The issue with FF13, in terms of sales, success, etc. is less so how much it brought in but rather the game didn't receive the kind of reaction he had hopes. Actually reading stuff on the development, he legitimately wanted the game to be the next FF7/10 in the genre (the major game changes that completely changed the way people viewed jRPGs, IOWs). This didn't work out; we can get into reasons why, but not worth it, as the point is that while FF13 was clearly successful commercially, it wasn't as big critically given how the reactions were so split among the fanbase.
The main thrust of the article, in any event, is that all this "look at things globally!" aspect is in fact destructive, and that's kind of true. They were trying to appeal to too many gamers at once with their games, rather than appeasing the fans first, then adding in some extra things that would grab more gamers.
Bravely Default is basically the game that kicked them back into gear because it showed that everything they were doing is wrong. All Bravely Default tries to be is a well jRPG, and nothing more, from my understanding. I'm not saying it's generic or anything, just that it's mission statement was "Make a strong jRPG for fans of the genre, particularly classic Final Fantasy fans!" The game wasn't a KILLER SUCCESS, but it sure beat expectations in the west commercially while being a significant critical success. It really demonstrates that the viewpoint has to be changed from "Appease all gamers!" to "Appease the people who are likely to buy this game!"
A good line that fits here, which is something Square-enix seems to finally be acknowledging is "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to appease everyone."
