I dont doubt that Lucas wants it relegated to the dustbin but i think he is starting to realise that its just some megalomaniacal pipe-dream of his. The release of the OOT that has already occured, regardless of its motivations for release, is proof of this. Obviously his "artistic integrity" has financial boundaries. Really, Lucas himself is not in charge of Lucasfilm anymore, as he stepped down as CEO--the 2006 OOT release was entirely Jim Ward's project. Obviously we will see the OOT released in Lucas' lifetime because it has already happened. This whole "they don't exist" thing is simply bullshit, its just Lucas wishing out loud.

Like i said, how else can Lucasfilm possibly justify any more releases of the films? With no new theatrical releases, everything is done--theres not really a significant slew of new initiates to lure with new purchases. 90% of the people the boxset is marketed for would have already have all the films. Maybe i am wrong, maybe it will be the first option I proposed, simply the pre-existing dvds in a big box with some dinky bonus game demo thrown in or something, but I really don't see how Lucasfilm could actually think that it would be a profitable undertaking. Obviously fan demand, artistic worth and any such pretentiousness has no bearing on whether the OOT will or will not be released, and the content of any impending box set--this is a corperation very much like Disney. The question is will this make the company money? I really don't think so.

As for the cost of releasing a new transfer: million? God no. Thousands. Pocket change really. There are plenty of viable prints in the LFL archives that are perfect candidates--including those wonderful dye-transfer prints--and the standard dirt-removal filters included in modern telecine suites would be more than adequet for a new release. The total cost of this entire release would be well under a hundred thousand dollars.
I really can't see them waiting until the HD releases either. The release of a proper OOT would have to be done soon, and the 30th anniversary is a pretty good opportunity, when everyone will be hungry for the ORIGINAL "nostalgic" material. Looking at the release pattern:
-release PT first because everyone will be hungry for DVD star wars
-release OT SE next because everyone will be hungry for OT on dvd
-release OOT crap-version next because everyone will be hungry for OOT in any form
-release OOT good-version next because everyone will re-buy a proper release
Then, repeat for HD, which Lucasfilm should be moving into in the next three or four years.