It made sense in 2006 when the technology was new and the concept was novel, in 2023 where server upkeep costs are astronomically low if present at all and cloud technology is the norm, the only thing justifying it is "We've been doing it this way for years"

Honestly the only reason why consoles have subscription fees for online services is because Xbox Live Gold proved that people were dumb enough to full for this bullshit, so Sony and Nintendo just stooped down to Microsoft's level for the free payday.