I think the reason why Square Enix are trying to make combat more 'real-time' is because they're trying to appeal to a young, Western market. For this market, turn-based is not the norm for console games, or even for RPGs.

Before I started Final Fantasy, my only experience with turn-based combat was Pokemon. Apart from Pokemon, I'd never played any JRPGs before FF. Coming across turn-based combat in FFX - which Formy had to persuade me to play, originally - was a complete surprise for me. If I'd known it was turn-based before starting, it probably would have put me off the idea.

For me, the norm in RPGs was the kind of system which FFXII had. Most young people in the West may well - like I did - associate turn-based combat with Pokemon. If they heard that the FF7 remake was turn-based, they'd just think, "Oh, that'll be just like Pokemon then. I won't bother getting that".

If Square Enix want the series to go on, they can't just appeal to established fans: they have to bring in new ones. And new, Western fans might be turned off by turn-based combat.