Your argument about adding new things resulting into unwanted bugs and responsibility for Capcom would've had more weight if we were talking about more advanced stuff that changes more variables like adding a new modifier like Must Style or a new difficulty. But you can't honestly tell me that putting a dummy with no AI and infinite health into one of the BP platforms is one of them. I mean, seriously, what would have been the wost thing that could have happened that made them decide not to add something so simple? There is no balancing involved, there is no AI, no other enemy, it's the same environment, same character, same everything.
I don't wanna over simplify it, I'm sure they still had to code some of these things into the base game and it would have take a bit of time but still saying that they couldn't have done it or it would have created bigger problems just doesn't seem right to me.
That's one way to look at it. When I look at DmC I see Capcom getting greedy after noticing GoW's 5 million numbers and chasing after that money. They went for NT and more cinematic western game because GoW had proven to be more successful financially using those attributes than other Japanese action games like DMC4 and Bayonetta. IMO, it had nothing to do with them realizing a deficiency in their game or wanting to give fans what they wanted. Capcom saw money and went after it, plain and simple. If anything, DmC
E is NT and Capcom trying to do right by the fans that they completely ignored with original release.
I know SE is still DMC4, I'm not asking them to do a remake, I don't think anyone ever did. But when you are releasing a Special Edition of a flawed game after 7 years people (rightfully) expect you to try and fix some of its flaws. They can't change half of the game and give Dante an entire new campaign, it's okay we understand, but when they don't even attempt to fix much much much simpler problems, that is not understandable no matter how you look at it. It's as if they were completely oblivious to what people disliked about DMC4 in the past 7 years.
What was DMC4's problem?
It had a great combat engine with two awesome characters but with no content to go along with them.
What did fans want and asked for?
Better and richer contents to play these awesome characters with.
What did Itsuno and team added when they had the chance to make a SE version?
More awesome, somewhat fresh characters with zero new contents.
And I get what you are saying that they are testing waters and new ideas with these characters but the same would have applied to new modes. If we had a new training mode in 4SE that only had the bare bones then the chances for having a much more advanced training mode in DMC5 that had command/combo challenges (like in fighting games) would have been much higher. Or we might have gotten newer modes in DMC5 like boss rush and such since they would have already tackled Training mode in 4SE and had the fundamentals ready for DMC5.
tl;dr, I don't like the vibes that I'm getting from 4SE and especially what Itsuno said about it. It seems like they have completely shifted their focus to just make better combat and the content that's suppose to come with it probably won't get as much attention as it needs.