[pyrmont]

It's not mentioned in the text of the post itself, but the $495 price represents a 75% discount on the previous price. A far more detailed overview is here for those interested: http://www.fxguide.com/featured/rendermanris-and-the-start-o...

[berkut]

Also less than half the price of Arnold and VRay now...

It's possible they were hemorrhaging money thanks to the Arnold and VRay competition over the past few years.

Looks like ILM are being "coerced" into using PRMan again from what I hear...

But either way, it sounds like either they're willing to take a hit on the profits, or they're expecting to make up for it from renderfarm expansions...