It's not about "why can't they." It's about "why should they?" As depressing as that sounds, they want a reason why they should waste more money on budget if there's little to zero gain in sales. MAYBE the "boycott" will work and show them that they need more men on deck, but probably not. When cheap money-making game's like Pokemon GO exist, which outsell main series games ten times over every year, it's hard to explain why you need a bigger team to the investors, and pitching it as a "project out of love" isn't going to touch a business man's heart usually.