I've been to more than a few WordCamp's. So, here's my 2 cents. ;)

There is certainly room for other WordPress-related events that are not specifically "WordCamp", and that's fine. There's more than enough developers out there to support something like an advanced-wp-conference, sort of thing. Clearly there are enough people using Pods to have this event, and that's kinda awesome.

That said, of course these more specialized events will have higher ticket prices, and that's natural and expected too.

WordCamp in specific is primarily about the users. If you go to any of these at all, the "bloggers" track is frequently the largest one, and a large majority of the questions people ask of the various experts there have to do with fairly basic principles. How to choose plugins/themes, how to do SEO stuffs, etc. I've explained these simple questions and fixed minor problems for people's sites, oh, dozens of times at a WordCamp. Keeping the cost down and encouraging local involvement and even local speakers is really what a WordCamp is all about.

Though many of us travel and speak and pay for lodging at these events, the majority of the people I meet at them are definitely local, maybe drove down from a nearby city for the day, and usually are super-happy and impressed by the low cost and highly valuable information they are getting. I think that's absolutely great. It encourages growth and all too frequently tech conferences are simply out of the price range of people who want to learn more or are just starting out. If a ticket is $100+, then it won't phase somebody already paying a couple thousand for plane+hotel and such. But it makes those day-trip attendees a lot less viable.

So, I think WordCamp's are great the way they are. If more specialized conferences start to happen, then higher costs might be on the table for them, and that's cool too.

And if at some point a WordCamp-named event does become more specialized, then maybe the foundation will experiment a little more. They are clearly focusing on more local oriented events at present, and I personally like it that way for now. Keeps it interesting, as I get to meet and help out a lot more people, which is always nice. :)