It's not whether a "poorer" person could scrimp and save and be in the hobby, it's more like "what's the norm?" From that standpoint, it's definitely a hobby for the upper-middle class and beyond.
All my friends with 5+ games are unmarried and making low six figures. The ones who aren't as financially well-off "rent" games for 50 or 75 cents a go.
I think that's fine. These are full-size arcade games and until very recently weren't built with home collectors in mind.