No, its not that bad. Just people out there who own flash 101cm HD LCD TVs want their Wii to have the best picture as possible, so because there is a huge shortage they are willing to pay top dollar.
But really people with normal CRT TVs will be content with the normal composite connection, I would be if I still had my ol' 61cm TV. But I don't, and composite looks crap on my LCD. I know from using the Gamecube, thats why I got component cable for that