EUROPE TO HOST 6^TH ANNUAL YU-GI-OH! VIDEO AND TRADING CARD GAME WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2008

 

Konami Digital Entertainment and Upper Deck Entertainment to Bring the

2008 World Championship to Europe for the First Time

 

CARLSBAD, CA and EL SEGUNDO, CA (October 23, 2007) – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE) and Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) today announced that the 6^th Annual Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships for both the trading card game and the video game will be held in Europe for the first time in 2008.  The date and location for the tournaments will be announced at a later date. 

 

Representing countries from around the globe, the world’s best Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and video game players will meet face-to-face to battle for the coveted titles of “Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game World Champion” and “Yu-Gi-Oh! Video Game World Champion.” 

 

 “Konami Digital Entertainment is excited about bringing the 6^th Annual Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship to Europe,” said Kazumi Kitaue, Chairman of Konami Digital Entertainment.  This year’s video game champion came from Germany and last year’s trading card game champion came from Italy, which clearly indicates that Yu-Gi-Oh! is a global phenomenon.”  Top Duelists from Regional and online tournaments will be awarded invitations to the TCG and video game National Championship events held in their own country, and the winners from these National Championship tournaments will  receive a seat at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship event in 2008.

 

Regional tournaments for the TCG are currently being held around the world to qualify players to participate in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship Tournament.  Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 for the Nintendo DS will be the video game used in a series of regional tournaments held worldwide to select the finalists for the world championship. 

 

“Since 2003, the World Championship Tournament event has been held in Japan or the U.S.,” said Nico Blauw, President of Upper Deck Europe.  “Due to a steady and broad increase of sales and popularity worldwide, we are very excited to offer the European players a chance to witness the world’s best Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and video game contenders duke it out to be named the #1 player in the world.”

 

Information on dates and locations for Regional Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament events can be found at www.wannaduel.com.  Information on dates and locations for the online Yu-Gi-Oh! video game tournament events can be found at www.YuGiOhUSChampionships.com.

 

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is a game of strategy, where players create individual decks of cards collected from Structure Decks and Booster Packs.  Two players engage in a Duel while using cards that represent powerful Monsters, magical Spells and surprising Traps. Duelists with well-constructed decks, dominating monsters, solid strategy and good fortune are the victors in the game.  The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is manufactured by Konami, and is distributed worldwide (with the exception of Asia) by Upper Deck.
 

As the official software of the 2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Tournament, World Championship 2008 features two exciting game modes – World Championship and Duel World mode, where players can venture through events, meet duel spirits and purchase new cards to strengthen their decks and card  strategies.  World Championship 2008 also features three exclusive trading cards, and players can duel online via the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection.