I believe the wrong way of thinking about current FF situation presumes FF flopping is a Sony/Playstation problem rather than a Square problem. Playstation userbade has been stable and JRPGs still selling the best there. I'll go as far and say FF XVI was saved by Sony timed exclusivity to cover development costs

The debate about FF going multiplat is strange because it presumes FF fandom don't buy Playstation hardware to play FF. The absolute majority of people who wants to play FF will buy a Playstation, it has been the case for the last 20 years

I'm not saying Square is wrong for doing multiplat releases. Being multiplat is a good thing to build a new fandom, since FF fandom is aging

But Every JRPG that experience fandom growth in popularity starts selling better first at Playstation and just then get multiplatform treatment. If the franchise is not growing on PS5 why would it suddenly start growing elsewhere?

I really don't think a potential Rebirth port would sell poorly on Switch 2.
We've seen third party ports like Hogwarts Legacy or Witcher 3 sell well enough on the current Switch, and the Switch audience is big on JRPGs; Dragon Quest 11 sold more in its first week on Switch in Japan than Rebirth did on PS5, and that's despite the Switch version being two years late.

Maybe because the PS5 doesn't serve every demographic of players? Some people would prefer the game on a platform with more capable settings, mods and tweakability (PC). Some people would prefer the ability to take the game on the go (Switch). Some people aren't multiplatform owners and would suddenly be interested if it comes to the platform of their choice.

It's not the late 90s and early 2000s anymore. Sony doesn't have a stranglehold on the JRPG market like it used to, and Final Fantasy isn't in a tier of its own that forces player buying habits on its own like it used to.

Maybe because the PS5 doesn't serve every demographic of players? Some people would prefer the game on a platform with more capable settings, mods and tweakability (PC). Some people would prefer the ability to take the game on the go (Switch). Some people aren't multiplatform owners and would suddenly be interested if it comes to the platform of their choice.

It's not the late 90s and early 2000s anymore. Sony doesn't have a stranglehold on the JRPG market like it used to, and Final Fantasy isn't in a tier of its own that forces player buying habits on its own like it used to.

FF still at its core a story driven single-player gamer. It does not benefit from PC or Switch hardware advantages and the fandom has been always in Playstation. If Final Fantasy was appealing to PC gamers, PC gamers would have been buying Final Fantasy. It's clearly not the case looking at the weak sales of VII Remake 

I already addressed at least twice in this thread Square needs to make the gameplay more appealing to PC demographic if they want to sell substantial amounts on PC. XVI will receive another lukewarm response on PC platforms because it's currently designed with older FF fanbase in mind (read Playstation players)

The way it goes FF will keep flopping and worse: This time without Sony pockets to cover development costs 

Sony is no longer the plularity of the core gaming demographic, even though the Playstation still sells well and outsells the XBox easily, I think they are the minority of that market.

The PC + Switch + XBox combined is a larger market than the Playstation today (sorry Sony). Beyond that there are also other notable changes, the PS1 + PS2 dominated in Japan as the defacto market leader for game sales there, today Playstation is a shadow of what they used to be, lets face it Nintendo retook Japan. 

The other thing is the hardware reality back then was just different. PC ports of console games was a niche market, there was no Steam store, PC gaming centered largely around Western FPS shooters and strategy games and "console style" gaming was kind of a PC novelty. That's not so today at all. Even like controllers on PC, there was no real agreed upon PC controller standard, today you can just literally use XBox and Playstation and even Switch controllers on your PC. 

Even more to the point in the late 90s/mid 2000s, the Game Boy and DS sure as heck could not run any kind of version of Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy X or anything. Today, the Switch 1/2 can plausibly run a lot/all of Square's higher end games. Sure you may have to compromise a couple of things, but it's nothing like trying to figure out how FFX could run on a DS or FF7 on a GBA. 

To say 1997-2006 for example wasn't hugely different from today is just not true at all. 

Now ... is Square-Enix just gonna show up on Switch 2/PC/XBox and start selling gangbusters over night? Probably not. It's going to probably take a little while to build up audiences there because Square has been negligent in fostering their IP on those platforms. But in the long term, I do believe yes absolutely going multiplatform is going to lead to higher sales. It can't get much worse than where they are at now, how in the world does a FF7 Remake (well Rebirth) with lots of GOTY rave reviews, a decent marketing budget, etc. etc. not even sell as well as like a Pikmin game (lol). 

Sony is no longer the plularity of the core gaming demographic, even though the Playstation still sells well and outsells the XBox easily, I think they are the minority of that market.

The PC + Switch + XBox combined is a larger market than the Playstation today (sorry Sony). Beyond that there are also other notable changes, the PS1 + PS2 dominated in Japan as the defacto market leader for game sales there, today Playstation is a shadow of what they used to be, lets face it Nintendo retook Japan. 

The other thing is the hardware reality back then was just different. PC ports of console games was a niche market, there was no Steam store, PC gaming centered largely around Western FPS shooters and strategy games and "console style" gaming was kind of a PC novelty. That's not so today at all. Even like controllers on PC, there was no real agreed upon PC controller standard, today you can just literally use XBox and Playstation and even Switch controllers on your PC. 

Even more to the point in the late 90s/mid 2000s, the Game Boy and DS sure as heck could not run any kind of version of Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy X or anything. Today, the Switch 1/2 can plausibly run a lot/all of Square's higher end games. Sure you may have to compromise a couple of things, but it's nothing like trying to figure out how FFX could run on a DS or FF7 on a GBA. 

To say 1997-2006 for example wasn't hugely different from today is just not true at all. 

Now ... is Square-Enix just gonna show up on Switch 2/PC/XBox and start selling gangbusters over night? Probably not. It's going to probably take a little while to build up audiences there because Square has been negligent in fostering their IP on those platforms. But in the long term, I do believe yes absolutely going multiplatform is going to lead to higher sales. It can't get much worse than where they are at now, how in the world does a FF7 Remake (well Rebirth) with lots of GOTY rave reviews, a decent marketing budget, etc. etc. not even sell as well as like a Pikmin game (lol). 

FF still at its core a story driven single-player gamer. It does not benefit from PC or Switch hardware advantages and the fandom has been always in Playstation. If Final Fantasy was appealing to PC gamers, PC gamers would have been buying Final Fantasy. It's clearly not the case looking at the weak sales of VII Remake 

I already addressed at least twice in this thread Square needs to make the gameplay more appealing to PC demographic if they want to sell substantial amounts on PC. XVI will receive another lukewarm response on PC platforms because it's currently designed with older FF fanbase in mind (read Playstation players)

The way it goes FF will keep flopping and worse: This time without Sony pockets to cover development costs 

FF7 remake launched late, was $70 and was a poor port (stuttering).  Not sure I would read to much into sales.  Sony has had some good success on PC.  Not sure why Square can't.  

And perhaps I am outlier.  But I would pick up 16 and rebirth on steam...  I just need a release.