link?
pretty big assumptions there.
as for the game being cut down, if the series' last incarnation is anything to go by, a little aggressive pruning was in order. kotaku's reporting that ffxii's length is around 60hrs. personally, i was nearly 70hrs into ffxii before i got my first esper. lord knows how long it would have taken to finish. a tighter, more concise game is better than one that overstays its welcome.
aside: how did we get off on this tangent?