I don't see where it is proven that these changes could only have been made due to EA.
That they WERE a response to feedback doesn't mean that they REQUIRED the feedback to be made.
They could have been made due to anything, but they were made due to the EA feedback as of stated in the developer's quote. There is no room for demagoguery here, I think. But we can always just disagree on the matter, I am fine with it.
