Having read a lot of the thread and the OP, it seems relevant to mention that Yoshinori Kitase, Toriyama and Nomura and their associates are all responsible for the state of the series. And thats not to say all they've done is a bad job, but blaming one man, Toriyama, is not how it works. Kitase is just as accountable.
The FF13 series hasn't been that bad, no it hasn't been very good, but its not awful. It average. The problem with Kitase and the others is not just their problem, its to do with all big Japanese studios who just don't really know what their doing. Another good example I can think of is Capcom.
Anyway, its logical to assume that FF16 will follow FF12's open world style of gameplay, since Skyrim was such a huge success. Whether the series continues or not, I'm not really sure I care anymore. Final Fantasy is now a second rate if not third rate series, no longer in the league it once was. If they can make it that series again thats fine, but its not looking good from where I'm standing.
And I don't think Yochi Wada is the CEO Square Enix anymore??
