Square is not only trying to satisfy a niche market of gamers that have been loyal to them from the beginning but they're also looking to tap into previously unmet demand in hopes of increasing profits and adding to the already massive fan base. After all these years, and with each passing game, Final Fantasy further adds to the risk of becoming stale and old. If Square had decided to stick with the same stuff over and over again, how long do you think FF would have lasted? 3? Maybe 4 sequels, considering how good a company Square is. But because they've changed FF so much, it has managed to stay pretty fresh for 15+ FF games spanning from NES to PS2/GC

In fact, I hope Square someday goes for a massive, radical change to Final Fantasy, not just the occasional tweak. You can tell they've already tried testing the water by working on other series and other genres to see if the public is interested (FFT, The Bouncer etc. etc.) And so far, we haven't really reacted much to anything else but the mainstream FFs, everything else seems a side project. But more likely than not, Square is looking for something to fall back on WHEN (not IF) Final Fantasy dies.