UK pre-order numbers have plummeted as gamers react to delays and high prices.

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A report conducted by Ipsos MORI’s GameTrack project on behalf of MCV found 20 percent of UK gamers are either pre-ordering fewer titles or not pre-ordering anything.Nine percent of those asked responded saying they've cut back on pre-orders in the last year, while 11 percent haven't pre-ordered anything at all. Only five percent of those asked said they pre-ordered more games, while 49 percent never pre-ordered anyway. About 10 percent hadn't changed their pre-ordering habits, while the rest didn't know.The data revealed the UK is the number one territory across Europe for pre-orders, so the news it's also seeing the sharpest decline is likely to concern publishers.As for why a dip is happening, the biggest reasons are consumers spending money on other non-gaming items instead, and waiting for prices to come down. In fact, all of Europe is seeing a decline, with UK, France, Germany and Spain pre-orders dropping 12 percent, meaning 10.3 million gamers have stopped or reduced the number of titles they pre-order.Pre-orders and, in particular, pre-order bonuses have come under intense scrutiny lately with publishers seeming to go to ever-more desperate routes to convince gamers to reserve copies in advance. Where once pre-ordering was done to guarantee yourself a copy on launch day, it's now done to save cash by netting extra content, as is the case with Goro in Mortal Kombat X

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter