Nintendo won't be developing games for Apple's iPad, iPod or iPhone, despite pressure from investors to do so.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told the Japanese Nikkei news publication that iOS game development is "absolutely not under consideration" for the company.

Although releasing games for smartphones is likely to be proftable in the short term the Nintendo boss said he is more focused on the company’s "mid and long term competitive strength".

He added that Nintendo's in-house hardware development team is a major strength that management has a duty to make use of.

It was reported in August that Nintendo was under pressure from investors to target the booming smartphone games market to counter weakness in the company's core products. At the time, Satoru Iwata said the company will only offer games for its own products while he is at the helm, despite falling stock prices.

Nintendo's 3DS  mobile gaming device has suffered from poor sales since its launch, which has been partly attributed to the success of other casual gaming platforms and Apple devices in particular.

Earlier this year, the Nintendo boss criticsed the mobile games industry, saying there is a focus on the number of products available over quality of software. He added that the trend of mobile games being offered for free or minimal cost hurts bigger players who invest significant amounts on developing games.