I want to preface this by saying I am intending to buy EA.
I think it's a bit dishonest to refer to buying Early Access as a 'pre-order'. A couple of problems come about with that line of thinking, and I'll do my best to sum them up.
1.) Early Access is a formative experience. It's not a demo, it is a release version of the game, unfinished or not. The reason this is important, though, is that if someone buys the game under the impression that the game will come out as it has currently be seen, they may end up disappointed with the purchase when the finished version of the game is patched in, or even just on one of the larger EA updates. This is a level of uncertainty that makes it a risky (even if only to a small degree) consumer decision.
2.) Early Access is both a funding source and a source of feedback and data collection from end-users. Many people understandably view it in the same light as paying to access a beta. Is it new? No, but for some it does come off as a greedy motion. A way to tease players with some early time with the game while Larian profits off of it, instead of spending time, money and other resources on getting playtesting done without EA. It's nice on the surface to feel like you have an impact on the game's development, but realistically it's hard to prove that your view for the game is any more (or less) represented in either scenario.
Again, I personally intend to invest in EA, and don't find the structure of the game's development cycle to be anything untoward. But I can understand those that do.
