No, the fact GF wanted to learn a new way of game design led to it. They palmed off LGPe's engine, sent Masuda off with his notes from DP's initial release, so they could concentrate on modernising the core Pokémon game formula.
You realise Masuda took a team of relative kiddies, in game dev terms, and made LHGPE? Small wonder this who studio got given it, if it's idiot-proof enough to let fresh-outta-college kids make a game in the engine, a small indie studio should have no worries, especially given their past efforts.
Or would you rather an ORAS situation? Another game in the old style, with the knowledge Gen IX was going to go through the same game design troubles, because GF didn't bother trying to push it sooner. Legends was a direct response to SS's reception and criticisms (NOT you babbies crying the games passed you by, by the way) to Legends reveal. They even said it was the direction they were going to take the series in.
