That’s kinda misinformation (or at least how you word it.)

Of course you can go online without a subscription, like MMOs or F2P games, but yeah generally need it for online play, which includes other benefits.

Consoles still have physical media, while the majority of PC games are licensed to you, basically renting if you want to talk about belongings / ownership.

Luckily we have GOG and even pirated games for games preservation, however it can be very limited at times.