That's a rethinking of history. OEMs had better hardware. People wanted it with stock Android. Of course they were going to cost OEM prices. That's no surprise. And of course the Nexus launched cheaper. Also no surprise. The posting was all about how OEM hardware was better and the price premium was worth it if it had stock.
Well, it launched and everyone was quick to not buy it. As usual. Lots of talkers but no one will put up the money. Check the previous OTs for actual history. The Nexus had nothing to do with the failing of people to follow through. It had to do with a better option, sure, but again, everyone wanted stock OEM phones.