I pre-ordered Gears of War 3 the other day at a GameStop when I stopped in to pick up Dragon Age II. Usually, I hate their hard sell of pre-orders and turn them down. But they said if I pre-ordered it now, then in late April I could start playing the Beta until the game was released in September...
So I paid $5 and I have a code to start playing the game five months early. :D
That sort of gimmick I'm ok with. ;)