Because it comes with DX10.1 and with 8800GT performance .. and as Arun suggested .. because they can.
GT will be obsolete once the new cards hit .. you can't kid yourself.
US
I believe that G9600 GT will deliver the on-par performance with 3850.
However, it depends on product variance.
G9600GT seeems to be a successor to 7600GT.
Happy Christmas to everyone.