No shit. Are you seriously wondering why Commodore USA can't match the price of an Acer spec for spec?
No one competes with low-end PCs from Acer/Dell/HP anymore unless they have something unique. There's no profit to be made. Commodore USA's selling point is the Commodore name, unique case, and retro appeal.
Commodore USA is banking that people will pay a premium for that. Will they? I think some will. We'll find out.
Heck, if some people are willing to pay a much bigger premium for sub-standard, slow hardware based on an obsolete platform just to run an obscure OS that is incompatible with the vast majority of software and hardware out there... perhaps Commodore USA has a chance!
I think I've mentioned in previous posts that the Commodore and Amiga names aren't important to me (while the seem to be a point of religious reverence to others).
The case is cute. But not two hundred dollars worth of cute. And retro appeal is more than appearance.
As to obscure OS' and incompatible systems, that just a hobby. And when I use an X86 PC, its just an appliance.
However, I will agree with you that C=USA is likely to sell a few of these. There probably is a market for them. And the introductory price has to leave some room for profit for third parties. Also, in time it could go down.
You also forgot to mention (as a selling point) the promise of a future Commodore OS (with emulation of older hardware).
But as to "
Are you seriously wondering
why Commodore USA can't match the price of an Acer spec for spec", absolutely
. Computers are mere commodity items these days
. You can attempt to market with unique features, but unless those features offer utility (rather than the intangibles you've mentioned) you're going to have difficulty justifying a price premium.