I'm sure you're all aware of how Final Fantasy hasn't exactly been getting perfect 10s this generation. Final Fantasy XIII sold pretty well and got good reviews but that didn't stop the media from bashing the game for is linearity and "20-hour tutorial". XIII-2 although praised as a better game, got lower reviews and as a result lower sales. Why? Fiinal Fantasy games have always been known for their quality up until XIII. So its safe to assume that XIII was overrated purely on brand name. By the time XIII-2 released the FF brand was damaged and the media was much more critical with their reviews.

Ok so how did the Xbox 360 damage the FF brand? Easy. It sold so much. Square Enix saw an opprtunity to cash-in on the Final Fantasy brand and with the dominance of the Xbox 360 in America, it was a no-brainer to go multi-platform. Of course with these multi-platform games comes Square Enix trying to appeal to the Western audience. This is where they went wrong. This is where the Xbox 360s success in America damaged Final Fantasy, indirectly. Of course, Square Enix always had the choice of keeping Final Fantasy exclusive to the PS3 so when it comes down to it, it is their fault for making poor decisions.

I don't think PS3 exclusive would have caused the Final Fantasy 13 to be any more different.

I think it would. The only reason FF went multiplatform is to cash in on the Xbox 360. For it to sell on the platform Square Enix tried to westernize the games.

If it was PS3 exclusive I doubt they'd try and westernize the game.

No, things began going wrong with FF8. this is a culmination of their 'innovation' since then. FF13-2 has reportedly a terrible story and cliche characters, the same problem with FF13, FF10-2, Advent Children, The 3rd Birthday, Dirge of Cerberus and FF8.

this is why the series has been damaged. the quality and popularity of western developed games has grown so strong this gen, there was no way FF13 or FF13-2 could compete with games that are simply better written. even Japanese games have grown stronger this gen, for example the presentation of story in Valkyria Chronicles far surpasses that of the aformentioned games.

its important to remember that FF is a name, people have seen that underneath the name their are things they are not happy with. this has nothing to do with the 360.

we have to blame somebody/something so yeah you can blame the 360

I blame Square-Enix though I actually never liked FF

a good game is considered good by the people no matter what console its on... i didn't want the game because of
turn based combat on a console, what is this the NES?
reading instead of voice acting, voice acting is a staple now.
I didn't enjoy the demo at all, self explanatory, i saw no reason to get a game when i was bored before finishing the demo.

While the popularity of the series increased after Final Fantasy VI, the quality of the series started to decline soon after Final Fantasy VII was released.

Nope, the idea was always there, before the 360 version. Infact Square Enix have been making number of mistakes for awhile, but I am not going to do this argument again and again. 

Only thing I can think would have been different if 360 version didn't exist, people would defend it and it might have got a easier pass, similar to how Final Fantasy 7 Compilations gets a pretty free pass from "fans". 

I liked FF XIII more than X-2 and XII

XBOX360 didn't damage FF. Please stop this kind of stupid and pointless treads.