That's just how Nintendo has operated for a while. Since the 90s they ported and/or rereleased their games with fancy packaging, called it a special release, and raked in more money at minimal effort. Other than that, they keep their games full priced for years, they manufacture artificial scarcity on many of their products and rarely offer a means to own or even play many of their games from years ago. That's why the prices of secondhand Nintendo games are so bloated, and it's also why Nintendo takes such an aggressive stance against emulation.

When they decide to let you play an old game again, they want to generate a big nostalgia craze and a ticking clock element so they can basically guarantee profits.