And I have successfully pre-ordered.
The mail was a little misleading imo.
It said my "group" started at 10. However I clicked the link (expecting to need to login or something) and it let me pre-order right away.
So why say my group started at 10.. if I could do it at 9:45? Did I break a rule or are these just "fake" times trying to keep people from swarming.
You are bound to love Earthbound.