That's a fair point. For some reason, (especially in poorer countries), Microsoft hasn't developed a "culture" of buying software. It's probably because Windows software has always been more expensive in comparasion to applications for Mac.

Lack of central app store might be another reason - I remember when it was a bit of a challenge, here in Poland, to get a credit/debit card that could have been used online. So it was a hit or miss whether you could pay for your stuff or not.

Stores like Steam, with sometimes heavily discounted games, make it affordable to buy software and from my observation, develop some sort of "respect" for developers/publishers in people.