Packs on disks and update control

This is more about security than DLC or updates being placed in the game. It's about EA having full control over their product without it being pirated by people who don't want to buy it through legal channels. That and the fact most pirated copies of the game don't share their game data so EA can keep track of which features are being used the most. Just look at how many infants have been created since Growing Together was released. That data was taken directly from players willing to share their game data with EA. I am not one of those players who is willing to allow EA access to my game and how I play it. But I agree with you that we should have the right to decide which updates we are willing to download. This has been one of my biggest pet peeves with EA since Island Living was released. Most of these updates contain items I do not want or have a use for. And I dislike being forced to install those items that are of no use to me. Ninety percent of the bug fixes in these updates have already been eradicated by mods by the time the teams include their fixes in an update that often end up breaking previous fixes that had been released months earlier. In reply to your questions, yes you will be forced to update your game which will include everything EA has released since you last updated. You won't be able to install any new packs without updating your game at the same time. And in my opinion, that is flat out wrong on many levels. :/