UPPER DECK ENTERTAINMENT RINGS IN THE HOLIDAYS WITH TOP-SELLING ‘Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME COLLECTIBLE TINS’
Carlsbad, CA – August 27, 2003 – Noted as one of the nation’s hottest-selling toys of the year in 2002, Upper Deck Entertainment rings in the holidays with the all- new 2003 Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Collectible Tins. The latest batch of monsters and special power cards will be available nationwide in September.
Duelists can now stack their decks with a collection of booster packs designed to increase the complexity and power during monster Dueling matches. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Collectible Tins offers an assortment of the game’s top-selling, and newly-retired Booster Packs, which include Metal Raiders, Magic Ruler, Pharaoh’s Servant, Labrinth of Nightmare, and Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon. In addition, each of the six unique tins will include one variant card.
The release of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Collectible Tins will be the last time the newly-retired Booster Packs (Metal Raiders, Magic Ruler, Pharaoh’s Servant, Labrinth of Nightmare, and Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon) will be available in retail and hobby outlets nationwide.
Last holiday season, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Collectible Tins earned top spots on the hottest Christmas wish lists at KB Toys, and was listed as one of the most highly sought-after toys in Toy Wishes Magazine, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
Among Duelists, the demand for booster sets has continued to increase as more duelists join the game and compete in the Duelist King Tournament, held in neighborhood hobby stores across North America. Currently, more than 500,000 duelists are registered in more than 1,500 stores across North America. Upper Deck Entertainment’s recent Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship also attracted more than 10,000 attendees at Madison Square Garden.
During the game, players duel each other by summoning monsters and activating spell and trap cards. Using a Starter Deck and/or booster sets, Duelists collect cards to play their hands against other duelists. Duelists with well-constructed Decks, powerful monsters, solid strategy and a little good fortune are the winners in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME.
For more information on tournaments, the latest in Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME news and product introductions, visit www.yugioh-card.com.
The object of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is to win a Match (which consists of three duels) by reducing an opponent’s “life points” from 8,000 to zero. This is accomplished through a series of turns using a deck with a minimum of 40 cards and a combination of strategy, skill and luck. Three main types of cards are used in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Monster Cards, Magic Cards and Trap Cards, with each category being further divided into sub-categories. For more information on the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME or Upper Deck Entertainment, please visit www.yugioh-card.com or www.ude.com.
Konami has shipped over 4 million units of Yu-Gi-Oh!™ videogames in North America since the series' debut in March 2002. Konami has released six Yu-Gi-Oh!™ videogames that have each consistently ranked in the Top 3 of their respective sales charts according to industry analyst NPD TRST; Yu-Gi-Oh!™ Forbidden Memories for Sony PlayStation®, Yu-Gi-Oh!™ Forbidden Memories Premium Edition for Sony PlayStation®, Yu-Gi-Oh!™ Dark Duel Stories for Nintendo Game Boy® Color™, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul for Nintendo Game Boy® Advance™, Yu-Gi-Oh!™ Dungeon Dice Monsters for Nintendo Game Boy® Advance™ and Yu-Gi-Oh!™ The Duelists of the Roses for Sony PlayStation® 2. The games are recognized for the deeply strategic and challenging gameplay based on the mega-popular Yu-Gi-Oh! universe.
The Yu-Gi-Oh!™ franchise is based on the Yu-Gi-Oh!™ comic series from artist Kazuki Takahashi that first appeared in Japan in 1996. It is currently being serialized in SHONEN JUMP, the monthly manga magazine published by VIZ, LLC. The comic spawned a hit cartoon TV show, a top-selling collectible card game, several videogames and other licensed merchandise. Yu-Gi-Oh!™ follows the adventures of Yugi, a young boy who possesses the "Millennium Puzzle" that allows him to transform into the "Game King" whenever he is challenged.
4Kids Entertainment Inc. manages the merchandising and television rights to Yu-Gi-Oh!™ in the United States. The animated series, Yu-Gi-Oh!™ King of Games is broadcast 11-times per week on Kids WB.
About Upper Deck
Upper Deck Entertainment is a division of The Upper Deck Company, LLC, a premier sports/ entertainment publishing company which delivers a portfolio of relevant, innovative and multidimensional product experiences to collectors and sports and entertainment enthusiasts. Founded in 1988, The Upper Deck Company, LLC is located in Carlsbad, Calif.
About Konami Corporation
Konami Corporation is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties, specializing in the home video game market. Konami Corporation’s action and adventure titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid®, Silent Hill® and Castlevania®, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami of America, Inc. in the US and Konami of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation, the parent company of Konami of America, Inc. is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products distributed by Konami of America, Inc. can be found at www.konami.com/usa.