Alright, I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a bit and ask how many people in those other countries are even in positions to get those consoles. If there are any GB members in those countries that seem neglected (i.e. South America, Eastern Europe) I'd like to hear how consoles are currently sold there. I've gotten the impression that most gamers in those areas just play PC and pirate everything.
If we look at numbers in South Africa they sold 102,000 until aug. 2009. In may they sold a total 30 million consoles worldwide. So that means South Africa is responsible for about 0,34% of global sales. You decide ;)
I live in Brazil and pretty much everyone I know (from the middle and upper classes) either owns a PS3 or a 360, in addition to a gaming PC. It's a pretty big market that (I think) is not translated in official numbers because very few people buy the official stuff released here, as importing consoles and games is a much cheaper option. For instance, the Xbox One will be released here in November for R$ 2.199,00 - around US$1.050,00 - so most people would simply import the console from the US or Europe. With the mandatory online verification, this won't be an option anymore.
Is selling more expensive hardware and software to far fewer people a smart and profitable move? Like Jeff said, it seems MS made the calculations and decided it was worth it. We'll see.
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