I wouldn’t really call it a “trap”. If you’re buying a console when it’s new at full price, sure, you’re being taken for a ride, but give it a couple of years for stuff to be cheaper and it can work out reasonably well.

I used to be a major PC gamer but eventually the cost/benefit calculation went completely off the rails.

That said, I’ve not upgraded to the current console generation because I’m still waiting on something to justify it.