So there was some speculation whether Valve delisted the 177 (now 180) countries
to protect itself legally or if Sony had done it for Sony reasons. It appears
that Sony has been confirmed to be the one who delisted it
I think the answer is because they don’t believe they need that market, they were obviously okay with losing that market share in the first place due to the fact that they put the requirement in there. As their announcements have said, requiring a PSN account is something that gives them more control over abuse (and ofc data) and allowing more players that are in countries where they are not currently allowed to have those accounts are counterproductive to what they are currently driving for
I’m not surprised they didn’t reverse the region locks they believe it’s something for the best and that’s not something that the consumer is going to be able to change, regardless of the reviews or protest, worst case scenario for them is they just go back to being fully console exclusive if the PR pressure gets too bad
They delisted them before they announced that they wouldn’t require accounts after all.
So then why not relist them and sell your game on a bigger market? The answer is probably because they will try again.
I think the answer is because they don’t believe they need that market, they were obviously okay with losing that market share in the first place due to the fact that they put the requirement in there. As their announcements have said, requiring a PSN account is something that gives them more control over abuse (and ofc data) and allowing more players that are in countries where they are not currently allowed to have those accounts are counterproductive to what they are currently driving for
I’m not surprised they didn’t reverse the region locks they believe it’s something for the best and that’s not something that the consumer is going to be able to change, regardless of the reviews or protest, worst case scenario for them is they just go back to being fully console exclusive if the PR pressure gets too bad