Not really. Maybe you had to wait longer for price drops, but you could still get games for cheap and had free online while having paid cheaper up front. Only thing consoles really have now, consistency between hardware and a convenient package. As well as maybe get more power out of hardware of PCs of the same price. As with the Switch, the best portability. At least the consoles are moving into the direct of having some mods too. At this point tho, it might just be best to save up and eat the initial cost for a good PC, just to have free online. *Sigh
I rather have "aren't always the best" and hope for consistency than pay for something that probably isn't going to approve much by paying and even if it does, still not worth losing playing for free.
Yes, it is nickel and diming. Doesn't matter when it started.
Never paid for a MMO and even MMOs are starting to leave the subscription model behind. Plus, MMOs with a lot more players per game, doesn't make you pay for online for every game that just happens to have online.