So this thread is meant to be a discussion about what that might look like. What if by some series of unfortunate events D&D is no longer published or even licensed out? Let's even presume that Hasbro gets real litigious about any trademark violations, but doesn't bother doing anything about people using either SRD under CC.
Now what? What does "D&D never dying" look like under this scenario?
Good question! I think this would begin a slow death spiral for the game in a larger context. Of course, it wouldn't affect anyone's games, but it would have a tremendous effect on new people entering the hobby.
Like it or not, D&D is synonymous with "RPGs" to the larger audience. Just like Kleenex really means tissues, and, in some parts of the country, Coke means soda or pop.
Could some other company take up the mantle and become the new big dog? Yes. I would expect even if this would happen, it would be much smaller than D&D for a long time, if not forever. If, for instance, Pathfinder became the next big thing, I think you'd hear "players of Pathfinder, the successor to D&D," in a similar manner to how X is still described as formerly Twitter.
But, in terms of "what difference does it make?" I would say that D&D being out there, being the brand, means something in larger terms. It carries a lot of water. I think it's been hundreds of times where I have told people that I play RPGs, only to have someone say, "Oh, D&D?" and I can say yes. People have, for good or bad, an idea of what D&D is.
