I don't like it any more than you do, but with the popularity of Activision's Skylanders, it was inevitable for EA Games to follow suit.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past year, Skylanders is Activision's smash hit game where characters like Spyro and a variety of others are purchased in the form of collectible figurines, which carry with them a DLC containing the character itself along with associated skills, missions, and assorted content. The game has been a hit with kids and gamers who like to collect toys.

Needless to say, Bioware and EA have been paying attention and plan to bring something similar to their own games, via Mass Effect 3—a game which has already seen some brand building with Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning. Players who pick up the demo for that game stand to unlock a variety of Amalur-themed items for use in Mass Effect 3.

Bioware appears to be embracing Activision's Skylanders method of DLC acquisition by incorporating DLCs into a number of eight action figures from the series. Each figurine is priced at $17.99, coming in the forms of Shepard, Thane, Tali, Grunt, Miranda, Mordin, Legion, and Garrus. The DLC comes with an accompanying card containing a DLC code.

“This product contains a code that can be redeemed for a downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 3 multi-player. It is slightly randomized during the registration and could include powerful new weapons and new characters. The pack could also include character boosters, weapon modifications, and weapon upgrades to make your multi-player squad stronger.”

It remains to be seen what kind of content the DLCs will add to the full game, but needless to say, this is going to become a regular thing with videogames in the future.

Update: From what I can tell, the figurines are only sold in the United States, so you'll have to find some way of importing them if you live elsewhere. It's not good news for anyone who wants a complete experience of Mass Effect 3.