It is "subscription-only" with a monthly cancellation, meaning the purchase options in practice limit it to long-term residents since you need to order by mail to a residence.
It is cheaper than the existing discounted options for students/seniors, previously those have been managed by the regional companies and I think they have an uncertain future.
People on social services still have other options, e.g. Berlin has a 9 eur ticket.
Which is precisely what it's trying to accomplish. This is BTW a very common theme for rail pricing in Europe. For instance there is INTERRAIL which is only available to EU residents and then there is EURAIL which has different prices and ticket types for non EU tourists.
Most of it seems to be pricing things more cheaply for tourists than for residents (Interail is not available in the EU country you are resident in.) And Eurail seems to be even cheaper than Interail:
Interail 7 days within one month adult 2nd class €352
Eurail 7 days within one month adult 2nd class $282 (€265)
I considered buying an Eurail ticket last time I went back to Britain though for my trips it made little difference to the total cost after factoring in the supplements for intercity trains as I was travelling off peak anyway.
The price structure for Interrail and Eurail are different which makes them tricky to compare. They in some countries don't even include the same trains.
It is cheaper than the existing discounted options for students/seniors, previously those have been managed by the regional companies and I think they have an uncertain future.
People on social services still have other options, e.g. Berlin has a 9 eur ticket.