To give you the full press release (shamelessly copied from RPGWatch):
[quote:2dh0xuvj][html]<em>Dragon Age: Origins Fans Sign Up for Free Downloadable Content, Unique Pre-order Packages and Exclusive Mass Effect 2 Content</em></p>
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<p>EDMONTON, Alberta--(<a href="http://www.businesswire.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">BUSINESS WIRE</span></a>)--Leading video game developer BioWareâ„¢, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced the <em>Dragon Age</em>â„¢<em>: Origins Collector’s Edition</em> and pre-order incentive program*. The <em>Collector’s Edition</em> is a premium package available in limited quantities featuring exclusive <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> collectibles including a unique steel case, a cloth map of the world of Dragon Age, a Making-of documentary DVD, a digital version of the <em>Dragon Age: Origins </em>soundtrack, game trailers, wallpapers, strategy tips and a concept art video, plus three exclusive downloadable items that will provide special advantages to the player.</p>
<p>The <em>Collector’s Edition</em> is available for pre-order today at <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=sm ... om&index=1" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.eastore.ea.com</span></a> for an MSRP of $74.99 (console) and $64.99 (PC) in North America.</p>
<p>As an added bonus, <em>Dragon Age: Origins </em>(both original and Collector’s Edition) includes two special pieces of downloadable content: <em>The Stone Prisoner</em>, as well as a suit of <em>Dragon Age</em> themed armor that can be used in <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> as well as in the upcoming BioWare Shooter RPG, <em>Mass Effect</em>â„¢<em> 2 </em>on all available platforms.</p>
<p>With <em>The Stone Prisoner</em> download pack, players will have access to Shale, the mighty stone golem who can become one of the most powerful party members in the game, and comes with its own personal back-story and unique quests for the player to discover. <em>The Stone Prisoner</em> will also include new environments, items and hours of additional gameplay, further deepening the epic <em>Dragon Age </em>experience. <em>The<strong> </strong>Stone Prisoner </em>is available to original purchasers of<em> </em>new copies of <em>Dragon Age: Origins </em>at no additional cost. <em>The Stone Prisoner</em> can also be purchased separately for $15.</p>
<p>In addition, players who purchase a new copy of <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> (original or Collector’s Edition) will receive a code to download the <em>Blood Dragon Armor,</em> an exclusive set of themed armor that will give the player additional protection in combat. This armor will be available for use in both <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> and <em>Mass Effect 2</em>.</p>
<p>All gamers who pre-order <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> will receive the Memory Band, an in-game item that can be equipped to add +1% to all gained Experience Points and which adds one bonus point that players can use to boost their character’s skill set. In addition to the Memory Band, several leading retailers are also offering a bonus <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> item for a limited time. Players should check with their favorite retailer for additional pre-order item offerings.</p>
<p>In <em>Dragon Age: Origins,</em> players take the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians. Now, as a rising evil threatens to destroy all life, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon. To restore peace, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind.</p>
<p><em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> will be released on November 3<sup>rd</sup> in North America and November 6<sup>th</sup> in Europe on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC. The PLAYSTATION®3 version will follow later in November.<em> Dragon Age: Origins</em> is rated M by the ESRB. For more information about <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em>, visit <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=sm ... om&index=2" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.dragonage.com</span></a>.</p>[/html][/quote:2dh0xuvj]
What exactly you get from what (some of it as part of the Collector's Edition and some of it for pre-ordering) depends a bit on what you get where.
All new version of the game (whether Collector's Edition or regular edition, whether downloaded or bought in stores) comes with "The Stone Prisoner" downloadable content and "Blood Dragon Armor" downloadable content (this armor will, strangely enough, also be available in Mass Effect 2 with the same unlock code). This is, in essence, something to discourage pirated copies and second-hand copies of the game (as opposed to DRM measures). And yes, it [url=http://daforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.h ... 5:2dh0xuvj]has been confirmed[/url:2dh0xuvj] that there are included in the digitally distributed versions as well (despite some confusing wording in some places).
Pre-ordering (any copy as far as I can tell) gives you the "Memory Ring" and the "Band of Fire", which are basically ingame items that give you a few small stat boosts.
The Collector's Edition (for NA at least, I'm not sure of the EU details) comes in a steel box and includes a cloth map, has a couple of extra ingame items, and includes a soundtrack and wallpapers.
However, if you buy the digitally distributed version of the Collector's Edition then you obviously don't get a physical copy and thus don't get the metal box or cloth map (as you can't download those). So instead the digitally distributed version of the Collector's Edition get "Warden's Keep" downloadable content for free (every other version, collectors or regular, has to buy that separately); as [url=http://daforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.h ... 5:2dh0xuvj]explained by BioWare[/url:2dh0xuvj]. The description for this content is:
[quote:2dh0xuvj]Discover what happened to the Grey Wardens order at their darkest hour and unlock secrets hidden for generations. This new content will lead you on a harrowing adventure with all new achievements, unlockable character abilities, powerful items, and much more![/quote:2dh0xuvj]
The Dragon Age website shows where you can [url=http://dragonage.bioware.com/preorder_r ... l:2dh0xuvj]pre-order the regular edition[/url:2dh0xuvj] and there you can [url=http://dragonage.bioware.com/preorder_c ... l:2dh0xuvj]preorder the collector's edition[/url:2dh0xuvj].
Phew, I hope I got all of that right.
Then there's a couple of new Dragon Age: Origins videos as well. First there's a short video showing a bit of the (potential) NPC party member Wynne:
[center:2dh0xuvj][html]<embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=682217&downloadURL=http://xbox360movies.ign.com/xbox360/vi ... rking="all%"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360'></embed>[/html][/center:2dh0xuvj]
And there's a short interview with the lead designer on GameTrailers, though be aware that it contains a few spoilers regarding the Human Noble origin:
[center:2dh0xuvj][html]<div style="width: 480px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shoc ... on=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap ... 9"/><param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=54129" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object></div></div>[/html][/center:2dh0xuvj]
And finally, to get away from Dragon Age for a second, Kotaku has [url=http://kotaku.com/5337155/new-mass-effe ... /:2dh0xuvj]a couple of new screenshots and a wallpaper[/url:2dh0xuvj] for Mass Effect 2.
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