They cling to it because it still drives sales and mirrors the general interest of the consumer, which looks good to the investors. Tied in with vendor-exclusive bonuses they can probably also negotiate better shelving prices. So there's that.
Edit: Regarding shelving, I know we are talking about digital goods, but once you have a bonus for physical goods people would be mad if there weren't one for digital editions too. /edit
Until the majority of gamers has the same opinion on preorders or there is some major fallout nothing will change. They'll milk the cow until it doesn't pay anymore. To be fair, who wouldn't?
They cling to it because it still drives sales and mirrors the general interest of the consumer, which looks good to the investors. Tied in with vendor-exclusive bonuses they can probably also negotiate better shelving prices. So there's that.
Edit: Regarding shelving, I know we are talking about digital goods, but once you have a bonus for physical goods people would be mad if there weren't one for digital editions too. /edit
Until the majority of gamers has the same opinion on preorders or there is some major fallout nothing will change. They'll milk the cow until it doesn't pay anymore. To be fair, who wouldn't?