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Pojo's
YU-GI-OH! News For
Immediate Release
KONAMI HOSTS YU-GI-OH! U.S. FINALS AND WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP 2004 TOURNAMENTS
Thousands of Fans From Around The World To Participate
in the Largest Yu-Gi-Oh! Events in History
U.S. Finals Take Place in San Diego, Calif. July 22 and
23;
World Championship 2004 Tournament Event in Anaheim,
Calif. on July 25
REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. – July 7, 2004 – Konami Digital
Entertainment – America, a subsidiary of Konami
Corporation, today announced details on the two
concluding tournaments that will result in the ultimate
crowning of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2004
Tournament champions. For the past few months, Konami
and Upper Deck Entertainment have hosted tournaments
around the world using their respective video game and
trading card game products to find the best Yu-Gi-Oh!
players. The two final tournaments are the Yu-Gi-Oh!
U.S. Finals at the Comic-Con International Consumer Expo
in San Diego, Calif. on July 22 and 23 and, the
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2004 Tournament at the
Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. on July 25.
Konami has hosted tournaments in the United States,
Japan and Europe, using the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship
Tournament 2004 video game for Nintendo’s Game Boy®
Advance, to find the best Yu-Gi-Oh! video game players
in the world. Those who qualified in their respective
regional tournaments advanced to the finals in their own
country for a chance to move on to the Yu-Gi-Oh! World
Championship 2004 Tournament in Anaheim and compete for
the title of 2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Video Game Champion.
“The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise is an important cornerstone in
Konami’s outstanding video game library," said Mr.
Kazumi Kitaue, Chief Executive Officer of Konami Digital
Entertainment, Inc. “Through these tournaments, we
extend the reach of the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand, create broader
awareness for the product and give fans of the series
the opportunity to meet one another and share their
experiences.”
As a part of Upper Deck Entertainment’s Premier
Tournament series, Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME finalists
are determined through Regional and National Tournaments
held throughout the world. Winners of Regional
tournaments are awarded entry to National Tournaments.
The top selected players are then awarded entry into the
Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship
tournament in Anaheim and compete for the coveted title
of 2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Champion.
“The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is arguably the world’s
most popular TCG,” said Jerry Bennington, VP of Upper
Deck Entertainment. “The Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship
Tournament is the perfect format to showcase the talents
of those players who have helped to make this game a
multicultural success.”
Yu-Gi-Oh! U.S. Finals - July 22 and 23
Sixteen people will compete in the U.S. Finals. Fifteen
of these people have already been selected after having
competed in regional tournaments across the U.S. The
sixteenth player will be selected via a special Wildcard
tournament, which will be open to the public, and will
be hosted at Konami’s booth (#3929) at the Comic-Con
International Consumer Expo in San Diego, Calif. on
Saturday, July 22. People interested in competing can
register and receive a free one-day pass to Comic-Con by
visiting: http://www.konami.com/yugiohtournament2004/finals.
Those who participate in the tournament will also
receive exclusive Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards and other
special gifts.
On Friday, July 23 all 16 finalists will compete in a
bracketed tournament for the opportunity to claim the
Yu-Gi-Oh! U.S. Video Game Champion title, an outstanding
prize package, and a spot to duel in the Yu-Gi-Oh! World
Championship 2004 Tournament in Anaheim. Spectators are
welcome to watch the U.S. Finals as the top Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duelists go head-to-head beginning at 12:00 p.m. at
Konami’s booth.
To learn more about the Wildcard Tournament, the U.S.
Finals and the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament
2004 video game, please visit: http://www.konami.com/yugiohtournament2004/
.
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2004 - July 25
Konami will host the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2004
Tournament on July 25 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the
Anaheim Convention Center (Halls A&B). In front of a
crowd of more than 10,000 fans, 12 finalists from eight
countries (USA, Japan, France, Germany, UK, Italy,
Holland and Spain) will compete for the highly coveted
Yu-Gi-Oh! trophy and the honor of being the Yu-Gi-Oh!
World Video Game Champion.
Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME fans can also watch some of
the world’s best Duelists engage in fierce competition
as they battle for the title of 2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING
CARD GAME Champion.
In addition to watching these talented players,
attendees will also have the opportunity to learn about
upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! video games, trading cards, toys, and
will also receive a sneak peek of Warner Brothers’
upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! motion picture due out in August
2004. For those who wish to try their hand at Yu-Gi-Oh!
video games or TRADING CARD GAME, there will be a free
Duel corner available to the public during the
tournament.
Yu-Gi-Oh! fans will also have a chance to get a
sneak-peek at the never-before-seen Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG
Exclusive Pack as Upper Deck Entertainment will release
the new trading card set at the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World
Championship event. The exclusive pack will be available
for sale at the event and is playable in tournaments and
with previously released cards. This is the only set
that will feature the signature monster, Anubis, as well
as additional monsters, and cards, appearing in the
movie.
Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the strongest brands in children’s
entertainment. The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise includes video
games by Konami, trading cards distributed by Upper
Deck, a television show on the Kids WB!, a line of toys
produced by Mattel and a comic series published by VIZ,
LLC.
VIZ, LLC recently announced several changes to the
frequency and continuity of its popular Yu-Gi-Oh! title
under its SHONEN JUMP brand. Yu-Gi-Oh! appears in both a
serialized form in the monthly manga magazine, SHONEN
JUMP, and also as a self-contained graphic novel.
Beginning in February 2005, VIZ will release a new
Yu-Gi-Oh! graphic novel each month, beginning with
volume eight. Previously, new graphic novel editions
only appeared every three months. The subsequent content
of volumes 8-31 are already well known to North American
audiences in the form of the popular anime series that
airs on the Kids WB and the Cartoon Network. SHONEN JUMP
magazine will present stories that have not yet been
seen in any form in these markets, starting with volume
32 of the graphic novel series. The new chapters will
begin to appear in the January 5, 2005 issue, which goes
on sale December 7, 2004.
These changes were announced because of the massive
popularity of the title in North America, and also to
help satisfy growing demand for new Yu-Gi-Oh! stories
that have yet to appear in English-language markets.
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 Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the US and Konami
of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation, the
parent company of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is
traded in the United States on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the
products published by Konami Digital Entertainment -
America can be found at www.konami.com/usa
About VIZ, LLC
Founded in 1986, VIZ is a multi-media entertainment
company specializing in Japanese entertainment
properties for U.S. audiences. VIZ offers an integrated
product line including magazines, graphic novels,
videos, DVDs and audio soundtracks. Each month, VIZ
publishes three magazines ― ANIMERICA, ANIMERICA EXTRA
and SHONEN JUMP; over 20 graphic novel titles, including
ALICE 19th, BOYS OVER FLOWERS, DRAGON BALL Z, FUSHIGI
YŰGI, GUNDAM, INUYASHA, RANMA 12, and YU-GI-OH!; and
distributes home video for BOYS OVER FLOWERS, HAMTARO,
INUYASHA, POKéMON, PROJECT ARMS, and ZOIDS. Based in San
Francisco, VIZ is one of the top five comics publishers
in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Shogakukan and Shueisha
Inc., two of the top publishers in Japan. VIZ is the
leading publisher of manga for English speaking
audiences, serving a growing market of dedicated fans of
all ages. Estimating a core audience of nearly 15
million fans, the company holds more than a 50% market
share of Japanese comics in the U.S. With some of the
most innovative products in the industry, VIZ has
expanded its offerings to its loyal fans through web
sites such as www.animerica-mag.com, www.shonenjump.com,
and its corporate site, www.viz.com.
About The Upper Deck Company
For years, Upper Deck has been hailed as the industry
leader in quality sports cards and collectibles, and the
same level of excellence can now be seen in the full
line of Upper Deck Entertainment products. For
additional information about the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD
GAME and Upper Deck Entertainment, please visit the
company’s Web site at yugioh-card.com orwww.ude.com The
Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is distributed by Upper Deck
Entertainment, a division of The Upper Deck Company, a
worldwide sports and entertainment company based in
Carlsbad, California.
© 1996 KAZUKI TAKAHASHI
Game Boy Advance is a trademark of Nintendo. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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