To me, there are two types of pre-order gifts. There are ones that are meant to attempt to get people to pre-order the game who weren’t already going to buy it, like additional content or discounts, and there are ones that are little more than rewards, thanking gamers for committing their money to a purchase. While they’ve already given exclusive in-game items and early access to the demo, Valve has announced that they’re going to follow the second path as well, and have revealed a new, wonderful, magical pre-order gift for Left 4 Dead 2.

Savvy consumers who put down some of their well-earned money on this year's biggest zombie shooter (either on Steam or at a participating retailer) will get a gift in Team Fortress 2. This sort of deal isn't the first of its kind by any means, last year's Warhammer Online and Red Alert 3 shared some items between them, and today's release of Dragon Age comes with some Mass Effect 2 goodies - but it's the first time the gift is as awesome as it is in this case. Pre-order Left 4 Dead 2 and get Bill's hat from Left 4 Dead for use in Team Fortress 2. I know, awesome.

Valve is quick to explain that the hat is not the mystical 10th Team Fortress 2 class everyone has been waiting for, and it is indeed just a hat, and will not grant any fancy abilities or facial hair. Then again, using "just a hat" to describe the crown that sits upon Bill's head is almost blasphemy, so I apologize for lowering it to such simple terms.

Does this push anyone over the edge, or is everyone pretty committed to whether or not they’re picking up Left 4 Dead 2 already?