STO Pre-Order

Star Trek Online is the most anticipated game to have hit the market. For the fans of the star trek series, this is a dream come true - an MMORPG that allows them to play a character in the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek Online will launch on Feb 2, 2010 and you can pre-order the game before it launches.

The official listing of all the retailers carrying the pre-order game can be found here.

Each retailer carries a different "bonus" item when you pre-order the game from them. The game comes in a few flavors, you have the standard (one in game bonus item), the Digital Deluxe Edition (a number of in game bonus items) and the Collectors Edition (a few physical collectible items).

If you are living in the US, you have many options and they are all good options. One of the most popular choice is the Amazon Pre-Order where you get a Borg as your Bridge Officer as an in game bonus.

If you live outside the US, I recommend that you purchase from Direct2Drive UK as they are one of the few places that has the license to sell worldwide and the game is delivered digitally -- meaning you don't have expensive international shipping cost unlike buying from Amazon.

If you live in the UK, the cheapest place to purchase the game is through HMV.

Why Pre-Order?
If you are a star trek fan, you will buy this game at some point, so you might as well buy it now and get the following bonus:

• Free In Game Bonus
• Open Beta Access (you get to play it now but the servers will be wiped out after testing)
• Head Start (you get to play the game 4 days before the launch)
• Option to purchase lifetime subscription before Feb 1 (you don't have to pay monthly fees)

 The "lifetime subscription" option to me is the most compelling reason to pre-order because if you intend to play the game for more then 15 months, it also works out to be the cheapest way to play the game.