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??

Kitase and Toriyama never even made a bad game with FFXIII. They were simply evolving and streamlining the linear game design they created with FFX. However, people simply wanted more freedom. They also didn't like the melodramatic story. I still enjoyed FFXIII for what it was. I liked the graphics, art direction, and stylish battle system. However, it was not the FFXII succcessor I had been waiting for.

Myself and many other FFXII fans are awaiting a game that builds off FFXII's foundation. I agree with you that the success of Skyrim will make SQEX want to imitate it. After all, Yoichi Wada loves Skyrim and Naoki Yoshida even said that SQEX need to challenge themselves to make a game that can rival it. I'm sure that game is FFXVI by Hiroyuki Ito.

Also, Yoichi Wada is no longer president of SQEX, but in July 2012, when the Ito directing FFXV rumor showed up on 2ch, he still was president of the company.

People need to remember that they have multiple development teams. I provided their most recent AAA games below with the development periods in brackets:

1. FFXIV: A Realm Reborn (Q4 2010 - Q3 2013)

2. Lightning Returns: FFXIII (Q2 2012 - Q4 2013)

3. FFXV (Q4 2005 - Present)

4. Kingdom Hearts III (Q2 2012 - Present)

That's four AAA console games that have all been in development by different teams at the same time. What makes it so hard to believe that FFXVI has also been in development? The game is currently being made, but SQEX are not going to announce it until FFXV is close to release.