Steve the Pocket said:
But Microsoft does sell Office for the Mac. Then again, their market share is so much bigger and more firmly entrenched already that they don't have to be afraid it of any negative consequences. Apple's market share on handheld games is what, ten times Nintendo's at this point, or something?
This would be relevant if the entire reason for Windows was to sell Office, which it's not. There are many other reasons to run Windows, Microsoft Office is just one of many. Supporting MacOS is advantageous for Microsoft because sales of Windows won't tank because of it. A drop in the sales of Windows only comes from the competition (Apple and the many flavors of Linux/Unix) being better.
If Nintendo ported their games for use on iOS, they are hurting the market share of their handhelds. Right now if someone wants to catch them all, they must first catch a 3DS (or GB/GBA/DS). Their handheld is made specifically for this game (and many others). Releasing Pokemon on the Apple would only make Nintendo's competition more popular, which is a bad thing for them.
That would be the equivalent of Nintendo releasing The Legend of Zelda on the Genesis because there was demand for it. Sure, people would have loved to have seen it, and would have paid good money for it, but in doing so they've lost one potential sale of an SNES. Putting Pokemon on iOS would stall sales for the 3DS, as people will no longer need one to play the game. If Nintendo isn't making money off of the 3DS, they have no reason to make portable games.
Why would they want to be restricted creatively by Apple, when they already have free reign to do what they want on their own systems? While Nintendo would get plenty of sales on other platforms, they're not getting them on the most important one, their own.
