mysteryman on 28 February 2014
I only preorder for games with bonuses (which I rarely care for), or for games which may be harder to find after launch day (which I rarely feel to be the case).
I usually check out a few reviews to case out the game for bugs and major disappointments. Watching gameplay footage is more important in aiding my decision on whether or not to buy the game. For the rare cases where I can't get a feel for the game based on gameplay footage, I'll find a way to try it out beforehand or just make the plunge.
That said, many of Nintendo's core franchises are trustworthy enough to warrant a blind purchase, I haven't been let down by one yet, but I had seen reviews and gameplay simply from being interested in development of the game.
