There once was a time 10-15 years ago when the concept of pre-ordering made sense. Publishers would have a better idea of how many boxes they’d need to ship, and customers could guarantee they’d get hold of the latest game as soon as it was released. It was a good arrangement! It didn’t take long for publishers and retailers to realise, though, that once a customer put their money down for a game that wasn’t finished, that customer was on the hook.