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Based on the OP, and my own growing frustration with anime, I'd say the following are what have taken place in terms of "perceived moe""
Change from plot-driven to character-driven
Change from older-looking characters to younger-looking characters
I grew up on the "younger kids" anime of the late 90's and early 00's, which are pretty much action-driven with some character development, even if the development was based on what we now call cliches. Which is why, in my personal opinion, a lot of the more recent anime has gone downhill. My personal definition of moe is "cute girls A) doing cute things (I'm going to be the ass who uses K-on as the example here) or B)kicking ass (Strike Witches)". Now, I can tolerate this to a certain degree... but not when the entire damned show is about either of the above. As I said, I grew up on the action-orientated stuff of the late 90's/early 2000's, and the biggest change I've seen between now and then that is my personal hatred is... lack of a strong male lead. Granted, a lot of my shows tend to be harem shows... and they've changed a lot too. In the original harems (Tenchi, for example), sure, the girls can kick a ton of ass, but Tenchi himself was just as powerful, or as often hinted, perhaps even more so. But, it's gradually become a case of the girls do a lot of fighting (so that there is sexual fanservice galore), while the most the male lead can do is stumble into perverted situations (which further adds to the fanservice).
But I digress with harems... I'm sure that many of us can agree that we want a character we can somehow relate with in the anime we watch... and in the "cute girl/moe" kind of shows, there's a lack of that kind of character, at least for me; i.e., there's rarely a guy around, and if he is, he tends to be a weak supporting character. Now, this wouldn't be so bad... but unless I've been watching the wrong anime (which is highly possible, given what I stated I watch far too much of above), that type of show seems to be the majority these days.
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