lol and what allowed them to sell the mid range gpu at high end prices? um that would be AMD's modest(for a next gen card at $550) 7970. so you can easily turn it around and say that if AMD could make a better next gen card then Nvidia would not be able to charge the prices that they do. you cant have it both ways as at least Nvidia gave us 30-35% more performance at the same price where AMD actually gave LESS performance per dollar with the 7970 than their previous gen.
HD 7970 was not a modest increase over HD 6970, it was ~45% faster and had much higher overclocking headroom. GTX680 offered a ~35% higher performance over GTX580 yet there were few complaints about GTX680 being a modest improvement.
HD 7970 was IMHO overpriced by $50, having said that it did give better price perf compared to Nvidia's GTX580 OC editions and GTX580 3GB.
HD 6970 release price: $369
HD 7970 release price: $549
49% price increase for a ~45% performance increase. So price/perf remained roughly the same. You can't blame AMD for not following the HD 6970 pricing considering it was new tech and much faster than the competition. On release the GTX680 did offer a better price/perf but that lasted only a short period before AMD price cuts and the 7970GE (re badged 7970 IMHO). Don't you think it is hypocritical to denounce AMD for releasing a GPU that was ~30% faster than the oppositions high end GPU (GTX580 3GB) for a lower price? Yet claim Nvidia are blameless for releasing a card with a similar performance increase for a 120% price increase (Titan).
For the record I think the GTX770 is an excellent GPU at last gens 2nd tier pricing so I think it gives good price/perf when taking only in that view. GTX780 and Titan pricing on the other hand is taking the piss. $250 price hike from 3rd tier to top 2nd tier card, $600 price hike from 3rd tier to top tier cards. Do you honestly think this is OK?