1 Certainty, 4 Possibilities, and 1 Question.

[Thauredhel]

The certainty is that WotC (Wot€?) wanted to stop selling PDFs. They knew this would be unpopular so they got themselves some alibi, because that's what the lawsuits are: Alibi for stopping PDF sales:

"Dearest customers, We know you are angry about us not selling PDFs, but
the pirates forced us!"

So what is the real reason? Why would they want to stop selling PDFs?

1) They want all of their PDF sales to go through an in-house store, and think this handling will give them some goodwill:

"Dearest customers, We know you demand PDFs, and because of your
massive outpouring we have changed our mind. We will start selling PDFs
again, through our own outlet. We would never dream of making our
customers unhappy!"

2) They want to move to a subscription system, where you pay constantly for the privilege of accessing the material.

3) The sales figures of 4th edition isn't matching expectations, so they want to kill off previous editions which they hope will boost sales numbers. Sales of 4th edition PDFs will resume after a decent interval.

4) The Ryan Dancey explanation: Just Pointy Haired Bosses flailing in panic.


My question is can WOTC withdraw the d20 and/or OGL licences or change them in such a way that 3rd party publishers are prevented from publishing new works?

 

[gribble]

My question is can WOTC withdraw the d20 and/or OGL licences or change them in such a way that 3rd party publishers are prevented from publishing new works?

The d20 license already has been withdrawn. The OGL cannot be withdrawn or changed in any way, shape or form.

 

[darkwing]

5) They want people to buy physical books.

For those that want a legit PDF version, they have the option to buy the physical book, then download the PDF version of it off the Interwebz. It's basically win/win. WotC gets the larger sales volumes for their hardbacks, which look good statistics wise AND they get free hosting and bandwith costs for PDFs from a large community of volunteers.

 

[lutecius]

They knew this would be unpopular so they got themselves some alibi, because that's what the lawsuits are: Alibi for stopping PDF sales

I don't think the lawsuits are an alibi. They're sending the message that it's not ok to pirate their stuff. Showing that they can track and sue pirates abroad might even scare a few of them.
Not producing new pdfs may also slow piracy a little.

But I agree that pulling the existing ones as a mean to fight piracy makes no sense since they've already been uploaded. So there must be another explanation. #3 doesn't seem likely but it could be any combination of the 4, really.

My question is can WOTC withdraw the d20 and/or OGL licences or change them in such a way that 3rd party publishers are prevented from publishing new works?

I think if they could they wouldn't have tried to make 3pp who wanted the GSL stop publishing under OGL.

 

[Shades of Green]

IANAL, but IIRC the OGL/SRD is eternally irrevocable. Anything released under OGL stays OGL forever, and the OGL license cannot be canceled (unlike GSL).

 

[Grazzt]

The certainty is that WotC (Wot€?) wanted to stop selling PDFs. They knew this would be unpopular so they got themselves some alibi, because that's what the lawsuits are: Alibi for stopping PDF sales:

"Dearest customers, We know you are angry about us not selling PDFs, but
the pirates forced us!"

So what is the real reason? Why would they want to stop selling PDFs?

1) They want all of their PDF sales to go through an in-house store, and think this handling will give them some goodwill:

"Dearest customers, We know you demand PDFs, and because of your
massive outpouring we have changed our mind. We will start selling PDFs
again, through our own outlet. We would never dream of making our
customers unhappy!"

2) They want to move to a subscription system, where you pay constantly for the privilege of accessing the material.

3) The sales figures of 4th edition isn't matching expectations, so they want to kill off previous editions which they hope will boost sales numbers. Sales of 4th edition PDFs will resume after a decent interval.

4) The Ryan Dancey explanation: Just Pointy Haired Bosses flailing in panic.

I'm going with #2 for sure, #3 possibly, and #4 most likely

 

[Stoat]

Piracy may not have been the only reason behind the decision, but I don't think the lawsuits are a smokescreen or alibi.

They filed three federal lawsuits, and it looks like the hired some pretty expensive lawyers to do it. That's an expensive proposition, and I don't think they'd do it just to give cover for pulling the .pdfs.

 

[Bagpuss]

I think it is a little of option 4, but also a variation on option 1.

One of the main appeals of PDF is the help it is in preparation for the game both DM and Players. They want people to use D&DI rather than PDFs. If they do allow access to the books any digital documents will be released via the D&DI in future.

 

[avin]

5) They want people to buy physical books.

For those that want a legit PDF version, they have the option to buy the physical book, then download the PDF version of it off the Interwebz. It's basically win/win. WotC gets the larger sales volumes for their hardbacks, which look good statistics wise AND they get free hosting and bandwith costs for PDFs from a large community of volunteers.

That would make sense if they didn't killed former editions books also.

Wotc is clearly doing what they can do remove easy access to former editions and PRing us with promises that won't happen.

 

[Remathilis]

IANAL, but IIRC the OGL/SRD is eternally irrevocable. Anything released under OGL stays OGL forever, and the OGL license cannot be canceled (unlike GSL).

I have nothing to add, but I just wanted to say that's the most underline "instant acronym decoders" I've seen in one post in a long time!