I think the main thing we all have to remember is that we have absolutely no way to know if what ATI is releasing will be a high end card or a mainstream product until after Nvidia announces their next gen card. For all we know, Nvidia's answering salvo could be priced at $400 and makes the ATI card look like the next HD 2900XT or vice versa. There is no way to know where any product will end up until all parties involved put their cards on the table so to speak.

This is also the main reason why many early adopters get royally screwed.