Why are some Nintendo fans so opposed to going third party?

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sonicfan1373 said:
In the technology market as a whole, look at Apple, they had far more troubles than Nintendo is having now back in the 1990s and they were advised by many analysts and so called market experts to go software only (like licensing the Mac OS to hardware vendors like Microsoft was doing); they decided to not do that instead opting to sell hardware and software together (even if they moved smaller units with less support from other companies) in order to increase value in their brand (not putting their shiny software on dull grey boxes and Steve Jobs quipped) and avoiding fragmentation issues and competition from larger software companies; having a hardware department and software department and a closed-off non-conforming platform made the company turn-over modest profits compared to others in the industry but it gave them an advantage in terms of innovation which helped them in bringing products such as iPod and later other mobile devices which has now made them the most valuable company in the US (not sure about the rest world but they are up there); Apple's biggest profits come from their hardware (much like how Nintendo's biggest profits during the Wii and DS era came from the actual hardware itself). Moreover, companies like Microsoft and even smaller ones like Valve are now becoming more devices oriented rather only focusing on software, because they clearly see the value in this type of model. Whereas, companies like Activision Blizzard, EA, Ubisoft, and Square Enix are making deeper investments in order to stay competitive in the expensive software-only sector with smaller returns and also the lack of control over hardware it is becoming more difficult for them to create very unique experiences. This coupled with the fact that former giants like Atari and Sega have not done well in software (which I blame on audience fragmentation, the lack of resources to properly transform the company into a competitive multi-platform company, and the brain-drain that occurred after the many restructurings that took place within each respective company after the decision to go software only) makes me believe that Nintendo would be better off staying as a cautious hardware and software company.

Comparing Nintendo to Apple is very interesting but also quite appropriate. Great post. Can you also provide links about people asking Apples in the 90's to license the Mac OS to hardware vendors? It seems like an interesting read that relates to Nintendo's current situation.