Konami Digital Entertainment's 100th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Event Shatters World Record For Largest Trading Card Game Tournament

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With its far-reaching mass appeal, strategic game play, and social bonding attributes, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.'s (KONAMI) Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) continues to capture world records.  Previously named the World's Best-Selling Trading Card Game of all time in 2011 with more than 25 billion cards sold, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG once again earned top honors by the record-keepers,  receiving a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for holding the world's Largest trading card game tournament. Konami's record-setting tournament involved 4,364 participants, effectively crushing the previous record by 2,137 entrants!

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130326/LA83772)

"This record for the largest trading card game tournament further shows the massive appeal of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME not only in the United States but around the globe," commented Tomoyuki Tsuboi, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "We are honored that the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME continues to grow and maintain the top positions in GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS.  We look forward to strengthening our position as the best-selling trading card game of all time and breaking additional attendance records for our organized play events in the future!"

On March 24-25, 2012 KONAMI held the 100^th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) at the Long Beach Convention Center (Long Beach, CA) with an estimated 3,000 players expected to battle for the top prize.  The event was held to commemorate the 100^th premier level Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Tournament in the World since the game's inception in 2002.  However, during pre-registration, there were already more than 2,000 participants entered, thus giving credence to the thought "a world record could be looming."  With the registration completed and game play set to commence, it was determined there would be a need to utilize an adjacent convention hall to accommodate the thousands of players vying for the championship and the glory that accompanies winning the 100^th YCS.

Every Saturday morning, Duelists can watch the all-new Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL animated series as well as classic Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes on Vortexx on The CW programming block, the leading Saturday morning kids broadcast network in the United States.  In Canada, Duelists can watch episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL every Friday and Saturday on YTV! 

For more information on Konami or the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, please visit www.yugioh-card.com or call 310-220-8630.

About The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG
The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is the #1 trading card game in the world with over 25 billion cards sold. It 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 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.  Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is the exclusive licensee and rights holder to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG in North America and Latin America.

About KONAMI
KONAMI is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties and traditional trading card games. KONAMI's software titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania, among other top sellers.  KONAMI is also the manufacturer of the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, which has sold more than 25 billion cards worldwide.  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 Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM.  Details of the products published by KONAMI can be found at www.Konami.com.

Media Contact:
Don Williams
Williams Group Public Relations
(760) 707-4589
[email protected]

SOURCE KONAMI