I don't know anyone that works for Shimano, therefore I do not know the company's motivations behind introducing new things outside of introducing new tech for the riders that geek over it. I do know when Apple changed their OS and did not make it backwards compatible in the same way they had before and everyone in geekdom freaked out, but after the dust settled the new OS platform has survived and evolved.
The point is, if people want the latest and greatest they must be willing to be flexible and accept the fact that standards must change to enable the latest and greatest to be developed. If not willing to adapt we are stuck with friction shifting and sidepull rim brakes.