Does it matter? If their production costs are too high, they should find better ways of controlling costs; a game that sells 2.5 million copies is still a game that the market has validated.

> If their production costs are too high, they should find better ways of controlling costs;

They do: they find other games that are more profitable to make.

> a game that sells 2.5 million copies is still a game that the market has validated.

Corporations don't exist to be "validated" in some nebulous. They have to make money. I could get the market to wildly validate any product: give it away for free, or, hell, pay people to use it.

That unfortunately doesn't make for a successful business.

The point is that if 2.5 million people are willing to buy the game, the demand side of the equation is a settled one, and it's up to the supplier to find a way to turn that demand into a viable profit. If EA can't, then it's a problem with their own operations, not a problem with the product.

If someone else can produce a title that satisfies the demonstrated market demand for city-simulation games by producing one that is profitable, then they'll win and EA will lose.