I'd say that failure to deliver on those promises potentially came from 2 things:

1. A lack of familiarity with developing under console constraints, and not using their in-house engine.

This is completely reasonable and understandable.

During Fanfest, some devs were regularly stating how they would make certain changes to cope with the PS3's limited capacities. Or how they had to take more time coding new tools to work within the Unreal engine, because it simply didn't come with the tools they needed.
For example, they have a lot of maps developed that they can't release, because they have to stay within a budget on hard drive space (and let's be honest, most PlayStation owners have no clue how to upgrade and reformat their PS3 hard drives).

2. Someone felt that developing Dust on the aged PS3 was a good idea, and disregarded all advice from people in his team to the contrary, as pedantic.

This is just speculation, of course.
Forbes contributer Kathy Caprino helps employees have a good perspective on such bosses.
To the boss narcissist's credit though, I'll say this... "If Dust514 was a PS3 LAUNCH game, then your idea would have been ahead of the curve. People coming from PS2 games to Dust, would have been amazed with it. Your timing was simply bad."
But I admit, that would have been impossible.... EVE was at its infancy (and struggling) when the PS3 came out.

If CCP Shanghai stays focused on Legion 'like a weak laser rifle', and they deliver on making Legion play the way Dust was envisioned... they will NOT fail.
Legion would very well be the game that infuses the EVE universe with the injection of ground players that they want. As long as they remember the VISION.

I still find that E3 trailer more appealing than Destiny or Star Citizen. All this time later, and there's still nothing like it. smh

I would like to issue you a complimentary blindfold.

I think Star Citizen's approach might be a bit too far. And I think the high expectations Star Citizen has set is going to bite them badly in the rear come release time. I've given them way too much money personally, but I think that's a train wreck in the making, just watch. They may be making a ton of cash now, but when the realities set in, I think they're going to burn a lot of customers, really the same way people have felt burned by DUST.

(Sidebar: Elite Dangerous devs were selling a "premium beta" as opposed to the "normal beta", which I feel is the highest tier of doucheiness you can get. I don't care how good the game is, I will not give them money, they make EA look like the patron saint of customer service.)

What I'd like to see from the Legion development is a periodic tidbit (like weekly) of something they're currently working on. A screenshot or a little factoid, or whatever.