Well, on a personal level, as somebody who really likes OD&D but can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on saddle-stitched pamphlets, Swords & Wizardry just became much more important to me.
OSRIC, which was previously important to me because it promised the possibility of allowing me to play old modules, just became vastly less important (as I can no longer obtain said modules easily or inexpensively).
Labyrinth Lord is still fun but I don't really think that it has been hurt too much one way or the other.
Now for some unplesant meanderings.
WotC really has been making an effort to rein in their IP through legal action lately. First there were rounds of cease and desist letters being issued to fansites and now we have verified RIAA-like lawsuits against internet bandits coupled with a total withdraw from the PDF market.
Just a few weeks back Scott Rouse assured me on these very forums that I was being overly paranoid when I asserted that WotC was trying to rein in control over their IP and that I was a real jerk for suggesting such a thing*. Right now, it looks like my initial gut feeling was 100% on the money.
I would like to believe that WotC isn't going to attempt leaning on some clone system publishers but I think all bets are off the table right now. They've implemented an extremely aggressive legal strategy that punishes loyal customers and has some real potential to hurt other PDF publishers.
If they told me today that they promised not to take action against clone system publishers, I wouldn't believe them. I mean, they're clearly circling their wagons now and anybody who denies it in the wake of this latest development is simply not being forthright.
Don't pee on my leg and tell me that it's raining.
I'm more than a little concerned about how much further this will go. I understand that WotC has every right to shut down any individual, site, or publisher that they perceive as a threat to their IP — I just hope that they don't purge their entire fanbase in the process.
*And in fairness, this latest bit of stupidity may have come as a complete shock to him as well, assuming that corporate skullduggery is as bad at WotC as it is elsewhere.
