There's a subtle piece here that a lot of folks are missing: it's not just EA, but also Maxis, independently responding to the community. Maxis being the developer, EA being the publisher. That's why part of this is a shitstorm, Maxis and EA are sharing contrary words with the community, so the community sees double-speak and stops trusting anything from EA or Maxis.
Because Maxis is a wholly owned subsidiary, I assume what is said by Lucy Bradshaw is actually filter and vetted, if not scripted, by EA corporate PR. If not, shame on Lucy for being so tin eared. If so, shame on Lucy for letting it happen.
