I don't want to derail the thread into another "this game company is like this other suck-y game company" but the fact of the matter is that the business of video games was (and partly is) very much the wild west. You make billions over one over another, sometimes out of nowhere; they had to tighten the reigns on it one day, for good or ill.
The problem with JRPG's nowadays is that they just didn't have that marketable appeal as they once did. The reason why they kinda fell off with the main masses is because western RPG's did what they weren't: they grew. Being a huge fan of the FF series, I haven't had fun playing one since FFIX until FFXII and only because there was such a drastic change to the main gameplay mechanics. Every thing else then has just been trash; they all feel old and out-dated. Square and a bunch of others over-seas are scrambling to keep up/catch up with the times and what consumers are expecting from their RPG's, as well as games, in general. You can't blame them for not trying or wanting to take chances developing new titles that want to try something different when you have a large group of fans still wallowing in the mud that is nostalgia, ready to lap up whatever old franchise titles you still have in the popular consciousness.
I love the hell out of FFVII, but I'm in a similar boat with Michael; how many times are they gonna keep going to milk that cow?