Wow (teehee) lots of discussions here. Please allow me to offer my understanding:

SW:TOR ran into problem: It took a great premise (Bioware rich stories) and tried to make it a continuous world. A Bioware game takes years to make, and is consumed in a month. To keep people happy they would have to deliver years worth of content every month. This is not feasible. Therefore they add filler content. The filler content is not sufficient to keep people happy.

Therefore the recipe is unlikely to be successful.

What SE (and everyone else) has to keep in mind is: People don't want a WoW clone. WoW is already out there. If someone implemented a 100% clone of WoW it would not do well. WoW is doing well because it *IS* WoW. It's name is enough to draw in and keep people.

What SE (and anyone else) should do is be themselves. Leverage their strongest assets. What is Final Fantasy's assets that make it stand out from all else?
-- An engrossing world through which to traverse
-- Beautiful music and graphics
-- Amazing cutscenes and storylines
-- Strong RPG elements (mechanics).

SW had a few but not all of those. WoW had a few but not all of those. FF has all of those and needs to focus on these pillars. Do not be a clone: Copy Cat Groups never live long.