It's not geographically exclusive licenses per se; rather an implementation of said licenses which let licensees to provide subpar product in their geo region: later, less accessible and more expensive.
This is not zero sum game. It is possible for both customer and publisher lose; it is possible for both to win at the same time.
Ah, but the transaction here is not between publisher and customer, there are separate and quite different transactions between publisher and distributor as well as distributor and customer (usually with some additional intermediates). In each of them both sides win, but in the latter the customers don't win as much as they could if the first didn't create local monopolies. But publisher and distributor win more, this way.
If the (potential) customer doesn't feel it's a big enough win for the price being asked, they can used their expenditure budget elsewhere to what they perceive to be a bigger gain.
If the price being asked is greater than the cost they are willing to bear, it's up to the (potential) consumers to reassess their priorities within their means.
This is not zero sum game. It is possible for both customer and publisher lose; it is possible for both to win at the same time.