> Eh. It takes more effort to regionally lock something on the Internet than not.
Not necessarily.
To properly allow your product to be sold in multiple international markets, you need to have customer support in the local languages. You need to support the popular local payment systems. You need localized fraud detection (risks differ by area). You also need to comply with local laws (copyright law differs by country, and rights to show movies may need to be negotiated separately).
It's true that you can just put something on YouTube for free and forget about it, and in that case, locking it to one region is just being mean. But when launching a paid and supported product, it's just not that easy.
edit: you also need subtitles or dubbing in some areas
Nonsense. You need that stuff for localized releases. Allowing worldwide purchase of the English/US version (take it or leave it) is perfectly possible and is easier.
Did you somehow miss how software or SaaS is sold these days? Worldwide?
The real reason is probably something mentioned elsewhere here: distribution contracts already in place.
edit: but I realize you do make a fair point, just being on YouTube means that it removes some of the technical difficulties in launching in multiple countries. It still leaves a lot of others, though.
Not necessarily.
To properly allow your product to be sold in multiple international markets, you need to have customer support in the local languages. You need to support the popular local payment systems. You need localized fraud detection (risks differ by area). You also need to comply with local laws (copyright law differs by country, and rights to show movies may need to be negotiated separately).
It's true that you can just put something on YouTube for free and forget about it, and in that case, locking it to one region is just being mean. But when launching a paid and supported product, it's just not that easy.
edit: you also need subtitles or dubbing in some areas