No one is shaming him, so I'm not sure why're you so defensive. I've not referred to the time period prior to 2011. I've been pretty clear of where I feel SE failed, and where I feel Nomura failed.
It's a game designer's responsibility to plan and deliver projects that are sensible, and are in line with company plans. Allowing things to get away from you while you plan something that could take considerable amount of time and resource to complete, especially considering the opportunity cost in this scenario, is a pretty big mistake. He had his chance, the company decided it wasn't going to be suitable, and they took actions to get it done in a way they thought made more sense. He wasn't removed from the project in 2011 or 2012. He agreed to the project becoming Final Fantasy XV. He was removed later once the project had already been reannounced. Naturally, there's something wrong here, no? Or did Square Enix devise this cunning plan to give themselves a huge headache?
For all the grief Versus, or what really feels like Nomura, fans throw in the direction of Tabata and his team for making changes, they seem to ignore that some of these changes would've likely happened regardless due to the title being a mainline entry now. This would happen whether it was under Nomura or Tabata's control. Most of the other changes occurring are pretty clearly because Square Enix doesn't have time to spend another decade on one entry, and Tabata is focused on delivering one big game to get it done the best he can. If not, then they could've allowed Nomura to continue.
People are clinging to ideas. (Many of which are still apparently present in XV.) And it's easy to envision ideas as being greater than what they may end up being because execution is what ultimately matters. Most of the aggravation comes from the story point of view too with the whole "dark" and "mature" and "Stella was so interesting" when Nomura's claim to fame is Kingdom Hearts which is more juvenile than any Final Fantasy game in that aspect. He has many strengths, but that certainly isn't one of them in my eyes. And neither Nomura or Tabata has developed on HD platforms before so they're both in the same boat in that regard.
Is the company responsible for everything bad now? Game designer's don't have a responsibility to have a clear direction for their projects that they can deliver in a reasonable timeframe? Although, as I mentioned, I think part of that is SE's fault in the first place as they should've communicated all of this in the initial transition so both parties have a clear understanding of what needs to be done, by when, and how. Then again, it's also possible they did communicate this to him. Regardless, there's no bad guy in my eyes. It's just reality, and many folks seem to have a tough time coming to grips with it even though it's been years now.
I definitely don't think SE made a wrong move. It's a smart move. They need to get their development pipeline more efficient, and as far as I'm concerned.
