Any iteration and new take on pre-orders is just a variation on a theme; We would like you to pay now for a product that may not quite deliver and we may not completely fix any drastic issues post release. Fortunately consumers gradually wising up.
Sounds like kickstarter.
😛
It's nothing like Kickstarter. In Kickstarter you are not just a customer, you are an investor. You like the idea of a product and you wan to see it made. Keep in mind that not all pledges in Kickstarter give you the product. You can just give money if you like. So, in that scenario, you know that the product is not finished. You know it might fail to meet expectations, or even if it doesn't it might fail commercially. It's a risk you are willing to take Kickstarter does its best to shield you from scams.
In the case of Square Enix and other similar ones, we are talking about an established major publisher and not some small team or startup. Enix is bound by a whole different set of rules and laws. They certainly don't lack funds to build a game and when you put something out in the market as a finished product, it has to be a finished product.
If they presented pre-orders as a risky investment on a product that is not yet finished then maybe it would be better, but they are supposed to be in the market of selling big budget completed quality games, not prototypes or betas.