Apple backs down?

Remember the contretemps around the iBook EULA?
To summarize - the EULA said,

1. Feel free to create anything you want with this tool
2. If you want to give the Fruits Of Your Genius away for free, rock on.  Do it however and wherever you want.
3. If you you want to sell it however,
1. You must sell it through us (Apple)
2. If we don't want to sell it, you are Shit-out-of-Luck.
3. And there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.

There was much discussion afterwards as to whether it was actually enforceable or not, but as it turns out, the whole point is moot, with Apple backing down today.
From Ars Technica, we have the following

If you want to charge a fee for a work that includes files in the .ibooks format generated using iBooks Author, you may only sell or distribute such work through Apple, and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple. This restriction does not apply to the content of such works when distributed in a form that does not include files in the .ibooks format.

Which basically translate to "If you're publishing iBooks, you need to do it through us, but anything else, well, f**k it, do what you want".
A welcome change indeed.
The question is, did they always intend this?  Or was this what they ended up with as a compromise? Me, I suspect the latter - its Apple, and given the almost anal-retentive micro-managerial style tht they always display, I really doubt that the original EULA was just a 'mistake'...