There's a frightening trend taking place in the MMO industry. One fueled by marketing teams and retailers who don't understand the industry, the customers, or the experience that those of us who play these games are looking for. You see, I remember back in the day, when pre-ordering a game meant that when it shipped, you were sure to get a box. That's all it meant.

Everyone in the pipeline was aware of the expectations (launch day, box in hand!) and for the most part, minus shipping issues - it worked for pretty much everyone involved. But then folks had to go and try to get fancy. So far, no one has delivered a flawless, or even partially flawed, experience. Every MMO pre-order experience has been fraught with issues that should have been avoided but instead tortured players with out of reach goodies and poor customer service. Early access, in game items and titles, and beta access are all used as ploys to sell as many boxes as possible, often before the boxes are printed and ready for public consumption.