I think that the way the FF's were going with the whole guns and what not people expected IX to be heading in that direction too. Thus when they found out it wasn't they just kinda said ef that and skipped it.

Also, I love the battle system so much more than VIII. I'd rather have one blue mage (quina) then everyone having to be a blue mage. But I think if you had been playing VII then VIII you're getting use to things so by the time you hit IX it seemed like a step back in gameplay mechanics when really it wasn't. I don't think so much that it was slower just that it took more thought and with the way the game was presented (cartoony) it didn't seem like it'd be a game that required that much. So when people are smacked with "oh snap I should pay attention more", t usually ends up in frustration because they went in thinking it was something it was not.

It was the tech thing and the fact the graphics weren't as realistic, they were more cartoony that it probably lost most of it's VII's FFers.