A lot of people believe that you must have a super high quality processor in a player, and analog outputs, in order for it to be even worth considering. That, and a bunch of other features that appealed to a very small subset of player buyers, is what allowed Oppo to sell products that were so relatively high priced. They were admittedly quite good at all that.
But if you already have a processor in a device that happily accepts HDMI, as we've seen with $129 Sony UBP-X800, you don't need all those expensive features. In many ways (like streaming capabilities) the Sony comes out on top, performance-wise.
However niche, Oppo should be applauded for driving the higher end disc spinning market, as they pushed the competition in the lower price brackets to up their game as well. It probably won't matter that they are now leaving, as the entire disc market is likely compressing to near-extinction anyhow. I say "near" as I don't think it will ever disappear completely - at least not while I'm still breathing.
My only beef with Oppo, and what kept me from ever buying from them (except for a used DVD player), was their make-it-in-China approach (for all the reasons I've put forward before.)
