80sDuckFan - I see what your saying, but not everyone is a collector. I can only play the PC version so my opinion is very game play oriented on the characters, I really only have two figures that are in my collection of things. What I'm trying to get at is that not everyone will get the figures just to collect them, sometime they get them to play with them or both. And when said character has his/her/it's abilities outdated and outperformed by a later/newer model, that character will become something of no worth to the people who get them to play with in the game or as a virtual character in say like the PC version.
Basically you have to look at other perspectives to get it. For some it does not matter, others it can matter a lot. Really only three perspectives I can figure on this.