This probably speaks more to my inexperience than anything else, but I can't recall an announcement that has raised this much ire this fast as the announcement of Freddy Kreuger as the 4th downloadable character for Mortal Kombat. 
 
Personally, I won't be purchasing him. I find his presence in the series unpalatable to my tastes and a potential beginning to a slippery slope of even more guest characters form Warner Brother's properties. Had another option besides "Spend $60(+) more on a new 360 controller with a not-terrible d-pad" been available to me, I wouldn't have had anything to do with Kratos either.  
 
But in reading the backlash and defense at various other parts of the internet, one thing that keeps coming up is the idea of ownership. The refrain on both sides of the argument is "Why can't I play the game that I paid for?" Which is a completely valid statement. But it cuts both ways. Why should someone be denied the right to use a component of the game they purchased, and conversely why should someone be forced to interface with a part of the game they deliberately choose not to purchase?  
 
In this age of interconnectedness, what does owning a game even mean anymore when the experience I have with it is influenced by the purchasing habits of people miles away? How do we reconcile this fundamental problem? Besides NRS making a matchmaking system that actually makes matches, rather than randomly paring two players together regardless of DLC. 

This probably speaks more to my inexperience than anything else, but I can't recall an announcement that has raised this much ire this fast as the announcement of Freddy Kreuger as the 4th downloadable character for Mortal Kombat. 
 
Personally, I won't be purchasing him. I find his presence in the series unpalatable to my tastes and a potential beginning to a slippery slope of even more guest characters form Warner Brother's properties. Had another option besides "Spend $60(+) more on a new 360 controller with a not-terrible d-pad" been available to me, I wouldn't have had anything to do with Kratos either.  
 
But in reading the backlash and defense at various other parts of the internet, one thing that keeps coming up is the idea of ownership. The refrain on both sides of the argument is "Why can't I play the game that I paid for?" Which is a completely valid statement. But it cuts both ways. Why should someone be denied the right to use a component of the game they purchased, and conversely why should someone be forced to interface with a part of the game they deliberately choose not to purchase?  
 
In this age of interconnectedness, what does owning a game even mean anymore when the experience I have with it is influenced by the purchasing habits of people miles away? How do we reconcile this fundamental problem? Besides NRS making a matchmaking system that actually makes matches, rather than randomly paring two players together regardless of DLC. 

I don't mind Kratos at all, partially because he's another video game character, but I respect that other people hate his presence in a Mortal Kombat game and refuse to use him or play against him.

But Kruger is just... an old, 80's horror character that feels totally disconnected from gaming. He's not even really a fighter, or associated with a platform like Kratos is (PS3). To me one felt like a neat inclusion that fit with the platform and the game, and this feels like random money grubbing by WB. Further cementing this fact is the version of Kruger we're getting; the one from the awful 2010 remake and not the original which 95% of people know and appreciate.

I'd almost say this is where I draw the line and refuse to download a compatibility pack, but then I have to consider how serious any of this is. And the answer is, not very. It's just a game and although I'd never play as Freddy in the interest of getting matches quickly & smoothly I'd rather download the pack and keep on playing.

I think the way this goes is we don't "own" the software, just the right to use it. If it Mortal Kombat itself changes then Netherrealm should be enforcing across-the-board updates to solve compatibility issues. We still have the right to use their game (even if it's different); what we bought hasn't changed at all.

Ever since WB acquired MK I've been thinking that some iconic MK-character probably will show up in some DC-comic.

This doesn't actually address what this thread is about - but I feel it's tangentially relates to the topic :-)

If people want to play Freddy, they can make a Freddy room and all the Freddy players can play there. Done.
 
...But why should Freddy get special treatment, a lot of people don't have Skarlet/Kenshi/Rain downloaded either...lol