I remember a time back when I could walk into a store and preorder a video game. And when I left the store, I felt pretty confident about the purchase I had just made, before I'd even held the game in my hands. This blind and ignorant trust came from a relationship that developers had built with their consumer base by already proving their high-pedigree and quality of work with the iterations of their games that had come before. Halo, is a perfect example of this. After the grand success of Halo CE, it was almost a surefire guarantee that Halo 2 would prove to be a monumental success. Now at this time, the idea of preordering in the video game industry was only starting to gain popularity. It was the one way to secure your DAY 1 pass to the thing that everyone else would be enjoying as well. Promotions began, advertising was rampant, and while the masses began to absorb the excitement, the numbers began to speak for themselves. The Preorder Age had begun. You see, sadly we as gamers are a very passionate people, and so the thought of not being able to play something that might be fun and that others will be playing without us, is not quite an idea we're content with. So the fever of Halo 2 had spread, and the hype machine raged on. Preorders continued to flood in, because this wasn't just a game. This was going to be a cultural experience. And if you weren't a part of it, then you would be entirely out of the loop. Now you might disagree, but I think it's fair to say that the majority of gamers can't stand being out of the loop. So, before the game had even been released, a developer already possessed the foresight that their game would be a masterful success. And damn, what a success it was. All that preordering was worth it! Halo 2 improved as a successor to an original game should. It's campaign was exciting, it's multiplayer both addictive and incredibly fun. The vast majority of people had spent their money before even seeing the finished product, and they did not feel ripped off. They did not. Feel. Ripped. Off... Yeah, that was all about to end. Fast forward several years to the day and age where it wasn't a question of "Are you taking preorders for this game?" anymore. It was just, "I would like to preorder this game." Any game. That's right folks, this wasn't always the case as some of you might know. So as a result of developers and companies seeing that gamers would blindly secure a purchase by believing the game would be good and well-polished, and before the reviews were out or before the game was even release, they began to realize gamers were dumb. That's right. Me, you and everyone else. We're dumb. What had started off as a simple way for people to secure a copy of a game before it had sold out, was now a statistic that showed companies how many dummies were out there, guaranteeing them money before they even could see the final product reviewed. Or before there was enough feedback from individuals that might influence and sway their decision to purchase or not. In their towers, the highest of the high in the gaming industry bellowed a mighty laugh from their meaty, sweaty bellies. They laughed at our ignorance and our inability to restrain our compulsive game preording. We were filling their pockets before their games were even on the shelves. And then it dawned on them... All they had to do in order to secure their future financial success was to advertise and market their game as something amazing. If they found incredible marketers and reps to support and show off their game, if these companies could spend a year or two showcasing and using their own staff to bolster the appearance and enjoyment of their game... It would guarantee MORE PREORDERS! And here's the kicker... The game didn't even have to be fully polished! Hell, in some cases it didn't even need to be good or for that matter entirely finished and tested. We had finally entered a time where developers and the companies that supported them were starting to realize that based off of the growing statistics of preorders, that as long as the numbers spoke before release, the backlash would not matter as much. The money was already in their pockets. Who cares if it was broken? They would release patches and polish it up later, and by the time the next sequel were to come, and when the coal was poured into the fire and the hype machine began to rage again, all that was, was simply forgotten. All that wrong that was done to us... Would simply be forgotten. And we would blindly preorder, all over again. I'm not here to pick on any one specific game, but I am here to point out a massive problem. This is basic modern business at its core. If a company can secure your dollar before you even OWN THEIR PRODUCT... They know you can be taken advantage of and even more so taken for granted. With preorders acting as our voice of acceptance for games before we've even judged them, we're robbing ourselves of any real voice. When we tell developers we're ready to buy whatever they make before it's even finished, we're robbing them of the necessary pressure that pushes people to work and preform their hardest. So please, next time you think about preordering a game... Remember that there is no real need to unless if you want gimmicky things you won't care about in a few months. Or if you're worried you won't have it on release day, waiting a few more days won't hurt. But if you do, your contributing a group of people that are telling developers, "It's ok to release a broken game. You already have my money."