Yeah and the general superiority stuff going on about it.
Until recently it largely wasn't needed in many places that do now, owner-occupiers are rare comparatively, old buildings are hard to refit, electricity is quite costly. All that made it a luxury item with few installers. Reverse cycle heatpumps aren't even that common in many places vs unidirectional ones and gas was relatively cheap so the heating side of the value wasn't great.
No great mystery, no stupidity required.
Obviously in countries where heat, and especially humid heat, is common it's extremely attractive and there's been wide adoption. If you also get cold winters it's a no brainer to go reverse cycle.