Mass Effect is one of the gaming world’s most epic franchises, with three installments that have taken gamers across the galaxy. Additional books, comics and an animated film have taken fans even deeper inside the world of the game, and now the sci-fi universe of the Mass Effect Trilogy is colliding with another giant universe – the universe of Minimates mini-figures!

Game creator BioWare and collectibles manufacturer Diamond Select Toys are uniting to release a full line of 2-inch Mass Effect Trilogy Minimates, and the first series is exclusively available at GameStop stores and gamestop.com. Individually packaged in blind bags, Series 1 will include eight characters, each featuring 12-14 points of articulation and fully interchangeable parts.

“The opportunity to work on a world as big as the world of Mass Effect is very exciting,” said Chuck Terceira, President of Diamond Select Toys. “Interpreting such a wide variety of human characters, alien races, armors and technology for the Minimates format inspires our designers and allows them to push the line into new and different areas. Factor in that many of us are big gamers, and we’re like kids in a candy store.”

The characters in Series 1 are:

• Commander Shepard: a soldier for the Systems Alliance (male version)
• Commander Shepard: a soldier for the Systems Alliance (female version)
• Liara: An Asari scientist turned information broker
• Tali: A female Quarian and mechanical genius who joins Shepard’s squad
• Garrus:  A male Turian and Citadel Security officer who joins Shepard’s squad
• Wrex: A Krogan bounty hunter and mercenary; one of the last Battle Masters
• Ashley: A highly skilled Alliance Marine
• The Illusive Man: A former mercenary; now leader of the pro-human group Cerberus

Each figure will include a display base, and most come with weapons, including the game’s distinctive orange Omni-Tools. The Illusive Man will be the “elusive” character in Series 1, as he will be the rarest figure in the assortment.
GameStop.com listing: http://www.gamestop.com/collectibles/toys/mass-effect-minimates-series-1/114704

First released in 2002, Minimates have been created for a number of video game properties, as well as numerous films, TV shows and comic books. For more information, visit Minimates.com!

DIAMOND SELECT TOYS AND COLLECTIBLES
Founded in 1999, Diamond Select Toys currently licenses a vast array of pop culture properties and produces a wide variety of collectable merchandise, from poseable action figures to electronic vehicles, and from character banks to kitchenware. In 2007, Diamond Select Toys acquired select assets of the New York design studio Art Asylum, creators of the global Minimates brand. Minimates have been recognized as the #1 selling block figure in the world and were the first toys ever to be inducted into the ToyFare Hall of Fame in 2007. With partners including Marvel Enterprises, Universal Studios, EA Games, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon and Sony Pictures, Diamond Select works with some of the world’s biggest entertainment properties, and is headquartered in Hunt Valley, MD. For more information, visit www.diamondselecttoys.com.