[MichaelGG]

Yeah, I often "pirate" stuff because Netflix lacks subtitles. Or has idiotic things like Portuguese subtitles in Central America. Even on "Original Series" they lack subtitles, depending on where they think you are. It's very discriminatory and annoying.

[kmfrk]

A lot of Region 2 DVDs don't even have English subtitles. It's the dumbest thing.

[_stephan]

I suppose they save a few cents licensing costs per DVD this way.

[kmfrk]

The hyper-regionalization is an odd construction; makes you wonder just how much there is to save by printing a bunch of different (sub-)region versions compared to just bundling most on one “English” printing.

Especially in the age of Amazon.

[MichaelGG]

It was created before Amazon, right? And I'd imagine for many people, directly importing is not a daily purchasing habit. That way they can keep their "release windows" and other things to make them feel like they're getting every last drop off profit. Or maybe they think consumers want localized covers. It might even be true - someone must be demanding terrible dubbed products, so who knows.

[kmfrk]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it were because of the B&M companies.

British videogame retailers still wield a big influence over British and to some extent European release windows.