I was reading an article this morning on Joystiq that was discussing the multiplayer mode in Dead Space 2. In that article the author, David Hinkle, makes this statement in his very first sentence: "One thing that hurt the sales of the first Dead Space was its lack of multiplayer." That's a fairly bold position to take as he provides zero information to back this claim up. I'm certainly not in a position to know with 100% certainty either, but I've seen no data that would begin to suggest that the lack of multiplayer is what caused the slow sales of the first game. I think Dave might need to go watch what Doug Stanhope has to say on this topic (with particular attention at the 2:05 mark in the video). 
 
This isn't something that is unique to people who write about games, though there are a lot of bloggers that do this with startling frequency. I'm hesitant to continue this entry myself as I'm starting to fear that I will be proving my own point. I'll have to come back to this later when I have time to back up what I'm saying with the examples that I've seen.

First things first, hugs for linking to Charlie Brooker hosting a rant by Doug Stanhope. 
 
Okay, now that I got that out of the way. I shall explain why people do this. In the depressing attempt to sound intelligent and relevant. He doesn't need any stats or sources to back up his claim, his job his to tell you what to think. Okay, maybe things aren't that bleak, but yea, it's obvious he was just trying to sound like a clever bastard who believes he has his thumb on the pulse of the market. Now if he was talking about Dead Rising, then he would be right. That game needed some serious multiplayer goodness, although it's only my opinion. But don't you think that there could have been room for a little multiplayer? 
 
There, done, I interjected opinion in that, plus it was stealthy. I didn't make bold statements of any kind, but merely suggestions. Journalists obviously don't have the subtlety that I have, which is equivalent to that of a sledgehammer against a concrete wall.