To be honest I'm hoping the developers just make this 'crossover' events into something fun but not necessarily canon. When FFIX launched there was an advertising campaign based around Coca Cola to spread the word. That doesn't mean FFIX was in any way linked to Coca Cola (and the game wouldn't be nearly as awesome as it is if something like that suddenly cropped up halfway through playing the game).

I think I'm concerned because 'Hildibrand' type quests are no longer contained to a specific set of quests. The over the top facial expressions and 'humour' is leaking elsewhere and that's precisely the sort of problem that made me grow weary of WoW - because despite all the decent lore it ended up being overshadowed by cheap gimmicks and silly quests. I'm worried FFXIV will go down the same route.