What I mean 'with inflation' is that what is cheap and affordable is relative to time. In order to be the budget console, Nintendo has to be priced less than the alternatives. $200 is not some magical eternal price point from which Nintendo shalt never deviate, and the fact that Nintendo has just released a handheld for $150 -- no matter what you think of the hardware in it (more likely they think the percieved value of the new control mechanism is higher -- wow, does that sound familiar?) -- should tell you that there is no such thing as an eternal price point.
And yes, you are hoping here. Just like Sony fans who say Sony will never go above $300 (same justification, I might add. They have 2 points on their trend line and you have 4. It's not a huge difference) and xbox fans who felt likewise. Expecting the price of something of relatively the same consumer value to stay the same over time is economically unfeasable.