Roman5: Ubisoft: "LOL JUST KIDDING GUYS, WE WEREN'T REBOOTING ANYTHING, ENJOY YOUR SHITTY CLIFFHANGER ENDING WHICH IS NEVER GETTING A SEQUEL AND UNFINISHED STORY"
I blame the fans more than anything. They were so opposed to the reboot, and shouted about how much better Sands of Time was before 2008 was even released. So Ubisoft listened to the vocal minority, and we got a crummy sidequel (It wasn't that bad gameplaywise, but it just felt unimportant and disconnected to the rest of the series)
If they had ironed out the issues with 2008 they could have made a truly spectacular sequel. I loved the Sands of Time trilogy, but that story is all wrapped up nicely. I see no need to revisit it. Wish more people felt the same.
But you're right, the ending was crummy.