This is also why I stopped preordering games that are available from an online store. I understand the anticipation for when you can finally play a game you've been waiting on, but that experience doesn't change whether you pre-order it or not. If you simply must be separated from your money, there are places where you can put that money for the same period of time and they will pay you for it. The only difference is the story you're told about what you've just done with your money, and working with a bank isn't nearly as fun as buying a game on Steam (though the promise by the bank is approximately the same kind of game).

Kickstarter is sort of like a more up-front version of this, in that it's easier to figure out what you're actually paying for than standard pre-ordering of a product that does exist. Of course there's the default story that you're supporting the independent developers. But I haven't joined a Kickstarter without the expectation of some product at the end of it... so in these cases, I'm paying money now in an attempt to create a future where this thing that does not exist now, does actually exist.

What a time to be alive. All of my grandparents watched every dollar of their cash flows, and here I am throwing money at people I'll never meet, working with hundreds or thousands of people doing the same thing: trying to conjure up some new reality we'll experience for a very brief period of time through a 24" screen.