It is true that the other languages did not opt for the numbered naming, but its also true that going with the more recent affixes wasn't exactly ideal either.

Regardless, the drama that this change spawned was entirely unjustified and I'm left to wonder if its because of that that we no longer see Fern around. People complain about the developers only "listening" to the JP, and then behave the way they did when we actually got some direct communication.