Because it's not just the playback capabilities that matter. You have to take the user interface and system integration into account as well.

• Totem is built around anchored technology that is well-maintained and shared by many other applications: GTK+, GStreamer. Therefore, maintenance is easier and less space is wasted on the installation medium (live cd/usb).


• VLC does not follow the GNOME HIG, a range of conventions that address the UI of applications. Therefore it doesn't fit in with the other GNOME and Ubuntu software on your system. Just compare the menus, icons, button placement and terminology with, let's say, Gedit. While at first this seems like an out-of-place comparison, it is actually really accurate, since all GNOME applications share the same "logic", even when they serve completely different purposes.


• VLC can pose licensing issues, since the codecs that come with it may or may not be legal in your country.


• VLC offers too much functionality to be named just a player: it can handle DVB, broadcast in all kinds of formats, deal with screen recording, can convert files, and so on. It goes way beyond the simple qualifications a media player has to meet to be included by default, which in fact is not a good thing. Less is more when it comes to default applications. More can confuse the average user.