Amd can't compete with performance and they don't want to compete on price. So what do they do? Promise software upgrades... Don't look over here at the high price that's in line with current nvidia offerings, that have been available for most of the year, look at the shiny new software we are promising you.
It sounds like the 290X will do fine in terms of performance (based on MANY reliable sources) and I applaud them on the performance front. BUT AMD's prior woes do not give the necessary brand strength that NV has to command a premium. That is something NV fought for over several years in terms of quality software and forethought. AMD isn't on that level yet.
If the 290X is 550-600$, I would consider that a great buy considering that the 290X more or less will definitely be faster than the 780. But 700$+? Hell no. Not after all of the bad publicity and not having NV's value adds. Mantle seems promising but won't be in use until December at the earliest so that cannot play a role in a launch purchase decision. I've said this before but anyone in the market for a new card seeing a 290X for 700$, a large portion of those buyers will simply shrug their shoulders and buy a 660$ GTX 780 overclocked edition instead - those cards generally match Titan performance anyway.
Someone at AMD needs to wake up and realize that commanding price premiums isn't based on performance alone. That is one factor, but brand strength, consumer loyalty, value added features, and most important...SOFTWARE Quality...AMD simply has not proven themselves at a sufficient level in the other areas to demand a price premium, yet.