There is demand though, honestly. In Japan FF15 had great sales but then quickly dropped off. It's not because FF15, it's because of the console. The amount of people who would double dip alone would probably give them back the budget, but consider that games like Splatoon 2 are growing as IP's mostly due to the new handheld audience. 

What I'm saying is why not? Why isn't there an audience for this but there is one for every other port in existence?

Eh, I don't think that had much to do with it. It has far more to do with the type of game it is, rather than the platform. It's more Western focused in target, and the sales reflect that. The fact that the series isn't as popular any more (much like Monster Hunter) is also noteworthy.

Because not every other port would cost as much time and resources as redeveloping it for Switch. They're taking a very easy way out on making the Pocket Edition, but none of his comments above say they're interested in that route right now. Shoot, you can make an argument that the Xbox One version barely was worth their time and it nearly did a million!

You're partially right and wrong. While FF has been beaten by games like DQ, and other series like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Splatoon and Monster Hunter are more consistent in sales... FF is still a tier 1 game in JP. JP might be more jaded to it now, but thats yet another reason why it should be on a handheld.

MH has not fallen in popularity. They just milked X too hard. (The PSP games are way overtracked, the 3DS games outsold them)

Does this first tier include like 10 ten game series?! I don't think you can count anything other than Pokemon, 2D Mario, Animal Crossing, and Dragon Quest as tier 1. 

Uh, yes it has lol. 

The PSP was the peak of the series and no game has come very close to it, even without an international release.

So this is what they do now. Keep asking the same question in hopes Square Enix change their answer.

Getting almost 1 million physical sales on a console in Japan is definitely tier 1. It's just that the tier goes from 1 mil to around 1.5. Splatoon is a rare game that might even go past that though. 

I'll admit that immediately after writing that I checked again and realized I was wrong. However, I had a nap to get to Still, I don't think the snarkyness was really necessary. 

Infact, it only takes a quick glance to realize why this is misleading and also why it's a terrible argument. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 did NOT have a successor, or an updated version. It was the last MH released for the PSP. Taking a quick look at the sales of the Monster Hunter series makes it quite obvious what the truth is.

Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP) = 1.3 Million

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (PSP) = 2.4 Million

Monster Hunter Feedom Unite (PSP) = 3.8 Million 

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (PSP) = 4.9 Million 

Monster Hunter 3 Port (3DS) = 2.6 Million 

Monster Hunter 4 (3DS) = 4.1 Million

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) = 4.1 Million

Monster Hunter X = 4.2 Million

Monster Hunter XX = 1.7 Million

The series hasn't declined in popularity, the games sales are just split up between rereleases. It's like considering GOTY editions as different sales. Like look at Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, it had no rerelease or sequel. Monster Hunter 4 on the other hand sold 6.7 million copies in just japan alone. Monster Hunter X sold 5.9 million. I mean a port of a Wii game sold more then half an entire generation of Monster Hunter games on PSP ... 

The series isn't "less popular", it's just that the 3DS entries have multiple iterations, and the new games have been handled terribly. Generations on Switch will probably sell 600k lifetime, but that's not a sign of a less popular franchise it's a sign of literally selling the same game 3 times. Monster Hunter World will probably sell 1 million on consoles in Japan, that's not a sign of wanning popularity it's a sign of making a game for a different audience. 

Even if Portable the 3rd was the best selling though(it isn't), going down from a peak moment in a series isn't losing popularity it's having stability. Every series at some points has a peak it won't reach again. That doesn't mean it's less popular it means the stars aligned on one title. In fact the series has more consistent average sales per release anyways. 

This is all extremely off track but I just think that comment had so many holes in it it bared mentioning. In the end of the day FF is an A tier series in Japan at least on home consoles, it might change in the next 6 or so years but it is still an A tier series now. I don't think FF15 is the most important support for the switch though, and ultimately all we can do is wait and specualte I think KH3 and FF7 Remake are more important to be frank.

Exactly, Switch supporting UE4 and actual UE4 engine is working great on Switch, so KH3 or FFVII ports could be possible.

Problem with FFXV is very demanding Luminous engine, so game doesnt run good even on PS4 Pro, so porting game in UE4 engine for Switch would work because UE4 engine works great on Switch.

Ergh... why can't they just move on? Who wants to play FFXV anymore? >.

It's probably more of the opposite. 

FF7 Remake and Dragon Quest XI are already underway on Switch using Unreal Engine 4, the Square-Enix president wanted more games for the system, so now the Final Fantasy XV team is looking at taking what the other SE teams are doing on Switch on Unreal Engine 4 and trying to adapt to their game. Kingdom Hearts III I think is already a done deal on Switch too, they just want to finish the PS4/XB1 versions first.