> "Steam Deck starts shipping December 2021 to the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. More regions coming in 2022—stay tuned for more info."
Does anyone know why hardware product launches tend to be region-constrained initially? Is is for shipping/logistics reasons, or legal/tax/etc stuff?
Software/SaaS launches never have these constraints, so I figure it must be shipping related, but that would amaze me. Is there still no company that makes international shipping painless/simple? What would be the difficult part for Value here?
Shipping (distribution from local warehouses to avoid unnecessary customs surprises), taxes, certifications, (and I know it's not the case here but for some HW projects) regional electrical differences (50/60hz, 120/240v), and of course supply-- there's a number of differences that could lead to a hardware project restricting the initial launch.
Does anyone know why hardware product launches tend to be region-constrained initially? Is is for shipping/logistics reasons, or legal/tax/etc stuff?
Software/SaaS launches never have these constraints, so I figure it must be shipping related, but that would amaze me. Is there still no company that makes international shipping painless/simple? What would be the difficult part for Value here?