>>What if the answer turns out to be "The customer base is now too small to justify expenditure on developing the product"?
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>Which was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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>You buy a bar on the corner, from a guy who's had great years in it and now just wants to go fishing. You inherit the clientèle, the waiters, the chef, and for a few years you're doing fine. Then you open a big restaurant down the block, and start telling your bar guests that the restaurant is so much better, and start spreading rumors that the bar may be closed soon.
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>Your faithful guests keep the bar open much longer than you expected, and even though they quite often order food from your restaurant, you still keep telling them that the restaurant is so much better, despite being so expensive. You do nothing to stop the rumors that the bar will be closed... actually, you covertly spread them. Most of the restaurant staff doesn't even know you have a bar.
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>Eventually, the bar's guests are fewer than restaurant guests. You close the bar.
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>Now the million dollar question is: where will you find your bar guests?

I think the problem is that the "bar guests" did dwindle a lot over time and many of the ones that kept going to the bar didn't buy much in the way of drinks or food when they were there. If they had, maybe the bar might have stayed open longer.