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bradley13 [soylentnews.org] writes:

I don't watch many movies, but once it a while it's a nice thing. This evening, I thought I would hunt down a film from 2012 that I would like to see again.

Being a good little boy, I first visited the film studio's site (Lions Gate, fwiw). They had links to four online shops. No joy - they only seem to sell the film in the US.

So I went to Amazon.de, which is the closest Amazon to my country (and where I shop for lots of other things with no hassle). They have a video service, both rental and purchase. Put the film in the shopping cart, click to check out and...nope. I must have a credit card issued in Germany. I'm sure that makes sense to some bean counter somewhere.

Finally, I search for a place to get the film online in my country. As expected, no luck. I might be able to buy a DVD (more likely I would have to order it), but by now all the shops are closed anyway. Even if they weren't, who wants a DVD, with its copy protection and unskippable previews? I haven't done that to myself for a decade or more.

They certainly can't complain of a lost sale, because I tried. No trouble finding a pirate site - straight download, not even a torrent. So I'll kick back, drink a beer, and write this post. By then, the download will be done, and I'll enjoy the movie.

Once again, it becomes entirely clear why people pirate. What is it about media companies? Why do they still, after all these years, make it so difficult to buy their products?

Original Submission