It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Canon has got to be unhappy about Nikon's aggressive pricing scheme.
So many semi-random thoughts:
I would not be surprised to see an R1 come it at the same price as the 1Dx III. They probably wanted to price it much higher, but I'm guessing they'll take another look at the numbers now that they know what Nikon is doing. Traditionally the two flagships have mirrored each other. But, they also usually come out within a few months of each other as well.
I think it's smart of Canon to wait another year before releasing the R1. Gives them time to get feedback from the R3 and tweak things like eye-control autofocus, which seems to be the main spec advantage the R3 will have over both Sony and Nikon.
Interesting that Nikon has dropped the mechanical shutter. I was surprised that electronic shutter is the default mode of the R3, so I guess Nikon decided to go all in.
In my ideal world, Canon would provide R3 owners with regular firmware upgrades to tweak eye-control and add value to the body. It which would also give them a handy test bed for the R1.
Will Canon deliberately shift its R1 release cycle to a year or so after Nikon, giving them the opportunity to offer new features that the previous Nikon model doesn't have?
Will the R3 remain in the lineup over the long term, or will it be a one-off? If it is a permanent addition, will the R3 be to the R1 what the R6 is to the R5?
Is the market large enough to support both an R3 and an R1? I suspect it might be if the R3 becomes the "bargain" camera for workings sports photographers and photojournalists in secondary markets, while the R1 gets targeted to well-healed enthusiasts and to photographers in elite sports markets like
@GoldWing.
Regardless, it will be fun to see how all this plays out.