Don't pre-orders just suck?

Aaron griped about the lack of honor for pre-orders in the game industry a while back, considering all the angry gamers that have vented to us about their PlayStation 3 and Wii orders not showing up. And I've complained about fulfillment myself, as my Wii bundle got all screwed up by Walmart.com. Well, the vicious cycle of broken promises continues for World of WarCraft addicts, er, I mean fans. Word is a number of folks that had pre-ordered the Burning Crusade have received e-mails informing them that, woops, the store is out of stock. What a bummer. And if you think console fan boys were upset when they missed out on their PS3 or Wii pre- orders, you have no idea how bad some WoW fanatics are wigging out today after getting e-mails like the one below (special thanks to Neil for forwarding us the e-mail).

"Dear NEIL As you may have heard, stock of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Collector's Edition is extremely limited, with Vivendi only shipping a very small amount of stock for the UK market. We're really sorry, but this means that we have not been able to fulfill your order.

We've only just been informed of this stock shortage from Vivendi, and sincerely apologize for the short notice. Though you're no doubt disappointed, the Standard Edition is still available to order from HMV.co.uk for just ｣17.99, and if you order before the weekend, you should receive your copy of the game from day of release (Tuesday 16th January).

You can cancel your order for the Collectors Edition via your online account, though we will be automatically canceling your order within the next 7 days. Once again, we're sorry for any disappointment caused.

Regards (A very large British retailer with a three-letter acronym for a name)"

And by the way, copies of the Collector's Edition are currently going for more than $500 on eBay. For more on the Burning Crusade event, check out TG Daily.