Why do these companies think it's a good idea to refuse to sell to a customer depending on where they live?
I can understand in the case of Netflix etc where they legally cannot provide access outside of the areas where they have the licences, but there is no such issue here - Microsoft is fully able to distribute their own product, and there isn't even a shipping issue since it's just online.
Even Google has this problem, where they won't ship their devices from the play store to anywhere outside of a few countries, even though they would be fully able to.
A) People in different regions will pay different amounts of money. By restricting regions in which a person can use a thing (such as DVDs) they can sell at the price each market will bear.
B) Sometimes, the separate regions are managed by separate corporations (wholly owned by the parent) which have their own pricing policy.
C) Often there are local laws or agreements dictating that the corporation not undercut local distributors.
I can understand in the case of Netflix etc where they legally cannot provide access outside of the areas where they have the licences, but there is no such issue here - Microsoft is fully able to distribute their own product, and there isn't even a shipping issue since it's just online.
Even Google has this problem, where they won't ship their devices from the play store to anywhere outside of a few countries, even though they would be fully able to.