I'm not especially fond of the idea of a new FF MMO. On the other hand, it seems to me that the production method they're using here is "keep our main talent/team on the core FF titles, establish a new team to work on the MMO titles in parallel". So this means that it isn't really hurting the series in the end, nor is it detracting from the main line of FF titles, so it could just be seen at worst as the picke you didn't order that you can just take off the burger and throw away.
If it's anything like FFXI, though, I won't even be considering it. That game was the most unforgiving and brutal MMO I've ever played, and I even played UO for a while. Sitting around for hours waiting for people to assemble a party, not being able to play with your friends because it was impossible to stay in the same level range for a decent amount of time, being able to completely level down on death rather than just capping at 0 exp for your current level. So sadistic. Perhaps Japanese people on the whole like their MMO's with a little pinch of sadism (as that is Square-Enix's primary user base, and they surely do their demographic research), but it's not for me. Which sucks too, because I would really love to be able to actually have fun playing a MMO set in the FF universe.
I think you'll find a lot of people who agree with you there. And I wonder whether Squeenix's recent trends will lead to FF7 ceasing to become the bête noire of the really old FF fans as the divide in the series stops being 2D vs 3D (or Nintendo vs PlayStation, or cult vs popular) and becomes something more like menu-driven battle vs real-time? (Which is a bigger change in my book, since it's a fundamental change to the gameplay)
Based on what I've seen of FF13, it still actually looks quite menu-driven and not particularly real-time (seems to wait on your commands as well). But having not actually played it, I couldn't really figure this out. I'm sure koral would be able to provide more insight, having actually played the demo.
The entire perception and foundations of the video-games industry has changed over the past few years, and it isn't just a case of whoring over graphical quality (although that is a major factor).
If you watched EA's, Nintendo's or Sony's E3 conferences, you would have seen precisely what the "next big thing" is: motion-controllers aimed at non-game-players.
It is slightly coincidental that MrAdults just mentioned to me his views on why the industry is leading towards crapper games, something along the lines of consumerisation and indie-degredation (I will allow him to post his views if he wishes, not my opinions to share 
)
Well, since you mentioned it.
http://www.richwhitehouse.com/index.php?postid=40But be warned, it's a very long read. To summarize my standpoint there, I have kind of accepted the consumer-driven, commercial nature of the videogame industry. The industry is driven by capitalist systems and ideals, and I don't think that's a bad thing overall. I don't want to open up a "socialism vs. capitalism" argument here, because that is an insane topic with way too many facets to dispute in a thread like this.
But having accepted "that's the way things are, I can't change it" (regarding the nature of consumer demand driving a commercial industry), I'm directly asking the question "what can be done in this climate and social structure to improve the quality of videogames?", and attempting to answer it in a way that makes good logical sense - better mainstream videogame criticism to guide the will of the common consumer (if you're of the opinion that reviews don't dictate a massive percentage of consumer videogame purchases, I must suggest you do your research
). That is way over-simplifying the topic and the proposed solution, but that's the gyst of the article.
But there is no doubt that SE have lost their focus a little (although again I must stress that it is a general trend within the industry as a whole, where "great" games are now few and far. MGS still stands as the one of the greatest un-tainted series to me, although Seifer may have other opinions on the topic 
)
MGS4 was actually my favorite entry in the series so far. I'm not completely crazy about the gameplay, but that's a matter of opinion. You can't argue against the refined and solidified (no pun intended) nature of the mechanics they do have in there. And as a whole cinematic game experience, it does what it sets out to do with perfection. As to what happens with the series from here, I'm not really sure what's going on. I know Kojima had stated it would be the last MGS title he'd be involved in, yet that no longer seems to be the case. I suspect whatever is going on now has more financial motivation for him personally, which could mark a degredation in motivation and quality for him and the team. But I'm speculating there 100%, there's no reason to start making such assumptions.
I liked SquareSoft, but I dont like SquareEnix. FF1-10 >>> FF11-14
FF13 may be an exception, but we will have to wait and see just how it compares to the pre FFX-2 titles.
Maybe they have a new thing going on here: MMO (11), innovative-game (12), plot-focused (13), back to MMO (14), rinse-and-repeat
But I agree, we do not need another Final Fantasy MMO, but SE (like the greedy pigs that they are) would like nothing more than screwing their own fans out of their hard-earned savings.
I did find FF12 to be extremely solidified as well. Again, it's a matter of opinion with whether you personally enjoy what's presented there - but of the mechanics available, trying to look at them in a critical and unbiased sense, I can find little fault. I think we should always try to make that abstraction between "what do I want to be playing and doing here?" and "what did the developer set out to do, and how well did they succeed here?". At least, as developers, this forced separation between personal preference and well-meshed/implemented mechanics allows us to design better games.
As for SE raping us all with their swine husks, I suppose there's always an element of that in business, but it somewhat goes back to the article I wrote. Consumer demand drives their actions, so while we in this particular group of FF fans have not dictated the need for a new MMO (nor do any of us seem to want one - though I personally wouldn't mind, if it's not a steaming pile of sadistic hatred like FFXI), it can be guaranteed that players and fans on the whole have done just that. Numbers from FFXI's success are surely a driving factor in the decision to make a new FF MMO.
In the end, I don't hold out any hope that FF13 (or especially 14) will be the best game for me. But I do hold out hope that SE will continue to do what it sets out to do with the same attention to detail and near-perfect mechanical implementation they have always managed to achieve. In fact, in that aspect, I would say each FF has only continued to improve over the years. Direction has changed radically, as have story, driving gameplay mechanics, characters, art styles, and many other things. The things which dictate our personal preferences, whether we like the games based on who we are and what we want as individuals. But the quality of implementation of each new direction in each game, in my opinion, has not changed - at least not for worse. Which is why I continue to respect the talent shown by the designers at SE.
