Konami Digital Entertainment to take control of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG from Upper Deck

[BP!]

Lock Please.

Originally Posted by Konami Digital Entertainment

El Segundo, CA – (Dec. 11, 2008) – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE) today announced that the company is taking over all operational and business aspects of the worldwide phenomenon, Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME™, effective immediately. KDE will take over distribution and customer
support for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME™ from Upper Deck Entertainment, KDE’s former exclusive distributor of the trading card game. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME first took the Asian market by storm in 1996 and became a global sensation in 2002 as it reached the shores of North America, quickly followed by Europe and other territories. Today, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME continues to reach new milestones as the game evolves.

“Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is very pleased that the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME continues to be the number one TCG in the world. We are fully committed to maintaining a very high level of game support, from sales to organized play, and to providing a seamless transition during this process,” commented Kazumi Kitaue, Chairman and CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “We look forward to having distribution of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME within our corporate
umbrella as it allows us to take advantage of the synergies from our existing gaming platforms to ensure continued great products for the Duelists and for our retail and distribution partners.”

For distributors and retailers wanting to set up accounts with KDE, please contact customer support at
310-220-8630 or card-po@konami.com.

Full Press Release: http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/press/...elease_YGO.pdf (Let me know if the link doesn't work properly)

The impact this change will have on the game is currently unknown. It all depends on how Konami will handle Organized Play and future Set Releases, mainly on Organized Play.

[Geschpooklichkeit]

I just got back into it last weekend. I hope this will be worth it.

I think that if nothing else, this will affect rules, pricing and packaging.

[I LOVE MY DAUGHTERS]

Its kinda like when Nintindo took over PKMN.

[Geschpooklichkeit]

Oh Christ.

[Ashura96]

New Gradius cards please.

[Geschpooklichkeit]

More cards from other Konami games while we're at it please.

[Ashura96]

Originally Posted by Scream Squat

More cards from other Konami games while we're at it please.

Castlevania cards would be kickass.

[Valex]

They still have Yugioh?

[unknown1412]

Originally Posted by Scream Squat

More cards from other Konami games while we're at it please.

Also include the Des-ROW and DJ Yoshitaka cards from the Fushigida Nippon vid please. Just joking.

Is Yugioh still that popular?

[nVGDlm_zk]

Bemani references in yugioh would be kinda lol.

[BP!]

The one major thing about the changing of hands is as was stated, it's like when Nintendo and The Pokemon Company took over the Pokemon TCG from Wizards.

The major differences is that all the old UDE (Upper Deck Entertainment) Printed cards probably won't be banned. If they did, there would be a massive backlash, and the game would die outright.

The real big thing though is that KDE (Konami Digital Entertainment) is taking over ALL aspects, including OP (Organized Play), as in Tournaments. If they follow the OCG (Official Card Game, Japan and Asia) Model for tournament structure, then the only tournaments will be Locals with 2-3 big tournaments in a single year (not counting Worlds) as opposed to Regionals at least almost every month and the SJC (Shonen Jump Championship) circuit all leading up to Nationals and Worlds.

If Konami gets rid of OP as is currently is, the game is as good as dead. The Regionals and (mainly) SJCs are what keep the game alive thanks to the prize support and such.

The current situation is that (outside of Florida) all currently planned and scheduled regionals will still happen since the space has already been rented and such, and Shonen Jump San Francisco will still happen. There will just be no Nationals Invites at these thanks to Konami putting everything OP-wise in limbo.

If they manage to keep Organized Play at nearly the same level it currently is, and manage to make the OCG and TCG releases nearly simultaneous, then the game will probably improve. Also, with no rarity changes in the sets, problems like $130 Dark Armed Dragon and $50 Zombie Carrier (Plaguespreader Zombie in the TCG) will hopefully be a thing of the past.

Although...then we'll have to deal with $50+ Stardust Dragon/Buster and other annoying promo cards unless we get sane alternative releases.

All in all, nobody really knows what will come of this as of yet. We need to know what Konami will do, then we'll know what to do.

TL;DR: , Konami better not get rid of Organized Play, , if they do the game is dead, .

[symbology101]

So Konami like sorta owns yugioh? I thought they did?

[Ashura96]

Originally Posted by symbology101

So Konami like sorta owns yugioh? I thought they did?

Uh, just the trading card game and the video games, and as such that is why we have cards like Gradius.

But it seems that Upper Deck was printing TGC cards in America for a while, until now.

[symbology101]

Ok i get it now they are just gonna pretty much take over the rules and things like that. Yea I thought that was cool that they used one of there games as a card. There's also a card called Victory Viper XX03 but don't know if its a reference to vic viper. sorry I don't really know to much about Gradius and such like that.

[Geschpooklichkeit]

It's supposed to be the Vic Viper. I don't know why they changed the name like that, but its effect has it act like a Vic Viper should.