The character passes are a rip off, 6 characters for £25 if you want them on release, SSFIV on disc the base game and 10 new characters was £25, AE 4 characters £12, Ultra 5 characters £12.
(I'm going to be using USD prices so I don't confuse myself here)
First, SSFIV was $40 (about 30GBP), which is more than the $30 SP.
Also, you can't just completely ignore the free avenue just because you don't play enough to use it. If you didn't play enough to at least earn the first 6 characters by now, then its clear that you don't play enough to justify having to own everybody.
The structure of the FM system is set up so that if you buy every character and a few other things, the average player should just about be able to earn every other season for free. Yeah, it's not 100% free like we'd all want, but it's better than nothing.
Comparing SFV's planned 5 years of content vs SFIV's 5 years, we can see which is better in the end.
SFIV (Console)
- Launch @ 25 characters ($60)
- Super @ 10 characters ($40)
- Arcade Edition @ 4 characters ($15)
- Ultra @ 5 characters ($15)
Final: 44 Characters, $130 ($2.95 per character)
SFV
- Launch @ 16 characters ($60)
- Season 1 @ 6 characters (Earned)
- Season 2 @ 6 characters ($30)
- Season 3 @ 6 characters (Earned)
- Season 4 @ 6 characters ($30)
- Season 5 @ 6 characters (Earned)
Final: 46 Characters, $120 ($2.60 per character)
There you can see that SFV ends up with the (marginally) better value in the long run.