Um. The only versions of Windows 7 without it were Starter (crippled netbook version...and who has seen a netbook lately) and Home Basic (for "emerging markets"). So pretty much any version in the developed world has included it.
That point still remains valid, no matter how much you agree/disagree.
No Microsoft OS has ever had native functionality without WMC. Whether WMC is pervasive across most SKUs or non-existent, without WMC in the OS, you weren't getting anything to play without third-party software.
They kind of took a step back from their WMC progression, but I don't blame them. Let those who need it purchase it, otherwise, why make everyone pay for the licensing (surely included in the OS price) when barely anyone (in comparison) actually made use of that feature?
WMC started as a separate OS package entirely with XP (in of itself a massively failed approach, but I used it too), then progressed in Windows Vista to be included in Home Premium and Ultimate, and then was bundled with most SKUs of Win7.
It still stands to be said that without WMC, you got no playback, period.
Now they are making a smarter move by [hopefully] making the base OS cheaper, and allowing people to add what they want, and hopefully will do so at a reasonable price that makes the entire package roughly what it would have been previously.
I could argue it is a terrible move, and in some ways it could be argued as such.
