I came across this post on an IGN article by user starchipaficionado.
To those in the know, is this accurate? I have read similiar stories but have never heard it confirmed.
While I am posting this response roughly 10 months after your post, I feel compelled to make a statement due to my still seething hatred for what Square-Enix did to Final Fantasy XII, which (in my opinion) should have been a masterpiece.
One of my favorite games of all time is Final Fantasy Tactics. So it's no surprise how excited I was to hear that Yasumi Matsuno would be directing XII. His original vision for FF XII had Basch as the main character (Matsuno is known for having a preference for older protagonists), a robust job system a la Tactics, and Van and Penelo were never supposed to be there. Midway through the game's development, in 2003, Square merged with Enix and the company began making changes to Matsuno's passionate work (sticking Van and Penelo into the game because they believed the younger metrosexual protagonist would be easily marketable to the Japanese youth; completely scrapping the job system; changing story elements). Matsuno bowed out of the project citing health reasons: most people know by now he left because he was incredibly pissed off at the new company, given the fact that he has since left Square Enix and is now at Level 5. And Sakaguchi left the company around this time as well.
"Series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was disappointed by Matsuno's departure and declined to play the game beyond its introduction."
Within a couple of years of its formation, Square Enix drove away the creator of the FF franchise, and another talented director/game creator. So you know what I say? Hate on people. Support Level 5, Monolith, and Mistwalker as if they were SquareSoft. Because they basically are.