While I agree 100% with Thom Hogan, the man doesn't live in Japan. Sony are a consumer company. And there exist no electronic companies in Japan that pay attention to customer retention and brand image.
Sony suddenly end-of-lifing the original A7 and creating an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and doubt regarding the A7r and A7s, isn't unusual. It's part and parcel of the game here.
But it shouldn't be.
“Still, Sony is FUDing themselves with the A7II: given the sudden price drop on the A7 and the appearance of the A7II at the old price point, why would you want to buy an A7s or A7r right now? You have to believe that Sony will pull the same game on those models in coming months. Moreover, Sony is being more aggressive than most camera makers in cycling products. The A7 barely makes it more than a year before it gets the usual ~25% end of life price drop. That kind of thing used to be done only in consumer DSLRs and compact cameras, and that too rapid iteration in a declining market is what flooded the shelves with multiple generations of products simultaneously. It’s looking like the rapid iteration of the RX100 and the old NEX models is now sneaking across Sony’s entire lineup, to where one year life spans for cameras are becoming more and more the norm at every level. This, too, will tend to make people hesitate once they realize that, because Mark II and Mark III and Mark IV are all coming. Soon. ”