True. But that's the only place where people usually download apps. It's very rare that a company will release an android package and it requires changing security permissions, at the very least, temporarily to install it outside the play store. Also, the play store offers a built in revenue model + exposure that selling directly from a site would be difficult to generate.
I guess you can chalk it up to the general ignorance of the public regarding security and non-app store installation.
Fortunately, with Android, the Play Store is not the only way to release an app.