Some of the pricing models do seem nuts. Lord of the Rings Online is a free to play game on PC I've spent about £110 on, but that's in 7 years; almost all on buying content rather than fluff, just paid for more useful things like more bag space and shared storage but none of the cosmetic fluff or temporary boosts. For that I've basically got the full game, although would cost more than that when not on sale as there are now 6 expansions, 4 free quest pack areas and 20 further quest packs (and there is still more of Middle Earth to go), and several skirmishes. You get points while playing the game so some of that you can get for free, but realistically have to start paying some cash when you get to Angmar or Moria - can still be a tourist in regions not bought so it isn't compulsory to buy everything in level order. Still cheaper than subscribing (although do need a single 1 month subscription to unlock some other stuff).
Still, something like 4p per hour played is close to free.