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maybe it is same source of Information that produces for an obsolescence check for the Cyclone IV also "two years" or "device lived longer than expected" information.
Some obsolescence tools tend to state two years if they are not aware of any other informations...
Obviously that does not contribute to trust in the useability of information generated by these tools :-)
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Till now all device from Altera, still very obsolete, are in production. The question can be in term of pricing but new device can simply use old device so there is no silicon obsolescence as from competitor.
MAXII MAXV AND new MAX10 are all supported by new tools, old device support get removed by new tools but old one are available from ancillary and can cohexists.
MAX V is quite pin to pin to old MAX II price of max V is a fraction of MAX II. Same don't applyfor old MAX just without pin compatibility due to old casing and limited but simple rework can apply new device.
MAX 10 overlap top of MAX V winning by price over old series so it open new way for developer.
New device outperform old device in term of speed and cost, update also to oldest one of new tools probably result in an higher development cost not covered by silicon sell income,
One thing I feel as missing are TQFP and casing for small size. FPBA is good for large production but not for small where microcontroller are best fit.
Some area like motor control can get benefit from this new device too.
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