I do not think $99 is pricey for the box, it does a great job. However what is pricey is when you buy the content. I do look at their sales and buy some shows then.
Movie rental is $5.99 for 1080p HD; easier than going out to the rental store, and cheaper than buying the blu-ray, which I will rarely watch again; plus I love how I can use airplay with my iOS and OSX devices, AND use iTunes Match to stream my entire library to my stereo. Yes, movies can be expensive to purchase, but Mike is right, there are often sales.
I only wish it would support Amazon Prime and HBO Go.
HBO GO is supposed to be out this summer (and I think MAX GO too). Right now you have to use airplay with an iPhone or an iPad to get HBO/MAX GO on the AppleTV.
For $99 I think it's a bargain, given what it does.
Are you talking about a Roku? Found one for $50 and it actually looks quiet interesting. It basically has the same features as Apple TV, without Apple's products support of course but also a lot cheaper. That's definitely something I'm going to look into.
From some reports about Hulu, it appears that future licensing is already an issue. It seems most of the content providers aren't all that thrilled with the results of their Hulu experience.