^ I actually think the same thing. But then again, we get FFX, then XII, and then due to backlash, XIII. It seems they do take into account fan opinion on the broad strokes, but still won't budge on the nuts and bolts of it all (assuming, of course, that XIII isn't just the way it is now because these guys have no idea how to create a compelling, creative game anymore). SE have ridiculous resources, but they allocate them into completely the wrong places - how else could FFXIII's game-world wind up so completely sterile of activity and interaction? The story and narrative are an objective mess, too. Either no one paid attention or cared, or they just assumed fans would enjoy 8-bit-quality storytelling in a cinematic HD-era game. So, yeah, Toriyama's criticism of the criticism is pathetic.

What I don't understand is what he's complaining about anyway. Most major gaming websites slapped on some pretty high of those stupid numbers. Gamespot's review in particular stands out, because the reviewer parrots out criticism regarding exactly what they know their audience will be annoyed with (Vanille) but very little else of what actually deserves to be taken apart and analyzed - the kind of things that might affect sales among the non-FF-initiated.