I think the only reason some people are freaked out because new games these days have so many extra features that old games never had, such as online play itself, the ability to add things to the game that aren't normally in it etc.

To me DLC add-ons are nothing more than synonymous to game hacks people make of the older games these days. The only difference is that they are official instead of fan-made. The companies wanted to jump on the hacking and get paid extra for it.