Me, with a 7800X3D:
My ex, with a 7800X3D:
Anotger friend, with a 7600:
Collectively: "why would we upgrade just one generation?"
Like, sure, I have a Threadripper 1st and 2nd gen. I'm weird like that. I have a VII and a 7900 XTX. But the 7xxx is fine. I went from TR 2950X to the 7800X3D. Do I want more cores? Fuck yeah. Am I going to pay thousands of dollars for a modern high-core TR? Lmfao no.
If I was building a new machine for someone, sure, 9xxx. But shit, even a 3xxx in my network is still kicking ass. Why the hell would I upgrade when I don't want to? And the 7xxx is cheaper and - mostly - offers the same performance.
Drop the price if they want to sell more, simple as that. And don't expect upgrades every release family.