You are probably right Smeggy....and all makers are in a competition for the "latest and greatest", so keeping up is a requirement.
For me, I would love the ability to Special Order a camera to my specifications, like a car. Take a great camera like the K5 and just bare-bone it.....at a much lower price, then add a list of options to select to fit your particular needs. For me, I would leave out the video and live view, and the in camera processing, a couple of the modes and maybe add a few options not currently available... like two card slots etc. By giving options from a base model, Ricoh could extend the life of a base model for a longer period of time and potentially increase profits.....some, like me, would actually pay more to get less.
Just a thought.....it works well on cars...some of them anyhow.
Regards!