The bigger players like Nikon boosted production and infrastructure to cater for the boom years from 2008-2012.
I think we are seeing the rapid end of this boom and they have to scale down accordingly.
We are just going back to the old days where enthusiasts used a SLR and casual users used a compact camera.
Simply replace SLR=DSLR/MILC and compact = phone.
So I do think there is money to be made, just less than the boom years.
Prices will slowly increase each cycle, but I do think that the camera makers will play off each other and that will keep prices within certain levels.
(for the entry/mid level at least)
I am not unhappy with the development since it places photography back to enthusiasts rather than every guy with camera.
Not to mention that I really don't need Nikon D3000, D3100, D3200, D3300, etc every year.