UngeheuerLich
Legend
It can. But this has nothing to do with wotc pricing or anything near what you need to play.For a player who just owns the PHB, then sure.
For a DM...
I did not have to buy every book in print and DDB although my players sure love campaign access via DDB.
If you are really into the hobby, then it can cost several thousand per year via kickstarters and traditional publishers.
I can say my whole collection over 10 years is probably not several thousand dollars... and I own a lot more than I need.
80% of the public pays for 1 book. A lot of DMs I know will own the 3 core books in print and VTT. They will pay for a DDB subscription. They will probably have 1-3 extra PHBs to loan out during gameday.
I am usually not a big fan of the cost per hour argument because some folks will see that 50 dollar book as rent or food or utility.