I walked through the demo with no deaths whatsoever. I thought it was easy compared to the first one
and if they did it for free, the people that preordered would whine that they got their preorder bonus taken away.
and if they didnt release the things at all then people would whine that they're at a disadvantage.
and if they didnt do preorder bonuses people would whine that the company does nothing to encourage its loyal followers.
given that the publishers cant win whichever option they take, they might as well err on the side of extra money
What I'd have love to see with DA would be the multiplayer ala Baldurs gate.