It's sustainable because the gamer demographic has grown tremendously in the last 25 years as well. Bigger market, means more people buying AAA games in general

It's sustainable because the gamer demographic has grown tremendously in the last 25 years as well. Bigger market, means more people buying AAA games in general, which allows for a larger budget without increasing the price and still being able to get a profit out of it. That said, I'm not personally a fan of the latest generation having price increases. I went from buying games when they came out to just waiting until the games are half off and only buying games on release when there's a vital story I don't want to have spoiled for me. But 90% of my purchases are now only when the game is 50% off or more.