Hopefully working with Namco to port the XenoSaga trilogy over to Wii U. Then linking it in with their main game under development. I would love for X to turn out to be XenoSaga Episode 4.

The whole series of Xenosaga was already a downgrade from Xenogears (story-wise), according to your criteria. It was a trend that occured well before Nintendo. And honestly, the more I read actual books the less I NEED video games to tell me complicated stories. Yes, it is nice, but I'd definitely prefer better gameplay mechanics, and more immersive worlds (which story can affect and vice-versa of course), and a decent story with some depth, than any game with dated, boring mechanics. If I were to compare the level of depth with respect to satisfaction of Xenoblade's story with any other RPG it would be equivalent to SNES RPG's like Terranigma, and Chrono Trigger. Both of which have many strong mature themes and allusions to real-world cultures without the convolusion found in Xenosaga and to a lesser extent Xenogears (I consider Xenogears to be done right, and Xenosaga to be poorly executed.) For a medium that is the video game, I prefer more straight forward interesting stories that I can review and get back to if I take a break from the game, without being loss.

Anyway, the consensus on forums by Xeno-fans seems to be that Xenoblade is a classic like Xenogears, and both are much better games than the Xenosaga series as a whole. 

What the most critically acclaimed JRPG of 7th gen, I'll try to hold back my tears.

1) to me the xenosaga series (1-3) is in no way a downgrade to xenogears. they are pretty much equal. so i don't know which criteria of mine would contradict that. care to explain?

2) books are fine but for me they don't work as entertainment media. they are good for gaining and storing information but that's it, at least for me. games on the other hand are some form of higher level media due to being able of using text, sound, visuals and on top giving you some interaction possibilities as well. all this is what can entertain me if done well.

3) + 4) that's actually why i care about those games and why it pains me to see what they are doing with the series. if everything is straight forward and pretty much a no brainer from the start, where ist the fun?

5) maybe but it's certainly not my opinion.

probably xenoblade but that does not change the fact that it's still downgraded in certain aspects compared to previous xeno games. and unfortunately those aspects are the ones that mattered to me the most. so...?

1.) I would probably rate the Xenosaga similar to Xenogears because they have more enjoyable gameplay (Xenogears can get a bit reptitive), but story-wise Xenogears was unmatched by any single Xenosaga game, in my opinion, and Episode II really brought the series down further than that. Xenosaga just felt too entangled without much conclusion (I guess since we never got Episodes IV - VI.) Complex stories can be a bonus if everything ties together, but otherwise it is a negative to story-telling. You can have complexity without plot-holes, and that is when it is done well, but often complexity is coupled with plot-holes, and in Xenosaga you have a plethora of them. These are not found so much in Xenogears (which is pretty much self-contained.) 

2.) - 5) Alright, I won't criticize you for having different values and opinions. I just wanted to present the idea that many people like these games for their gameplay and setting in addition to the story-telling, and that is why many fans of Monolith Soft find Xenoblade to be excellent just like Xenogears and Xenosaga were for them. 

I rank the games:
Xenogears
XenoSaga Episode 3
XenoSaga Episode 1
XenoBlade
XenoSaga Episode 2

No XenoSaga game on its own is as good as Xenogears, but combined they are indeed equal to or greater than Xenogears. XenoBlade failed due to its sparse story, it didn't keep me entertained as much as the other games. XenoSaga episode 2 failed because the enemy balance is occassionally painful, and they removed my favourite features from XenoSaga episode 1. XenoSaga episode 3 had several really climactic moments, but fell short of Xenogears because the story build-up occurred in the previous two games. Xenogears was the total package, and had the best overall stand-alone story.

You were talking about a very in depth story right? Because X doesn't have a story trailer yet, well Xenoblade has an amazing story, so tell me what Xenoblade lacks that's so important to you?

in short: xenoblades story isn't the philosophical, religious, scientific with with countless interpretation of real world references peppered and purposely convoluted storymonster that previous xeno-games were. xenoblades story, allthough nice and most likely better than it's 7th gen competitors, still pales in comparison to what it were before.

Well, I guess we all can't have the same opinion right? Suppose that's what makes the World interesting to live in.