I think you should keep in mind that Guild02 was already in the works by the time Guild01 came out. It was originally a retail release with a 4th game to be announced later on. It was probably too late to cancel the 3 games they already announced, which is why they converted them into eShop releases instead. I'm sorry, but I really think the series is done.
This might be how the Guild series is going to continue.
Right, it probably isn't Guild03, but I really don't understand why this debuting on iOS (if not coming exclusively) means that this alone signals the whole program is dead? It's dead or it isn't as a brand (they don't seem too interested in tying the 3DS or iOS digital a la carte releases to the Guild/Black Box brand name for some reason,) but if these games end up in fact being made in a similar method with collaboration with Level-5 and well-known outside creative staff, that's Guild to me, it was never about the platform. (In fact, I always hoped it'd be successful on 3DS and would expand to other platforms, as it's a fascinating idea and something I like seeing Japan in particularly engage its creative talents in.)
I do not understand why anyone would want to play RPGs on smartphones.
I can understand asking that question about a lot of genres that are showing up and embarrassing the mobile market, but RPGs? It's a genre where you're clicking choices from a menu, how is that not perfectly suited to a device with a touchscreen? Portables are so capable these days that they can provide every bit of the splendor (depending on your screen size, a phone may be small but an iPad held at arms' length is as vision-consuming and vibrant as my HDTV ever gets) and emotional as a console game, plus the time consumption is less a factor when you can do the grinding at your leisure rather than dedicating time at home in front of the TV.
I run into this a lot with the portables, I think there are some people that just don't commute like people like me. Myself, my PS3 has been gathering dust and I have a mess of uninstalled PC games while all of my time is funneled into my Vita and my tablet. It's fine if you're not like me, but don't discount mobile-oriented gamers as not being gamers. There are real games there, and aside for the race to the bottom hurting the breath of scope (a game that's not "free-to-play" will fail, and that's tragic,) the games are only going to get better. And when you consider how commuting is such an intrinsic part of the Japanese lifestyle, it makes even more sense why Japanese developers have put all their creative energy into mobile games despite us clamoring for the next truly AAA HD Final Fantasy or Dark Cloud. Sorry, but unless something drastic changes about the market and the consumer tastes, the JRPG revolution will not be televised.