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Konami takes back Yu-Gi-Oh! card game

By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 12/12/2008 2:05:00 PM

Konami has taken over the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—Following a contract dispute, Konami Digital Entertainment has retaken control of all operational and business aspects of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game from distributor Upper Deck.

Konami is the exclusive licensee and rights holder to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG in North America and in various countries in Latin America and Europe. Its management of the game is effective immediately, Konami announced yesterday.

"Konami Digital Entertainment is very pleased that the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game continues to be the number one TCG in the world. We are fully committed to maintaining a very high level of game support, from sales to organized play, and to providing a seamless transition during this process,” said Kazumi Kitaue, KDE’s chairman and CEO. “We look forward to having distribution of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game within our corporate umbrella as it allows us to take advantage of the synergies from our existing gaming platforms to ensure continued great products for the [players] and for our retail and distribution partners.”

Upper Deck this week filed suit against Konami in the U.S. District Court in Nevada, charging the company with breaching their distribution agreement for the game. The trading card company's international division released a statement refuting reports that Konami would take back the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG's distribution, saying: "...There is no legal ground or justification for this termination by Konami whatsoever and that this termination is therefore wrongful."

Upper Deck International went on to say that, "regarding the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game business, Upper Deck is still the sole and exclusive distributor for the European territory and will continue providing the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game products to all its contractual customers. Upper Deck has already sent a warning letter to Konami demanding that Konami ceases the broadcasting of this misleading and unlawful information and to rectify accordingly forthwith. If Konami does not voluntarily comply with said warning, Upper Deck shall take all necessary legal actions forthwith."

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG debuted in Asia in 1996 and became a global sensation in 2002. More than 18 billion cards have been sold worldwide, according to Konami.

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