Consumer advocate Clark Howard will tell you competition is always good for the consumer.
Gary Stern's cunning plan of "less game for more money" is going to come to a screeching halt. With AP's parent company's resources and backing, they have the means to give GS nightmares. The JPop debacle was a bump in the road is all, he lied to them to make MG happen and keep his ass out of prison for the time being. If anything they are to be commended for following through to the degree they did.
I thought the original Houdini design looked great overall, kind of sad to hear they had to start over from scratch but I'm looking forward to seeing what they have come up with!