Do you ever see FF returning to the mainstream popularity it had in NA/EU circa FFVII/FFVIII?

[1Truth2Lies]

I don't.

I feel WRPGs have taken over mainstream interest in NA/EU as of last-gen (PS3/360). It will take a really, really, really impressive JRPG to topple WRPGs and restore mainstream interest in the now niche genre.

Also, it doesn't help that anime is now very niche in NA/EU. Only the most dedicated anime fans still watch it. There was a time when anime was the most popular form of animation that aired on TV in NA/EU. These days, it doesn't even get aired. All the popular animations are now all Western. This goes hand-in-hand with how JRPGs have also become niche. Interestingly enough, anime reached its peak in the late 90's. This is also the period when FF was really popular with the mainstream. I still remember the huge amount of mainstream attention and hype there was leading up to the release of FFVIII. It was almost palpable. No hype for a FF game has topped it since.

People often say FFX was the last good FF, but that's only when you look at it from the perspective of somebody that loves anime. If you've never watched anime or are not a fan of it due to the convoluted and nonsensical stories that often plague the medium, you'd probably not like many FF games. Personally, I'd say FFXII was the game that gave FF the biggest shot of renewed mainstream interest in NA/EU. It still had a Japanese touch artistically, but the story was more grounded, even though it was set in a high fantasy world. It helps that the dialogue and voice acting were very exceptional for a video game, rivalling that seen in Shakespeare plays. The huge popularity of Game of Thrones is more proof that a grounded, fantasy story attracts many, many people in NA/EU. I'm sure the grounded story and superb voice acting of FFXII would resonate with them.

Basically, FFXII was released before its time. Had FFXII and FFXIII swapped places, both games would be getting far more praise from FF fans. FFXIII would be seen as the true FFX successor to send off the PS2, while FFXII would be the game that evolved the JRPG genre on PS3/360 and made it able to go head-to-head with WRPGs like Mass Effect, Oblivion, Skyrim, and The Witcher.

As it currently stands, I don't see FF ever reaching the popularity it had before. It's all downhill from here. Sure, we'll get good games, but the series will never be more popular in NA/EU than it was circa FFVII/FFVIII. It is destined to become like Sonic. Sonic games are mostly bad these days, but the dedicated fanbase still buys them. FF games will mostly be between good and great, and the fanbase will always buy them. The only way I see FF becoming mainstream in NA/EU is by copying the Skyrim blueprint and making it Open World with a mature plot. Basically, a hybrid of the mature story, voice acting, and art direction of FFXII with the world scale and volume of gameplay content in Skyrim. Hopefully, this is what FFXVI will be like and Hiroyuki Ito will be directing.

Lastly, before anybody asks, I think FFXV looks mediocre. I don't know, but it doesn't look exceptional to me. Certainly, it doesn't look like the game to conquer WRPGs. Also, by the time the game comes out it will look graphically dated. There are already PS4/One games announced that look graphically better than it, like The Division, The Witcher III, and Uncharted 4. All these games will even release before it.

Anyway, that's my opinion piece over. Thanks for reading.

 

[yeah_93]

I don't watch anime and I'm into FF. It's not that hard. And your logic is so flawed. You are basing it in the fact that the games won't be popular if the game isn't some WRPG ripoff or FFXII-like. Saying, we have to beat Skyrim or something of the sort doesn't do it any favors really. It just has to do its own thing, and be good at it. Saying it's destined to become like Sonic is a terrible understatement, as Sonic is in a terrible position now due to all the mediocre games the franchise has released over the years.

 

[Jenova]

I personally don't believe that the games themselves are the only cause for Final Fantasy's decline. There is also a growing distrust between Square-Enix and their base. The absence of Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III only drove the ever increasing wedge between the two parties even further apart. This also should be taken into account when discussing the reasons behind the company's decline in popularity overall. Especially in the West in which Square-Enix seems to be struggling the most.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Final Fantasy is still a pretty well known franchise, if XV comes out and has a 90+ metacritic score and a good advertising campaign it could easily get 8-10 million sales. I could see Sony assisting on the advertising as well. The way they have done with Watch Dogs and Destiny.

 

[BladeRunner]

According to vgchartz FFXIII sold about 7 million copies (on both systems) even though the game was hated universally. The previous installment - FFXII sold roughly 6 million. Do you really think these numbers indicate FF games' low popularity?
I'd say it's just on the contrary. You may say that these sales figures aren't impressive when compared to games like Skyrim, GTA5, COD etc but there are very few games like that. Most games don't get considerably higher. FF13 sold really well despite getting quite unfavourable reception which means that the series is still very popular.

And the lack of hype for upcoming FF15 is mostly due to Square's shitty marketing. But when there is a new trailer (every 5 years or so ) it generates huge amounts of hype. I wouldn't be surprised if its sales got close to FF7 or maybe even higher.

 

[1Truth2Lies]

I don't watch anime and I'm into FF. It's not that hard. And your logic is so flawed. You are basing it in the fact that the games won't be popular if the game isn't some WRPG ripoff or FFXII-like. Saying, we have to beat Skyrim or something of the sort doesn't do it any favors really. It just has to do its own thing, and be good at it. Saying it's destined to become like Sonic is a terrible understatement, as Sonic is in a terrible position now due to all the mediocre games the franchise has released over the years.

I feel that most mainstream people choose between either WRPGs or JRPGs. Very rarely to do have people that play both. There was a time when JRPGs were king on consoles, but they have been dethroned by WRPGs as of last-gen. This is not just my personal belief, but an observation that all gamers have noticed. Do you honestly believe that another linear, cutscene heavy FF game like FFXIII will win back the mainstream? It won't. They need to change the design of the game. I even believe FF going back to random battles and unrealistic scale World Maps is a dead end. It's not progressive, but rather a major step back. That's what new IPs like Bravely Default are there for, anyway.

Basically, it's survival of the fittest for FF at this point. In order to stay on top and relevant, it needs be better than what other RPG series are doing. Simply being different is not enough, as JRPGs are now niche. The genre needs a major evolution to become fresh and interesting for the masses in NA/EU. Games like FFXII and Xenoblade Chronicles took up the fight to compete with WRPGs and I hope more games with their ambition appear in future.

As for my Sonic comparison, I think it's accurate. The same way dedicated Sonic fans will always buy new instalments in the series, so will FF fans. Therefore, even if FF completely falls off, it will still sell decently in NA/EU due to the dedicated fanbase.

Final Fantasy is still a pretty well known franchise, if XV comes out and has a 90+ metacritic score and a good advertising campaign it could easily get 8-10 million sales. I could see Sony assisting on the advertising as well. The way they have done with Watch Dogs and Destiny.

Agreed. If FFXV gains a Metascore of 95 and also has massive advertising campaign in NA/EU leading up to release, it will definitely sell over 10 million in those markets. However, without critical acclaim and huge promotion, I don't see it selling well. In fact, I see it selling around the same as FFXII and FFXIII worldwide (6 million), possibly even less.

According to vgchartz FFXIII sold about 7 million copies (on both systems) even though the game was hated universally. The previous installment - FFXII sold roughly 6 million. Do you really think these numbers indicate FF games' low popularity?
I'd say it's just on the contrary. You may say that these sales figures aren't impressive when compared to games like Skyrim, GTA5, COD etc but there are very few games like that. Most games don't get considerably higher. FF13 sold really well despite getting quite unfavourable reception which means that the series is still very popular.

VGChartz isn't a valid source, friend. According to Square Enix themselves, FFXIII sold over 6 million worldwide. Then you have to consider that 2.5 million of these sales come from Japan and Asia. Therefore, in NA/EU, FFXIII sold around 4 million. By comparison, Skyrim sold over 20 million in NA/EU. That's way, way higher than any JRPG ever released, including the legendary FFVII. It's sales like this that prove WRPGs have become mainstream in NA/EU, while JRPGs have become niche.

 

[Stealth]

Absolutely not. First of all, the dev team is completely different. The same quality they could achieve is impossible.

The reason why FF achieved mainstream love is in part because of the quality of the titles.

 

[yeah_93]

Absolutely not. First of all, the dev team is completely different. The same quality they could achieve is impossible.

The reason why FF achieved mainstream love is in part because of the quality of the titles.

What? So just because it isn't the same team, the game is inherently of lower quality? It may not be the same type of game, but it can still surpass them, at least in quality. "You know what guys? We can't possibly surpass older FFs, so let's not push ourselves and release a worse game".

 

[BladeRunner]

VGChartz isn't a valid source, friend. According to Square Enix themselves, FFXIII sold over 6 million worldwide.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have quoted them But in this case they were pretty close. Square said it sold over 6.6 million a year ago, so it's likely around 7 million now.

By comparison, Skyrim sold over 20 million in NA/EU. That's way, way higher than any JRPG ever released, including the fabled FFVII. It sales like that that prove WRPGs have become mainstream in NA/EU, while JRPGs have become niche.

Skyrim also sold way higher than any WRPG ever released. Dragon Age, Mass effect or The Witcher don't come even close. This game isn't really a good example of sales in the genre.

I can agree that JRPG as a genre became niche, but it still has a few franchises which are definitely mainstream (like Pokemon, KH, FF etc)

 

[Vampire91]

Absolutely not. First of all, the dev team is completely different. The same quality they could achieve is impossible.

The reason why FF achieved mainstream love is in part because of the quality of the titles.

Yeah but FF XV's team is composed of people who worked on FF VII, VIII, Tactics, XII, Type-0, Vagrant Story and Kingdom Hearts. Honestly I don't see your point.

 

[yeah_93]

Yeah but FF XV's team is composed of people who worked on FF VII, VIII, Tactics, XII, Type-0, Vagrant Story and Kingdom Hearts. Honestly I don't see your point.

Even if it wasn't composed of those people, it wouldn't matter. Just because they aren't the same people doesn't mean they can't surpass them.

 

[ShinGundam]

I get what are you trying to say but no. Just because we have FFXIII doesn't mean that FXII is a perfect suit.

Among reasons. FFXII as it is, is very cutscene heavy, fighting is way less involving due to the MMO-y nature of the combat and environment feel very segmented because of zone lines. FFXII's systems is a grindy designed more like an MMO to encourage farming. I don't think collecting a hundreds of junk items to sell it and get few gils makes a fun game.It is not just the money system that intend to frustrate completionists, the treasure system, Bazzar, hiding abilities/equioments in LP, etc...

I mean we are talking about a game where you farm treasures out of all things to farm. XII is perfect if Square is more interested in selling strategy guides not redeeming FF or anything like that.

 

[1Truth2Lies]

Absolutely not. First of all, the dev team is completely different. The same quality they could achieve is impossible.

The reason why FF achieved mainstream love is in part because of the quality of the titles.

I don't think the people on the dev team is the problem. The problem is their ambition for the FF series. Back when Sakaguchi was there, he pushed the FF development team to try and be as ambitious as possible with FF and make the games really challenge the hardware it was being developed for. Personally, I think Kitase is still doing this, as FFXIII has amazing production values. However, I feel he's mainly being ambitious with graphics and battle systems. However, he's not applying that same level of ambition to game design and level design. That's why FFXIII was basically a clone of FFX in these areas. I personally feel like Kitase has fallen off. He had a spark when in the director seat, but as a producer his games have mostly been average, IMO.

FF just needs somebody at the helm who has huge ambition for all aspects of the game (graphics, gameplay, story, etc) and the determination to make that ambition a reality. Naoki Yoshida is proof that it's possible to make a FF that's great if you have the ambition and drive to make it a reality. He's the Producer/Director of FFXIV ARR and that game has got huge critical acclaim. Funny enough, FFXIV is the first FF he ever worked on and he even joined Square Enix after Sakaguchi had already left the company. So a man that never worked under Sakaguchi has made a better FF game than Kitase, a series veteran? Yes.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have quoted them But in this case they were pretty close. Square said it sold over 6.6 million a year ago, so it's likely around 7 million now.

Skyrim also sold way higher than any WRPG ever released. Dragon Age, Mass effect or The Witcher don't come even close. This game isn't really a good example of sales in the genre.

I can agree that JRPG as a genre became niche, but it still has a few franchises which are definitely mainstream (like Pokemon, KH, FF etc)

Agreed. FFXIII has probably passed 7 million worldwide by now.

I think Skyrim is going to open the floodgates for higher sales for WRPGs. The way I see it, Skyrim will do for WRPG sales in NA/EU, what FFVII did for JRPG sales in NA/EU. You can be sure that upcoming WRPGs like Dragon Age III and The Witcher III will sell much more than their predecessors. WRPGs are just beginning their golden age on home consoles. Skyrim was their FFVII moment.

Lastly, Pokemon is still a huge seller, you're right. That's the biggest selling JRPG series in the world. I feel that FF and KH are not even in the same league with it.

I get what are you trying to say but no. Just because we have FFXIII doesn't mean that FXII is a perfect suit.

Among reasons. FFXII as it is, is very cutscene heavy, fighting is way less involving due to the MMO-y nature of the combat and environment feel very segmented because of zone lines. FFXII's systems is a grindy designed more like an MMO to encourage farming. I don't think collecting a hundreds of junk items to sell it and get few gils makes a fun game.It is not just the money system that intend to frustrate completionists, the treasure system, Bazzar, hiding abilities/equioments in LP, etc...

I mean we are talking about a game where you farm treasures out of all things to farm. XII is perfect if Square is more interested in selling strategy guides not redeeming FF or anything like that.

All that is your personal opinion on FFXII, which really holds no place in this discussion. The game was critically acclaimed and is the last FF game to score 90+ on Metacritic. Also, all your complaints won't really phase somebody who is aware of the huge amount of loot and algorithms that plague most WRPGs. Therefore, seeing WRPGs are becoming mainstream, the FFXII game design wouldn't be seen as abnormal. Frustrating and tedious? Sure, but not abnormal.

The bottom line is written on the wall: the FFXII blueprint is the one that FF needs to evolve off if it has any hope of reclaiming the throne from WRPGs. Xenoblade Chronicles saw the potential of the FFXII blueprint and took it and ran. More JRPGs need to follow suit. If the FF series is content with being overtaken by WRPGs, then fine. They can just go ahead and make more linear, cutscene heavy games like FFX and FFXIII, as the dedicated fanbase will eat that up. What of the masses, though? They'll ignore it. Basically, FF will become no different to Sonic.

 

[LeonBlade]

I don't.

I feel WRPGs have taken over mainstream interest in NA/EU as of last-gen (PS3/360). It will take a really, really, really impressive JRPG to topple WRPGs and restore mainstream interest in the now niche genre.

Well, considering there wasn't really any JRPGs that came out, that kind of makes sense. Games like Bravery Default, Type-0 and Ni No Kuni are good examples of games that have a lot of positive western attention. Also, please explain to me why JRPGs need to take over the "mainstream" of western gaming?

Also, it doesn't help that anime is now very niche in NA/EU. Only the most dedicated anime fans still watch it. There was a time when anime was the most popular form of animation that aired on TV in NA/EU. These days, it doesn't even get aired. All the popular animations are now all Western. This goes hand-in-hand with how JRPGs have also become niche. Interestingly enough, anime reached its peak in the late 90's. This is also the period when FF was really popular with the mainstream. I still remember the huge amount of mainstream attention and hype there was leading up to the release of FFVIII. It was almost palpable. No hype for a FF game has topped it since.

First off, anime is as niche as it is in the West as it's always been, only I think it's gained more attention in the west over the years. Explain to me where you're getting these numbers from, because it feels like you're just making things up. Secondly, since when was anime the most popular form of animation in the west...? You mean like Dragonball Z or something? What channels do kids mostly remember watching in the 90s? Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network... the later of which had a segment on called Toonami where they showed anime late at night... which they took away... and brought back recently. I've seen loads of anime/anime inspired TV shows for kids on TV still to this day, Avatar and Korra are good examples of western anime that has lots of attention.

As for how it goes "hand-in-hand with how JRPGs have also become niche", this is just plain wrong. You're talking about genres of things and claiming you know how popular they are with a large audience of people with nothing to back any of this up other than your word. Sorry, but this logic is 100% flawed.

Also... I'd say that Final Fantasy XV is a perfect example of a game that has massive hype.

People often say FFX was the last good FF, but that's only when you look at it from the perspective of somebody that loves anime. If you've never watched anime or are not a fan of it due to the convoluted and nonsensical stories that often plague the medium, you'd probably not like many FF games. Personally, I'd say FFXII was the game that gave FF the biggest shot of renewed mainstream interest in NA/EU. It still had a Japanese touch artistically, but the story was more grounded, even though it was set in a high fantasy world. It helps that the dialogue and voice acting were very exceptional for a video game, rivalling that seen in Shakespeare plays. The huge popularity of Game of Thrones is more proof that a grounded, fantasy story attracts many, many people in NA/EU. I'm sure the grounded story and superb voice acting of FFXII would resonate with them.

People often also say that FFVI was the last good FF, or that FFIX was the last good FF. Here's something REALLY WEIRD that I bet you never thought about before! People have different OPINIONS about what is their favorite Final Fantasy game, and where they think the series has gone downhill, if they think so at all. Oddly enough it has absolutely nothing to do with anime (I know weird right).

Looks like someone is a fan of Final Fantasy XII... "rivalling that seen in Shakespeare plays" are you serious, man...? Please, tell me you're joking. I'm not even going to get into this, or the Game of Thrones comparison.

Basically, FFXII was released before its time. Had FFXII and FFXIII swapped places, both games would be getting far more praise from FF fans. FFXIII would be seen as the true FFX successor to send off the PS2, while FFXII would be the game that evolved the JRPG genre on PS3/360 and made it able to go head-to-head with WRPGs like Mass Effect, Oblivion, Skyrim, and The Witcher.

Uh... the reason that XII is the way that it is has a lot to do with XI considering the same people worked on it, notice how the style of the game is very similar to that of an MMORPG? That's because originally it was going to be another MMORPG, the developer worked in Tactics, Vagrant Story and XI, I think it makes sense as to why XII was the way it was.

Swapping these two games wouldn't have happened, if you did the game would never have been what it is now, and neither would XIII... so honestly you're just thinking wishfully that somehow if XII was given XIII's place that things would be so much better.

Yeah, and you want to know what else would have made XIII better? If it was just left to be a PS3 exclusive and they weren't forced to cut content from the game "enough to make a whole other game" spawning the two subsequent games afterwards. XIII was originally supposed to be a one off game just like the games before it, but because of cut content for the 360 release of the game to make it manageable for the port, they had loads of assets unused that spawned the creation of two other games.

Things would have been COMPLETELY different if XIII and XII swapped places, they would be completely different games...

ALSO, another thing to keep in mind is that Matsuno dropped out of the company along with a bunch of other people and XII ended up changing because of it with Vaan and Penelo being added.

Another thing to point out is that Skyrim is a game that is still really only played by people that mod the game to get enjoyment out of it, no long standing replay value outside of this, people just like messing around with the quirky physics more than anything. Mass Effect was very popular, and they screwed fans over with Mass Effect 3 and its terrible ending with loads of other problems I'm not even going to get into here that reek signs of RUSHED DEVELOPMENT like the trend of modern western games to get games out as fast as possible for a cash grab.

As it currently stands, I don't see FF ever reaching the popularity it had before. It's all downhill from here. Sure, we'll get good games, but the series will never be more popular in NA/EU than it was circa FFVII/FFVIII. It is destined to become like Sonic. Sonic games are mostly bad these days, but the dedicated fanbase still buys them. FF games will mostly be between good and great, and the fanbase will always buy them. The only way I see FF becoming mainstream in NA/EU is by copying the Skyrim blueprint and making it Open World with a mature plot. Basically, a hybrid of the mature story, voice acting, and art direction of FFXII with the world scale and volume of gameplay content in Skyrim. Hopefully, this is what FFXVI will be like and Hiroyuki Ito will be directing.

Define downhill, because getting good games isn't downhill... As for your connection with SKYRIM of all games, personally I think Skyrim is complete crap, that's because I don't like WRPGs and I'm sure a lot of western gamers also don't like WRPGs... just like a lot of western gamers LIKE WRPGs.

As for your whole Skyrim deal... you're asking for a game with an open world, mature plot... isn't that very similar to Final Fantasy XV...? Do you know nothing about this game? The game is supposed to be way more expansive, even allowing you to drive vehicles to get around using airships, etc. The story... uh... you mean the story that's supposed to take a more darker mature tone to it?

You're basically asking for XV here, and guess what, it's coming out... OH, but you think it's mediocre!

Lastly, before anybody asks, I think FFXV looks mediocre. I don't know, but it doesn't look exceptional to me. Certainly, it doesn't look like the game to conquer WRPGs. Also, by the time the game comes out it will look graphically dated. There are already PS4/One games announced that look graphically better than it, like The Division, The Witcher III, and Uncharted 4. All these games will even release before it.

You are entitled to your opinion and everything, but please show me a game that looks anything close to this. To date this is the most ambitious looking world environment I've seen in any next-generation game that we've seen been announced at all. The Division LOOKS nice, but it's nothing impressive compared to this screenshot of Accordo given the fact that you'll be able to move all over this map. The Witcher, basically walking around in a large but vastly vacant world just like Skyrim not really pushing any graphical boundaries here.

Overall, I think your logic is completely flawed. You seem to be talking about things you know nothing about, and trying to support a claim of Final Fantasy dwindling... you don't like FFXV despite it being everything what a Final Fantasy game is supposed to be, this is the game they set to beat FFVII in terms of impact, and for some reason to you it doesn't seem to click. Maybe YOU just don't like JRPGs anymore, and so you want JRPGs to be like WRPGs to get more attention in the west. Honestly, there is still a large amount of western appeal for JRPGs, the Kingdom Hearts series is a perfect example of this.

At the end of the day, I don't care HOW popular JRPGs are in the West, all I care about is GOOD GAMES, and to me Final Fantasy XV is a game that I would create, every single details of this game appeals to me in ways I can't describe. I LOVE JRPGs, and I know plenty of people that do as well. I loved Ni No Kuni, I really want to see a sequel or just another IP from Level 5 or even just a new console Dragon Quest game, I'm excited for Kingdom Hearts III, can't wait for Persona 5.

 

[yeah_93]

You are entitled to your opinion and everything, but please show me a game that looks anything close to this. To date this is the most ambitious looking world environment I've seen in any next-generation game that we've seen been announced at all. The Division LOOKS nice, but it's nothing impressive compared to this screenshot of Accordo given the fact that you'll be able to move all over this map. The Witcher, basically walking around in a large but vastly vacant world just like Skyrim not really pushing any graphical boundaries here.

To be fair, that screenshot is CG. And The Division is probably getting a graphical downgrade.

 

[LeonBlade]

To be fair, that screenshot is CG. And The Division is probably getting a graphical downgrade.

Very true, I look at the screenshot more to just show the level of detail of the environment more than graphical quality, as I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that Square Enix loves graphics, this is as you say just CG though.

Still, no game that I've seen has been this ambitious with their game world.

 

[yeah_93]

Very true, I look at the screenshot more to just show the level of detail of the environment more than graphical quality, as I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that Square Enix loves graphics, this is as you say just CG though.

Still, no game that I've seen has been this ambitious with their game world.

Cities in FF have had that impressive level of detail, yet they are mere paintings; they are only there for eye candy, without much substance. If every bit of that city were to be explorable, that statement would be true. It would be really ambitious.

 

[LeonBlade]

Cities in FF have had that impressive level of detail, yet they are mere paintings; they are only there for eye candy, without much substance. If every bit of that city were to be explorable, that statement would be true. It would be really ambitious.

Well, it's described that this game will let you access most of the city if not all of it. No point in a map that we've seen shown in the announcement trailer for an area that you can't even explore, know what I mean?

Guess we'll have to wait and see...

 

[APZonerunner]

The thing about that stuff is things can look amazing, but if they don't have personality, soul, it doesn't matter a bit. Pulse looks amazing in grabs, especially from CG, but it doesn't really, truthfully have an iota of the personality Midgar does. If the city above can be as engrossing to visit as Lindblum, then I'll be very excited.

I think this is part of the problem when games are maybe almost designed too much by committee, y'know?

 

[ShinGundam]

All that is your personal opinion on FFXII, which really holds no place in this discussion. The game was critically acclaimed and is the last FF game to score 90+ on Metacritic. Also, all your complaints won't really phase somebody who is aware of the huge amount of loot and algorithms that plague most WRPGs. Therefore, seeing WRPGs are becoming mainstream, the FFXII game design wouldn't be seen as abnormal. Frustrating and tedious? Sure, but not abnormal.

The bottom line is written on the wall: the FFXII blueprint is the one that FF needs to evolve off if it has any hope of reclaiming the throne from WRPGs. Xenoblade Chronicles saw the potential of the FFXII blueprint and took it and ran. More JRPGs need to follow suit. If the FF series is content with being overtaken by WRPGs, then fine. They can just go ahead and make more linear, cutscene heavy games like FFX and FFXIII, as the dedicated fanbase will eat that up. What of the masses, though? They'll ignore it. Basically, FF will become no different to Sonic.

FFX received critical acclaim too, and enjoyed higher sales than XII should the next game be a linear adventure and a proper turnbased ?
Huh, what makes you sure that an FFXII or an MMO clone won't blow either? Like i said FFXII is very linear and very segmented unlike a proper WRPG or even Xenoblade. If FFXIV ARR is to go by, It will be another game with same weak map system. It won't survive from direct comparisons.

The thing about that stuff is things can look amazing, but if they don't have personality, soul, it doesn't matter a bit. Pulse looks amazing in grabs, especially from CG, but it doesn't really, truthfully have an iota of the personality Midgar does. If the city above can be as engrossing to visit as Lindblum, then I'll be very excited.

I think this is part of the problem when games are maybe almost designed too much by committee, y'know?

This has nothing to do with soul or even personality of local itself (sadly), more like to do with pre-rendered backgrounds.
It was good call for FFVII to take cues from western advrenture games. XV won't enjoy these background but at least it won't use the awful zone system that plagued FF for years.