This is not it at all...
They like it because there is less risk at the start of each new generation when installed bases are tiny.
Now they can ship one game and have it reach audiences who upgraded as well as those who didn't
But they already do this? PS3/PS4/XB360/XBONE versions of ghosts, BF4, Madden etc.
Then they slowly outsource PS3/XB360 versions as the numbers for current gen/New gen increase.
These upgrades just make it easier to make both versions, as before you were at the mercy of what architecture the older boxes were.
But now that they are x86 having a iterative console isn't needed, as long as the next one is similar in architecture which seeing their silicon/per dollar ratio on new chips being double to triple what Power PC was, there is no need for these mid gen upgrades.
If they decided the next generation to go back to power PC for some stupid reason yes, it would suck and publishers would be bitching all the way to the bank about it.
But power PC architecture is a thing of the past, and having components similar or same to what is current in the market place makes these boxes cheaper to make, and upgrade for each generation.
Throwing more power at publishers who can't even ship games that run properly on current consoles doesn't fix anything but make more patches, and developers have to work harder after the OG PS4/XBONE build is done to make them look like scorpio/neo versions are worth it.
Or worse, they develop the Neo/Scorpio version as being the definitive version, and downscale or possibly out-source OG ps4/xbone version down the road. That's a worst case possibility, and would only be possible if scorpio/neo sold like hot cakes.