Tip: Windows Store and “Region Codes”

Hi Folks,

today is my day of bashing the Microsoft Windows Store…

As in my last post there are still a lot of curious issues with the Microsoft Store.. One really curious issue are these funny “Region Codes”! Oh.. You didn’t know it? Me too.. No App or the Store will tell you! First of all not all Apps will deal with it but a few of them do and the error messages or better “Points to blame” are really confusing.

I will take a private Sample, i bought a Game “Grand Theft Auto-San Andreas” thru my Swiss Surface Tablet, installed it without any issues and it works fine: everything is good. Now i got my German Laptop to install GTA.. Guess what happen: The app is shown in my Apps (and the Laptop also suggest to install it!!!), so i select the App and click on install… Now the Funny Message: “App is not available for download“. Ok?!?! So i’ve searched in the regular “German” Store Interface again.. App is shown and the Store ask if i would like to buy it, confirmed and now guess.. Message: “App is not available for download“.

I still remember an issue with “regional” Payment Methods (other strange Windows Store issue where you can’t add payment methods to your account in the Windows Store 🙁 ), so i go to the System Control->Region and change the Location to Switzerland and without any more reboots or messages the App can be installed. Ups! Why not a message “App is not available for your current region“? To simple?

So i really like the Surface or other Microsoft Products but for the Store Microsoft still has a lot of lessons to learn! Why do the Store shows an App which is not for my Region? Why always these nonsense Error Message for a Store that should be simple at all and point a none IT customer to a solution? Iam a IT Guy, my wife will take it and throw it  against the Wall because it’s cryptic nonsense and in this case she is right. I do also now that this is a favorite issue for people travel/working between the US and Canada.. So it’s not only a Swiss/German issue.

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: All these lame developers that really thing that a customer stays in one country for there whole live should leave there hole and go outside in the world. This is my personal opinion and regional codes in any product are digital stone age beyond any reality, this is even more important if nothing is mentioned that they do exist (Hello Windows Store!) So.. Now iam feeling better. 🙂