Traditional JRPGs are "grindfest".

You also have to look at it from a different perspective.

All these fans that are suggesting sakaguchi's games are better (which lost odyssey is atleast story wise over 13-2 imo). It does not necessarily translate into sales. Did Last Story or Lost Odyssey sell half as much as XIII-2? No. 

So does listening to a fanbase that is smaller than your current fanbase, and just stopping the FFXIII series at a cliffhanger, and pissing off fans that like your current games  make sense? Not making FFXIII-3 isn't going to satisfy people that don't like it. So by not making it you make even more people not like you.

 As opposed to just finishing the FFXIII series, making the current fans happy, making a profit. The names probably already damaged, but not releasing more FFXIII games isn't going to fix it, it's only going to make it worse.

I really doubt if FFXV or versus is amazing, people are going to be like ZOMG they released FFXIII-3 so I'm not going to buy this amazing game.

Not really compared to other JRPG's :P.

I'll just say, Final Fantasy 3,4,5 are way more of a grindfest, than the second CR anyway. The first ones a bit repetive, because of design. The second ones really good, better story than any console JRPG this gen besides lost odyssey imo (persona doesn't count). Not like FF though.

Who are you guys kidding. You will be there day one with cash in hand. Every reviewer in the world could pan this game as the crappiest piece of crap in the entirety of things that are crappy, and you would make sure to get there extra early. Square got the memo, and it said whatever they were selling you would be buying. Two weeks after you buy your copies you will be on here as usual bitching and moaning about this game.

The irony is that thirteen and its sequel got generally positive reviews. So it doesn't seem like these forums are really any kind of indicator of actual quality. I personally felt the games were okay, and I got fair value out of them. They weren't the best games I ever played, but it doesn't say anywhere that they have to be. As long as they are playable you will buy them. Play them for a hundred hours, and then have the temerity to come on these forums, and tell us how you hated every minute of those games.

Call me a cynic, but if I am not enjoying a game. I do this incredibly crazy thing. I stop playing the game, and just move onto something else I might find fun. I don't force myself to do something unpleasant. The fact that you all finish these games, and they are terribly long games. Tells me that they can't possibly be that bad in your eyes. Which means your actions never match your rhetoric. Look it isn't the hypocrisy that irks me so much as it is the fact that you guys take these hardline stances, and then you cave as soon as the game draws near.

Why should Square take your positions seriously if you don't even take them seriously. If you don't honestly mean what you say. Then don't even bother saying it in the first place. If you genuinely don't think you are being treated well by a company then don't do business with them. It is simple as that, and it is the only way you are going to get anything done. If I can't even take you guys seriously. Then how can Square given the fact that you keep paying them.

I guess I am just getting sick of these threads filled with idle threats and empty promises. Many of you talk a great game, but you are always like the first guys to fall back in line. How many of you are genuinely serious enough to take a intractable stance here and now, and say you will not buy this game. No matter what. Yeah I am asking if your money is where your mouth is on this one.

But you're not listing "all" the Final Fantasy games.  They haven't been spending all their sources funding just the main games in the series.  Sequels to the main series, spinoffs, etc.  There have been a ton of games with the Final Fantasy branding.  Not including the Chocobo games or any remakes, I've compiled more complete list.  I may be missing some, but whatever.  It's good enough.  The only year where there isn't a Final Fantasy game was in 2005, and that was when the worst FF4 port to date was released, the GBA version, so there was still a game in the series released every year. 

So yeah.  Square Enix has definitely been quantity over quality lately.  That's not to say they haven't had quality releases.  I like Tactics, Tactics A2, Crisis Core, Dissidia, the final chapter in the After Years(the rest of the game sucks but the final chapter was worth playing through,) and Dirge of Cerberus(I thought this was a pretty fun third person shooter.)  I'm saying that they've really been milking the series and the quality has been lacking compared to when the series was at its best. 

1999 VIII
2000 IX
2001 X
2002 XI
2003 X-2
2003 Crystal Chronicles
2003 Tactics Advance
2004 Before Crisis
2006 Dirge of Cerberus
2006 XII
2007 XII Revenant Wings
2007 Tactics Advance 2
2007 Crisis Core
2007 Crystal Chronicles Rings of Fate
2008 Crystal Chronicles My Life as King
2008 IV The After Years
2008 Dissidia
2009 Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time
2009 Crystal Chronicles My Life as a Darklord
2009 Crystal Chronicles the Crystal Bearers
2009 Four Heroes of Light
2009 XIII
2010 XIV
2010 Dimensions
2011 Dissidia Duodecim
2011 XIII-2
2011 Type-0
2012 Brigade
2012 Theatrythm
2012 XIV A Realm Reborn

As for the series.  It used to be such an amazing series and Squaresoft was easily one of my favorite developers back in the day.  My first RPG was Dragon Warrior, but the original Final Fantasy is what got me to fall in love with RPGs.  Since then I've owned every one of their games released to the US until the noticeable drop in quality.  I no longer make an effort to purchase their games any longer.  Final Fantasy 13 being a main series title that wasn't online was one I was really hopeful for.  Unfortunately the game is complete trash.  To this day, other than duplicates that I've bought and sold to make money, Finial Fantasy 13 is the only one in the series I've sold off.  I have no plan to ever purchase Final Fantasy 13 again, and after playing the demo of FF13-2, I have no plan to buy any of the sequels.

Now.  I was disappointed with 12, but it's not difficult to see how much of a masterpiece they tried to make this game, which I'll get into.  On FF12 I like to control all the characters, and while it's possible, it's like they sabotaged it to be an annoyance for those that wanted to.  I want to like the game and I'm eventually going to give it another chance, but my first time playing it, the gameplay was the main problem, but let me get to what I loved about the game.  Everything else.  The story, the characters, the world, the amount of gameplay offered in the game, etc.  This game easily has/had the potential to be a favorite in any Final Fantasy fans eyes, but most people that don't like it all usually agree that the lack of control was the problem with the game.    Sakaguchi may have not been there, but Matsuno was the director for awhile until he stepped down it, so that's probably the reason it's as good as it is.  Final Fantasy 13 had none of what made Final Fantasy 12 a potential masterpiece.  Where Final Fantasy 12 only had one problem, everything was a problem on Final Fantasy 13.   I didn't like the characters, the world, the story, and the battle  system.

I don't have high expectations for Versus 13.  I'm not even interested in it to be honest.  But being a Final Fantasy fan, I'll eventually play it, and I can only hope it's a good game.  If it's not, then there's really no hope for the future of the series unless they go through some major changes or sell the franchise to a developer who actually cares about making the brand name mean something again. 

you said the same thing i've said since the announcement of 13-2. 13-3 looks more like an action rpg, which peeks my interest, but it's time for a change.

i don't see why they went away from the turn based formula.

You know, as much as I like Lightning and with as much potential I saw in Final Fantasy XIII (all of which was squandered at every turn)... I have to say that Square just really isn't getting it. To go from 7 million sales to about 2 million (This is according to Square, not VGChartz... meaning I'll trust Square on their own game more than I will trust VGchartz) sales between sequels (or about around a 72% drop in sales) is absolutely horrible. It doesn't matter how you justify it, those sales indicate that 72% of people who bought XIII weren't motivated enough to return for a sequel. So yes, Square made a profit off of XIII. They made a profit off of XIII-2 (how couldn't they? They had nigh a $100 of DLC). However, if the drop in sales for LR from XIII-2 is anywhere near what the drop in sales from XIII to XIII-2 was... it'll be an absolute failure.

I loved Final Fantasy once from the SNES era till Final Fantasy 10 the FF Games was my absolute favourites and now what a tremendous downfall the Final Fantasy IP went trough the last decade, I still can't believe what chunk of crap they sell nowadays under the former glorious Final Fantasy brand.

Pretty much, except for FF XIII which brought some strategy into the mix and gave you some freedom battle-wise

as a megaten fan I absolutely loved that fact.

The only thing thats keeping me positive about this series (apart from versus obviously) is that fact that every game is quite different so FF 15 will change up once again from 13s lack of excitement and interest