>Now they can point to Google and say "look, everyone, Google is taking away your toys, they must be evil!".
And they would be right. It's not mutually exclusive that Microsoft is doing this evilly on purpose, and that Google is evilly holding back Youtube from Windows Phone on purpose.
Microsoft's decision to include a video download button in their app had to be an intentional attempt to force Google's hand - it was obviously specifically added, and it's no secret that Google's been threatening to sue people who do that.
Why does it have to be that? The plethora of browser extensions that implement this feature prove it's something users want. Why imagine a nefarious reason for developers to add a feature to their app that users want?
Have you ever thought about the consequences Google would face if they allowed a mayor player to download copyrighted content from their plattform while having agreements with media lables and other content producers about the restriction and monetization of that content?
You can can get away with this if you are a small team with a limited audience, but MS is either incompetent or has calculated this outcome.
No, as stated multiple times within this thread if Microsoft would stop violating the Terms of Service Google would allow them to create a YouTube app.
And they would be right. It's not mutually exclusive that Microsoft is doing this evilly on purpose, and that Google is evilly holding back Youtube from Windows Phone on purpose.