Steve,

As for older parts, they do not get any less expensive to make. So the
price drops until the yields are stable, and then stops dropping.
Happens to everyone. At some point, they get more expensive to make as
their quantities go down, and the fab line equipment gets more expensive
to run (obsolete processes). That is why we send out notices for the
end of life of a product (eventually).

That is also why we then go to a new and less expensive technology as
soon as we can! If we can make an FPGA for less, our business increases
as the number of applications that can afford FPGAs increases.

If the ASIC business had 20,000 ASIC starts in a 20 billion dollar
market three years ago, and only 2000 starts least year, you can easily
see where increased business for FPGAs comes from.

The parts you mention here, in Peter's scale of FPGA 'life' of 15 years
for every 1 year makes these parts very old (>90 years) and just plain
old (75 years). Definitely parts that are in the "retired" phase (still
playing golf actively, but not recommended for new designs).

As for why things cost less in quantity, that is Econ 101 (for non majors).

Austin