Sure, they could've priced it lower (same for Surface RT), but that'll just worsen their relationship with OEM partners, and that wouldn't be worth it in the long term. Right now it's mostly just Acer making a big fuss but if they made Surface Pro cheaper even bigger companies like Dell and HP aren't going to be too pleased. Perhaps by the time it comes out the price of Windows 8 ultrabooks would've dropped, and Microsoft would follow suit too? Who knows.
Yeah I decided to include a Blu-ray player in my laptop for whatever reason 2-3 years ago, until now I haven't even used it to play a BD. Haven't put in a DVD/CD in ages either.
Hopefully we'll see more accessories along with the Surface Pro, like keyboard + battery docks...