Filthy Lucre
Adventurer
Saying that a tool to an end is intrinsically tied to that end is a pretty silly way to go about things.However, your feelings or how you liked the edition isn't the point; the fact that this was most definitely used to gate keep is.
"This thing was used for this bad end, therefor this thing can only ever and has always been used for that bad end".
I was on the WotC boards during the great 4e flamewar, and I remember the backlash to the ToB and how there was much accusing of videogameisms. That, however, does not mean that drawing comparisons, paralells, and other inferences from video games to D&D is just inherently illicit.