This is both accurate and inaccurate. Accurate in that some of the earliest full-frame DSLRs, the Canon EOS-1Ds series, were used for the sort of shooting that traditionally had been done with medium format film cameras: portraits, landscapes, studio work, that sort of thing.
When the EOS-1Ds Mark II came out in 2004, its 16MP full frame sensor inspired talk about "out-resolving" lenses. (This isn't a thing that happens, for what it's worth. What happens is you now have the resolution to notice flaws that would otherwise pass unseen.)
Inaccurate in that actual digital medium format had been around since nearly the dawn of digital photography, in the form of digital backs for existing medium format film camera systems. Further, Mamiya released the first dedicated medium format DSLR in 2004, a 22MP beast with a price tag over ten grand.
It wasn't until Fuji launched their first medium format digital mirrorless camera in late 2017, the GFX 50S, that prices started to get more normal. Oh, sure, they still cost as much as a top-of-the-line pro body from Canon or Nikon, but at least it was used car money, not new car money.
Thing is, they've been on the market long enough now that the oldest ones are nearing Digital Fossils territory. Looking at MPB and Adorama, good used ones are fetching something like $1,500. That's a price where, if someone really wanted to try their hand at digital medium format, the cost is not prohibitive.
I'm kept away by reminding myself that I already have the 50MP Canon EOS 5DS that I hardly ever use.
But that doesn't stop me from kinda wanting to play with one.
