I'm fairly certain the Minecraft community (especially the most involved subset that would buy an augmented reality Minecraft iPhone app) holds a lot of value to the game and Notch for not being profit driven (in their minds)[1][2][3]. Explaining this decision to the community bodes much better if they cite some set of developer ideals than if they were honest and said what we all know: a popular Minecraft iOS app will no doubt generate more revenue than pushing to the Microsoft equivalent would.
When it comes to heavily community dependent ventures like Minecraft or Reddit, there's no doubt that appearing to prioritize the community and product over profit, while holding more weight to profit behind the scenes, is a crucial for maintaining a positive company image.
When it comes to heavily community dependent ventures like Minecraft or Reddit, there's no doubt that appearing to prioritize the community and product over profit, while holding more weight to profit behind the scenes, is a crucial for maintaining a positive company image.
1. https://twitter.com/carlmanneh/status/174987868786270209
2. http://www.minecraftforum.net/news/422-notch-gives-3-million...
3. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/mojang-employees-split-notch-...