn't have to be an expensive hobby. A couple platoons in 15mm is far cheaper than a lot of other hobbies. However, it IS worth taking stock at how much more expensive the hobby has gotten over the past decade or so. 

Between rising shipping costs, tariffs and inflation, we're approaching a dollar a figure for 15mm figures. I suppose you can argue that for a skirmish gamer, that's not a huge cost but I think there is a mental distinction between a ww2 platoon costing 15-20 bucks and costing closer to 40. Especially if you are getting soaked on shipping costs on top. And that is before factoring in vehicles. If I want 3 tanks (so I have something to pick between) and a few heavy weapons its approaching 80 bucks pretty quickly. 

80 dollars for an army is not outrageous I suppose, but its outside the "on a whim" price range for me (roughly on par with what it costs for the wife and I to go out for a nice lunch). And I think that is a bit of a pity. One of the joys of 15mm has always been that the cost was low enough, you could decide to do a random Soviet paratrooper platoon because you read a book about that and it was no big deal.

You still can of course, but there's a bit more of a consideration I think at that price point. Then again, I saw a "combat patrol" box that was 8 dollars per figure for warhammer, so at least the little mini's still have their edge.

Will this affect skirmish gaming? Well, skirmish games have been more popular than ever for a few years now and I don't think that's only because of a fad. I wouldn't go so far as to say its strictly because of cost but "the entry point is not a tournament sized Warhammer army" has definitely been a selling point.

Of course if wargaming is your primary (or only) hobby then the cost may not be a big deal. That paratrooper platoon might see your gaming table for years to come, along with the time you enjoy painting, basing and generally tinkering with the physical models. Certainly these days I don't really care about video games, beyond some retro stuff for my Amiga, so the savings on that pay for a few armies when I want. 

What do you think? Am I whinging? Is it the inevitable way of things? Did the boffins in suits finally ruiin everything? 

Let me know in the comments.