Pre-ordering games is not for everyone, to tell you frankly if you continue to read this article, you will find out that there are way too many reasons on the down side when it comes to ordering ahead. I will try to balance the pros and cons of pre-orders. Let's start with the cons.
If you'd just think by logic, ordering a game gives high chances that will get you disappointed in the end, after all, there's no such thing as regretting ahead. Per Cheat Sheet, there are 7 reasons why you should not make a pre-order. I would like to cushion the impact by commenting on each reason, maybe give you a thing or two on how to avoid them.
The game may turn out to be bad
No matter how they would sugarcoat a game to be good, all that demo stuff with awesome pre-launch graphics and other nice features, once you play it and realize it's that bad, then it's a bad game to begin with. So, when pre-ordering games, make sure you know the company behind it. Reputation is the key when expecting something good out of a games company. Though there are first-timers who do things right, I suggest if the developer (cough, Hello Games, cough) and publisher are new in the field, just wait for it to come out then buy the game several weeks after the release so you can try out the game from friends or read actual reviews online.
Bugs here, bugs there, bugs everywhere
Remember Assassin's Creed Unity? Read all about its awesome showstopper bug and I won't anymore elaborate on this concern. The game was sort of rushed to beat the deadline that when it got out, a pandemic of programming bugs just came out of everywhere. To avoid this, simply research on the development time of the game. As Shigeru Miyamoto says "A delayed game will eventually be good, a rushed game is forever bad..." that's one hard lesson Ubisoft learned. Although not all games that are developed for a long time turn out to be good but chances are if compared to rushed games, going for games developed timely is a safer bet.
Pre-order bonuses are just lures
(Insert evil laugh here) Yes, I would agree that pre-orders lure you with goodies to the point that you will think that the bonuses will just cover up for the future regrets that you will have. This is my weakness too; I saw that awesome Uncharted 4 mug so I rushed to pre-order it. Fortunately, the game came out well but it doesn't go this way all the time. I pre-ordered Assassin's Creed Unity too and I don't want to talk about it, the upside though is that I have this awesome artbook and some other little free stuff. So when you get disappointed over a bad pre-order, just look at the free stuff and hope that you will get better.
Development delay
I have this friend who pre-ordered The Last Guardian and I can totally agree with his disappointment as the game is already delayed several times. Good thing is, at least the game isn't rushed so you can have high hopes of it to be good when it comes out.
It is a bad move, financially
Pre-ordering is not an investment; you just give money away without really knowing if the game comes out good or bad. Another angle is that the games value will depreciate over time. This is why I use this concept on Steam games. I wait for a Triple-A game that is not of my high interest to be at least 2 years old. Now, I can get them for less than $15. Now, that's a good financial move.
Missing out isn't a big deal
If you feel you must be the very first person to get the game, then by all means go ahead and pre-order. But for most of us, this isn't a big deal. Some people even wait for 'Guinea pigs' to purchase the game first and wait for their authentic impressions. For me, it would depend on my interest on the game, the developer, and the creative mind behind it. If it's a Kojima game then I'd go get it first, something like that.
People just don't mind regretting after a pre-order
No matter how I express caution on why you may regret after playing a pre-ordered game, there are people who just pre-order as they please. Reasons can be read above on each reason as I have elaborated reasons on how to avoid the feeling of regret. What game are you pre-ordering now? I am getting The Last Guardian and Pokemon Sun and Moon, and I'm sure I will not regret them because I have done my research. And in case if I regret anyway, I'll just look at the perspective that the world isn't over yet. Here's a video that will make you think twice about pre-ordering:
