What? Because of a charging cable? That's absurd. $70 is a bit much for a controller. Ps4 controllers come with the charger as well, and their only $60 or less if you buy on amazon.

Does the controller have the same HD rumble that the Joycons do? If so, then maybe that would be the reason.

Well, the Pro Controller has both NFC and HD Rumble, plus the battery lasts 40h per charge, so I think the price is justified even though it's a bit expensive.

You have to be careful with usb type-c cables, bad ones are sold even on amazon.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/11/04/a-google-engineer-who-works-on-usb-type-c-products-is-reviewing-and-identifying-out-of-spec-potentially-dangerous-third-party-cables-and-adapters/

https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/16/usb-certified-chargers/

And the answer to your second question is already in the OP.

Also has gyro, but yeah. This.

Wow that's great! At first I thought I could not be more hyped but now you did it :) I want this baby even more!
Well done Nintendo, well done!

HD rumble may be the factor in the price. Even the Wii U pro controller comes with the charging cable and doesn't cost $70. I have never had to buy a charger cable seperate when purchasing a controller, have you?

Because they are a ripoff. That's why

The real reason it costs so much is greed.

Controllers have extremely high profit margins. Nintendo is just maximizing profit based on what they think they can get away with.

For example, a PS4 controller cost $18 to build in 2013.

Source:
http://allthingsd.com/20131119/teardown-shows-sonys-playstation-4-costs-381-to-build/