Konami Digital Entertainment's Yu-Gig-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Remains on Top of the World With More Than 25 Billion Cards Sold

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In July 2009, Guinness World Records™ announced that the best-selling trading card game of all time was the Yu-Gig-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TAG), from global gaming powerhouse Konami Digital Entertainment (KONAMI). Weighing in at the time with over 22 billion cards sold, new updated figures continue to show the game's sales domination. With 25,175,567,833 cards now sold since 1999, the Yu-Gig-Oh! TAG has received an updated certification from Guinness World Records™, affirming that it continues to be the best-selling trading card game of all time.

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"The Dueling community continues to strongly support the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME with their tournament participation and with each historic purchase as this iconic TCG celebrates its 10th anniversary," commented Shinji Hirano, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "We are extremely proud of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME as it strengthens its continuing top position in Guinness World Records™.  The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is firmly entrenched as the best-selling trading card game of all time with sales exceeding 25 billion cards sold!"

With more than 22,000 North American retail outlets, from big-box retailers to smaller neighborhood mom and pop shops, selling the game, it's no wonder that the numbers keep growing. Truly the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is a category trailblazer. Dana Sera, Walmart Category Advisor – Trading Cards, said, "Yu-Gi-Oh! forever changed the modern trading card industry. It alone, built the foundation of trading cards for the retail class of trade. Every single trading card brand, from gaming through sports, owes a large debt of gratitude for the inroads that Yu-Gi-Oh! paved into retail."

Beyond the 25 annual product releases, Konami supports the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG community with thousands of competitive tournaments and organized play programs throughout the year on every inhabited continent on the planet.  In fact, Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG cards have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish, helping to make the game truly global.  With its Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series, players, commonly referred to as Duelists, get an opportunity to come together to not only compete but to share strategies, compare card Decks and swap stories with their fellow Yu-Gi-Oh! enthusiasts.  The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG community reaches several million players worldwide.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG continues to be the benchmark for all other collectible card games.  Milton Griepp, ICv2.com's CEO and pop culture industry analyst noted, "The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG has been at or near the top of ICv2's Top Game Properties charts since we started doing them in 2003.  This new milestone of 25 billion cards sold is just another measure of the enduring popularity of this powerful transmedia property."

The Yu-Gi-Oh! storyline and characters were created by Kazuki Takahashi and were featured every week in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1996 to 2004. Due to its worldwide appeal, Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters have been depicted in animated series, motion pictures, trading card and video games, plush toys, and figurines.  The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG was first introduced in the United States in 2002 following Yu-Gi-Oh!'s North American TV debut the previous year.

Each Saturday morning in the United States Duelists can catch TV episodes of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series, along with the new Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series, on TheCW4Kids block. 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.

SOURCE KONAMI