The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Celebrates a Ten Year Anniversary

With over 22 billion cards sold worldwide, the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game is the best selling card game of all time, as acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records. The Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, manufactured and distributed by Konami Digital Entertainment, first debuted in Japan in 1999, came to North America in 2002 and has released over 30 booster sets , which are card sets that allow players (Duelists) to add new cards and different options to their collection. 2009 marks the 10^th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game and the future looks bright.

In Yu-gi-Oh!, two Duelists face off in a Duel with a 40-60 card Deck customized with various Monster, Spell, and Trap cards. Both Duelists start with 8000 Life Points and battle to do damage with different cards until one player loses all of their Life Points. An official winner of a match in the card game is the player that wins 2 out of 3 Duels.

The success of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) has been helped by 3 generations of Yu-Gi-Oh! animé and numerous seasons of manga featured in SHONEN JUMP magazine. The backbone, however, is the Organized Play (OP) program that supports the Duelists playing the TCG with local, regional, and even national events. Konami has been able to draw in players of all ages and skill levels with their robust OP program.

Locally, Konami has a body of hobby stores large and small across the country that have met certain requirements to be listed as Official Tournament Stores. These stores are able to run Duelist League, a special OP program designed for beginning Duelists age 14 and under. Official Tournament Stores can also administer the Pegasus League which is open to all players. The premise of the Pegasus League is that each month, there will be a new Deck-building challenge which rewards players that have a lot of creativity building their Decks and should add value to every card because you never know what format will be featured. The crown jewel of being an Official Tournament Store is being able to run a Sneak Peek. About 2 weeks before each core booster release, Official Tournament Stores have the opportunity to host a Sneak Peek allowing them to run an event with the soon-to-be-released booster set. Players come from all over to get a taste of the new set before it will be released at mass retail chains.

At the regional level, Konami OP has the SHONEN JUMP Championships (SJC), one of the most prestigious traveling tournament series ever. About once a month Konami hosts a SJC with a potent prize distribution list including card game accessories, video game consoles, and a limited edition prize card which can sell for thousands on the secondary market. Duelists can also qualify for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship if they have a strong finish at a SJC. Winners of the SJC become instant celebrities in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG community.

Once a year, to determine which players will get to represent their country at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships, Konami will hold a Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship. Players must qualify for the National Championship by playing well at a Regional Qualifier or SJC. The 2008 United States National Championship took place in Pittsburgh, the current city of champions, home of the current NHL Champion Penguins and NFL Champion Steelers. The US National Championship attracted over 1,500 Duelists making it the biggest invite-only TCG event ever in the United States.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG has many exciting releases coming up including new booster sets, Duelists Packs featuring cards of a specific Duelist on the animated series, Starter and Structure (Theme) Decks, and Collectible Tins. Powering into 2010, the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand will feature a new animated movie and more exciting OP events. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is looking like an evergreen product and going strong heading for another successful decade of dominance.