^^^ I guess you mean "touchscreen". Well yeah, for non-touchscreens, mouse and keyboard does the job.
And well about the prices, Microsoft's OS life is on stake with this OS, so if they dont put it in quite affordable range, their market would surely get in question. Thats why they are playing it easily so that they can maintain their reputation. Also, since they will be rolling out win 8 for all 3 devices, viz mobile, tablet and laptop, they can surely get enough profit by lowering the price and maintaining single platform for all.