It's slightly cheaper but you have to compare apples to apples. Take a look at the following thread and read what's there
http://www.p8ntballer-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?146572-50-Cal-review
So if you compare like for like will find it actually 25% cheaper. It could actually be more when demand goes up.
Italy for instance are using a lot of .50 cal now as they see it as a starting point. They are fortunate that they are very new as a country to the sport, even if some of the layers aren't.
Recreational sites looking to make more money will drive demand from all manufacturers - they get it 25% cheaper but they don't need to tell their customers do they. So if someone said to you, "give the same experience to your customers, increase your customer base allowing smaller children to play and to boot make another 250 in the grand profit for upgrading." What would you do??
It will come slowly but surely it will come.