As you mentioned, this is a huge one. Dude's brother's indie boss's obligation is to nobody. He can do with his money as he pleases and take whatever risks he likes. The executive team at EA's responsibility is to their shareholders. That is a massive difference that affects all kinds of prioritization & decision-making at nearly every level of the company.
It's easy to vilify the giant corporation. I don't always disagree. But there are advantages and disadvantages to being the indie company. They're easy to get excited about and people fall in love with the *idea* of what they're building. But most indie games fail. And even the ones that succeed, most people reading this spend most if not all of their game-purchasing cash on AAA titles developed & published by large corporations. Why is this?
The answer is one some won't like to admit: because by & large, they make better games that more people enjoy playing. That doesn't fit the narrative, I realize. But it's true.