I understand your point, ChienAboyeur, but ultimately do not agree with it. The argument sounds like the rationalization that the product manager for a game like this would employ to justify it. Its a decision that puts the business before the customer. Things may work like this in time and may be the way all entertainment is consumed and sometimes it has to be that way but its not customer friendly.
I just built on the situation as it looks like to be. At this point, believing that EA(or the associate studio) could not foresee connection issues in the first day (while they had experience on similar launches and/or Diablo 3 example to learn of) is not a self imposing belief. It is a choice.
I prefer to stand on what is obvious: EA personal (or associated studio) is not that unproficient.
As to the off line thing, modding part, it is probably nothing more like a bait to appease people as things return to normal.
Customer friendly: the industry has long played the consumption habits of certain customers against others. This is the way appliances like Steam took off. Those sofwares that added nothing to gaming but suited certain customer habits.
The industry has no reason to treat the current situation differently right now. Steam hurt certain customers'habits as well but it steamrolled. Publishers, for many of them, just decided it was no longer in their interest to make business with people who did not want Steam.
The very fact that players looking for SP experience were charged for a software adding nothing to gaming was also ignored as the crowd of Steam supporters pushed up their customers'habits over other customers.
There is no reason it should not be the same for the requirement of being connected for a SP game. This requirement only hurt those who do not play connected. Probably a tiny lot.
Customers'habits are just customers'habits, nothing more. To each, you can find one customers'habit to oppose. You want to play when visiting people? Some other players prefer to spend time with their hosts over playing games. Want to play on a train? Some other players prefer to watch a DVD or something. Etc...
The only thing that could not be opposed was that anyone was charged for an undue component. But considering the past, it is now too late to bring up that argument.
Some players made that decision for the rest some time ago.