With seeing the points you made, I'd say I disagree on the graphics being just different. You might not have a problem with the older and not-so-realistic type of graphics, but some do, it's a turn off for some. The latest games I played had this art style, and I have never played max's life, and I didn't really want to start the old game because of how it looked.
Again, it's just my opinion and I see the points you made. As long as he keeps updating the old one too, this shouldn't really be a problem I guess.