A new collectibleMass Effectstatue unveiled by BioWare was pulled from its merch website just hours after being listed. The controversial nature of the statue largely stems from its depiction of one of the most beloved protagonists in theMass Effectseries.Collectible statues are a great way for fans to show their appreciation for specific characters from their favorite franchises.Mass Effectcertainly has no shortage of iconic charactersthat can be made into merch for players to enjoy and keep on the gaming shelf. Not everything needs to be made into a collectible, though. Some moments from the series are maybe better left immortalized as emotionally charged memories in the minds of those who witnessed them, and BioWare just found one of those moments the hard way with its new Shepard statue.RELATED:Former BioWare Writer Says AI Results in ‘Soulless Dialogue’BioWare recently listed a $135 statue for thefemale version ofMass Effect’s Shepardon its online store. It’s a collectible piece portraying Shepard after dying in space at the beginning ofMass Effect 2, and the statue was met with a lot of confusion from the community. The statue was pulled mere hours later, followed by a message from the official BioWare Gear Twitter account apologizing for what was apparently poor timing on the part of the company. The tweet mentions, “This statue was intended to be part of a series, commemorating some of the key and most emotional moments in the series. The way we announced it did not convey that properly, nor does it give the moment in the series the credit it deserves. As a result, we’ll be pausing sales on the statue until we can share the larger plan with you.”
The BioWare Gear store has had a number of unique items on it since before the release and then removal of the dead Shepard statue. Most notably, the store lists a number of body pillows formajorMass Effectcharacters like Wrex and Garrusamong others. There are alsoMass Effect-themed ice trays, pint glasses, and beer mats for anyone out there interested in opening an N7-themed bar.
BioWare Gear claims the statue will make a lot more sense in the context of the other planned merch releases covering some of the series’ biggest moments. Sales of the statue may resume once those other merch pieces are announced and things become more clear, and it will be intriguing to see what other things they have in mind. The store does have some otherpretty incredibleMass Effectmerch like the Normandy statuefor anyone who wants something more standard from the series.
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