Yeah, can tell you from experience that the online portion of a fanbase is a) a tiny percentage of the full player base, b) the most vocally unhappy collection of any fanbase, and c) despite complaining incessantly, still playing and spending.
Even if you have thousands of people complaining about your game online, they're still playing, and that's all that matters from EA's point of view.
Even if you have thousands of people complaining about your game online, they're still playing, and that's all that matters from EA's point of view.