Lego

Lego likes to release new minifigures that resonate with its fans and become must-have collectibles. Considering all the Lego-themed video games on the market, it's surprising the company hasn't released a game-controller-toting character before. That oversight will be remedied when the new Series 12 set of minifigs comes out later this year.

The Brothers Brick this weekend reported on the sneak peek of the full Series 12 lineup, taking a good guess at the names that could be attached to each figure. The Lego news site is calling the "Player 1" T-shirt-wearing minifig "Gamer" until the official names are revealed closer to the release date in October. The shaggy-haired gamer also appears to be wearing headphones, so as not to bother the other minifigs with the sound of fictional gunfire and explosions.

The gamer isn't the only arguably geek-themed minifig on display. There's a black-and-white Japanese horror-movie figure carrying a scary teddy bear, a wizard with a gem-topped staff, a hunter that looks inspired by "The Hunger Games," and a space construction guy carrying some sort of high-tech drill.

It's saying something that the gamer isn't even the oddest figure in the bunch. That honor goes to a guy dressed up in a pink pig suit. Lego appears to have put quite a bit of thought into this round of minifigs. The group also includes a pizza delivery guy, which will be able to deliver sustenance to the gamer so the video-game-obsessed toy will never have to leave your parents' house.

The retail price is expected to be $3.99 per figure, so it will cost you about $64 to collect them all. If you do pick up a gamer minifig, then you'll probably also want to construct a realistic Lego environment for him to inhabit. I would suggest a couch, the gaming console of your choice, and a tiny can of Jolt cola for realism.