Cactus on 06 January 2011
Even though XIII has sold really well, its substandard critical reception and frighteningly negative fan reaction has to have Square-Enix a little afraid. It's going to be more difficult to sell the next installment based on name and reputation alone, and they can't afford to have the game under-perform, especially with the ridiculously high budget that they give the series. They have to make sure that the game not only appeals to Final Fantasy fans, but (J)RPG fans in general, which is something that XIII maybe didn't do too well.
