If you're buying a large quantity of them for a product the license fees can certainly be relevant (As can, e.g. the number of pins on the package). I suspect it's there for that kind of customer.
Sure and what is possible is that some users develop RISC-V based applications and RPi can offer a slightly cheaper version for those really price sensitive customers.
The comment I replied to was unduly alarmist though in suggesting Arm could make the Pico ‘expensive’ vs ‘cheap’ now with a royalty increase on an existing license.
The comment I replied to was unduly alarmist though in suggesting Arm could make the Pico ‘expensive’ vs ‘cheap’ now with a royalty increase on an existing license.