Well said.
I'm also growing rather tired of Hasbro's attitude that the collector base doesn't really factor into the viability of the line.
In my personal life, I can look at eight boys who all passed through the optimal age range that Hasbro is looking for between the years of 1999 through 2007. I know what these boys have because one is my step-son and the rest are my nephews. I can honestly say that (a) about 60% of the Hasbro Star Wars stuff they ever acquired as kids were gifts from their Uncle Pete; (b) that if I were to add up all of the stuff that their parents and I bought for them, and then compared it to the amount of stuff I have purchased over the past 13 years, it would be at least a 1:30 ratio between the amount of stuff these kids have vs. the amount of stuff I have; and (c) I'm still collecting and not a one of them are even interested in Star Wars toys anymore - sure when they visit they're interested in seeing what some of the new toys look like, but for the most part, they typically drill me about whether or not I've heard if The Force Unleashed release date has slipped or when the cartoon will be starting or if there will be another movie - they aren't interested in toys anymore.
So what's my point? At any one time, the kids may outnumber us, but that is only because kids ARE the target audience for the figures. However, in terms of long-term interest in the line, continued purchasing patterns, loyalty to the brand and money to spend, we (the collectors) should reign supreme when it comes to Hasbro trying to decide whether or not to make a change to the line.
Let's LOGICALLY look at the situation Hasbro has put themselves in - regardless of what Lucasfilm wanted.
Kid A - he's seven years old and his dad just took him to see the Clone Wars animated movie in theatres. He wants to get Anakin, Ventress, Rex and Ashoka action figures to play with. He will go to the store, find those figures and buy them. He's looking for specific characters. The style of the figure does not play a role. The figure should look "cool" and entice him to buy it, but if he wants the figures, he will nag his parents for them.
Collector B - he's spent the last 13 years collecting the "realistic" style figures. He's passed on Force battlers, the Animated Cartoon Network Clone Wars figure line, and other junk because they aren't in the same scale and/or they aren't in the same style. You have shown him that even if you make a figure in an animated style, down the line, a realistic version will be made. Motivation for buying an animated version of Ashoka, Captain Rex or Anakin? Non-existant. Conversely if you made the figures in a realistic style, that collector is right there with at least $500 on July 26th looking to make a substantial investment in the Clone Wars line.
One could argue that from a business perspective, Hasbro has taken a gamble with the style change. Now all we have to do is sit and wait to see if that gamble pays off. Come Christmas when the pegs are CLOGGED with the Clone Wars Turd Yoda figure, we'll see that it did not.