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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 6305396" data-attributes="member: 8461">That's only the case if WotC ignores the OGL and creates a game with no (good) options for compatibility among the rest of the community...which is what they did. Had they simply made Fourth Edition an OGL game, they would almost certainly have brought a significant (if not a majority) portion of the third-party market with them.In other words, the OGL did not create the fractured marketplace; WotC did by breaking away from the wider community that they themselves had created.Such a shut-off valve would be kicking in right around now, when there's still a vibrant community utilizing the materials released under the terms of the license, to say nothing of myriad games unrelated to D&D (e.g. FATE, Spirit of the Century, etc.) that use it. Any sort of "kill switch" is an idea that sacrifices the good of the many for the good of the one. I honestly can't see how anyone can think that's a good thing - especially since WotC seems to think they're doing just fine having gone their own way.It's not the same thing. You take away the IP aspects of it, and the reasons for WotC to be involved at all - much less contribute their own time and effort on a continual basis to overseeing the quality of another company's products - become virtually nil.There's nothing "real world" about that - there's nothing to indicate that they want control, nor is there any particularly compelling reasons for them to have it. That's leaving aside the fact that control and freedom are mutually exclusive, so trying to do one means you have to sacrifice another - I'd prefer they sacrifice control, which does virtually nothing for them and constrains everyone else, in favor of letting third-parties make the games that they, and the gamers, want.</blockquote>

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