Wavelab is a different beast but as for the subject, overall I think users would like a cheaper and more “professional” version, i.e. Nuendo and not be mollycoddled around with dongles, NEK’s and outright cash grabs by SB.
“What Makes Nuendo @$1700 vs. Cubase @$500?”
I believe it’s called capitalism. If you can successfully BS someone into paying an outrageous amount of money for something you sell, you WILL do it… 
What if someone needs features from the above list? You are then probably more into the Post production side of things than the Average Joe.
You are probably at a level that your customers are paying for your equipment in the end. If not, you’re out of business 
That’s why I believe SB should offer a better deal to get onto the Nuendo ship, that is no less than one payment for two product cycles, albeit at a higher price point, which would deliver more certainty to the sales channel but also greater value to the customer.
This might be a starter:
Wavelab is very different than Nuendo or Cubase. Wavelab is for mastering plus in-depth editing/analysis/burning. It also has very valuable tools like patch processing. Ever wanted to convert a thousand .wav files to MP3? Thats just the tip of the iceberg with batch conversion. Ever have the issue of a client choosing the slightly louder track as “best?” Wavelab has Smart Bypass that eliminates any dB bias allowing the listener to focus on the actual processing changes. Of course you will find users “mastering” with Cubase since Cubase has a mastering template. 
The reason is clear.
The price of a product is based on several things (including marketing and support) - but 3 are usually most important:
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How much does it cost to develop/design the product (high for Nuendo).
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How much does it cost to manufacture the product (low for Nuendo).
3. How many people will buy the product.
This last is the reason for Nuendo’s higher price for the most part.
Obviously, the cost to design and build the product (as well as market, support, etc) has to be divided over the number of probable purchasers and then some for a profit.
There are quite a number of products aimed at a much smaller than average market - Audio Post Producers, for instance - that cost enormous sums vs what appear to be similar mass market items.
Pros need these tools, though, and can pass the costs onto their clients.
Nuendo has quite a few features that some cannot do without - and the cost to develop and test these features is quite high - but Steinberg will sell far fewer copies of Nuendo vs Cubase, I assure you.
I actually only own Cubase at present - because I don’t do enough of the type of Post that I can’t do on Cubase. But I can tell you that, if that changed (and it may), and Nuendo became my main Ax . . well . . . $1700 is a drop in the bucket. I spend that on a regular basis for gear I use much less.
Hugh
Hay where do you get this beer for a dollar…I’m in 
Lets look at some Nuendo features that you’d have to buy separately if you were working post with an “off the shelf” DAW.
ADR taker: $1800 to $3500
Reconformer: $850 to $4000
Surround tools: $350 to $1000
Thats around $3000 for JUST these features.
So yes, $1800 is actually pretty low a price in my opinion.
Definitely a good point too. This is your everyday tool.
[cough]necro[/cough]
Nuendo is a tool that is meant to pay for itself and if you don’t use it that way just don’t buy it?
What makes it cost more than triple?
Simple! $1700 - $500 = $1200. Therefore, it is the extra $1200 that is making it cost more than triple.
There, I solved it. Do I get a prize?
I smell genius…