Company Profile - Konami

Precious duels

Konami enters 2022 off the back of an exceptionally strong 12-month performance for its Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. The year saw record numbers of players participate in online duel events and a slew of impressive new product releases, meaning excitement for the year ahead, and the opportunities it presents, has never been higher. Toy World spoke to Dom Galizia, senior marketing manager at Konami Digital Entertainment, and Adrian Fox, organised play manager, to find out more.

Firstly, how did 2021 end up for Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG?

Dom: It was a fantastic year for Konami. The Yu-Gi- Oh! TCG performed exceedingly well across the entire year, thanks to unique and hugely popular products like Ghosts From the Past and the Egyptian God Decks, to name just two examples. It’s very clear to me that products like this have been driving our success: the rarity and configuration of the contents have really been diversified thanks to the inclusion of Starlight Rare foil cards, the return of shiny Ghost Rare cards, and Ultimate Rare foil cards making an appearance through Official Tournament Store packs. These different card presentations have become ever more desirable and demand for them continues to grow. There’s a massive element of collectability to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG that fans have increasingly gravitated to across the year.

Can you tell me about Konami’s approach to in-store demos and events? What benefits does this offer, both for Yu-Gi- Oh! fans and stockists?

Adrian: Official Tournament Stores are a fundamental part of how we foster the ever-growing Yu-Gi- Oh! TCG community, providing fans with spaces in which they can come together, play, and discover unique and exclusive events. We support our Official Tournament Stores by offering them a wide range of exclusive, branded promotional items to assist them with running events and offering demos in-store. This gives our fans a new way to collect accessories featuring all their favourite monsters and themes - things like card sleeves, game mats and deck boxes for storing their cards, for example. And it’s very important to us that players can feel part of a dedicated community, which is why our programmes are designed cater for players of all skill levels.

In 2021, Konami unveiled some very impressive and highly collectible booster packs, special rarity cards and collectible tins. Do these products drive sales among fans? What kind of reactions do you see on social media when these launches are unveiled?

Dom: These products have a major positive impact on our sales and are hugely popular with Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. Our fans are very loyal, and the community is deeply committed. Most fans are hugely invested in the overall brand, which of course encompasses the manga and animated series, digital video games and more, but the Yu-Gi- Oh! TCG is one of the core elements of the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe.

Consider the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Masterpiece Series: Platinum Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, which was noticeably well received. We produced a limited but still significant run of this highly desirable, wonderfully produced collector’s item and it sold out in just hours. This card, and others like it, are a great example of the level of passion within our community and the desire among fans to collects as many cards as possible. Ultimately, these products don’t tend to stay in stock very long.

We see incredible reactions from our community on social media. Social media has increasingly become the backbone of our marketing strategy, particularly throughout 2021. As a space with many platforms and outlets, we use social media to produce a diverse range of engaging content, showcasing the variety of products we have available for our fans to collect and enjoy. We find social media is often where fans head to find out the latest news on the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. More than that, it’s a place where our community can congregate and talk about things in a positive way ahead of and at launch. It’s been an important source of hype and excitement for our products in recent years, especially during months where in-person contact has been limited.

Influencers are becoming an increasingly integral part of our marketing and promotional activity. The influencers we work with are those we know to be natural, organic promoters of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, and they are passionate about the brand. Konami has always tried to work as closely with them as possible, so the company can present its products in a positive manner: we invite them in, we talk to them, we provide them with specialist content to reveal, as well as other exclusive opportunities.

I can’t understate the importance of digital media. It has played a huge role in our activity over the last year. Naturally, we’re working with influencers who are talking to their audiences via digital platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. It’s important to note that thanks to them, we’ve managed to secure an indirect route to users that allows us to present our products in the best possible way, especially considering we haven’t had the luxury of having direct contact with fans through events over the last year or so.

How does Konami drive momentum in terms of product development, with so many new products rolling out throughout the year?

Dom: The collectability of our products has always been something we’re proud of. It’s safe to say that in recent years, when people have been spending more time at home, this aspect of our products has accelerated. Our diversified printing techniques, as seen with Starlight Rare and Ghost Rare, are the kind of things that have been picked up on by the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG community, our end users. Having cards of a special type or a special form, created using a special technique, is very appealing to a large part of our audience, and the approach has been very well received.

Do Official Tournament Stores benefit from exclusive lines fans can’t get elsewhere? And how can retailers become Official Tournament Stores?

Adrian: Official Tournament Stores can access our core booster packs a week before the official release date via special Premiere! events. These events ensure that Konami’s Official Tournament Stores become a community hub for players. Official Tournament Stores also can take advantage of numerous other promotions and events including the ‘Lost Art Promotion’, which offers duellists a monthly purchase incentive. Competitive playerfocused events, meanwhile, such as our WCQ Regional Qualifiers and Official Tournament Store Championships, let players duel it out for exclusive branded prizes based on popular monsters from the most recent booster pack.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we also offered our Official Tournament Stores the chance to run Remote Duel events, in which duellists could compete from the comfort of their own homes. This was a massive success and we’re delighted with how fans gravitated towards them and the numbers that took part.

We provide exclusive branding featuring items like hanging banners, table tents, standees and much more to Official Tournament Stores. This helps to create the feeling of a Yu-Gi-Oh! community hub. It’s a simple process to register interest in becoming an Official Tournament Store; retailers can simply contact us at https://eusupport.konami.com and notify us of their interest. Our dedicated Organised Play Partners will then get in touch with stores.

Outside of trade press, how does Konami market the Yu-Gi-Oh! range?

Dom: We do this in numerous ways. I’ve already talked about social networking services, for example, which offers us that vital direct-to-user route. On a similar note, one of the particularly interesting examples we’ve explored in recent years is digital exhibitions. We can use these to talk to our distributors while using virtual environments and digital renditions of our products that showcase the different releases and their features. We’re trying very hard to diversify the ways we talk about and showcase our products, and with the digital age now well and truly upon us we’re looking increasingly to things like SNS, digital exhibitions and many other avenues to promote the brand.

What major opportunities does 2022 hold for Yu-Gi-Oh! and Konami?

Dom: Firstly, all our fingers are crossed that the months ahead hold good health for everyone, and that Covid-19 becomes less of a factor our lives. This year presents a great opportunity for us to be part of physical events once again. We want to showcase on a much larger scale just how much fun the Yu- Gi-Oh! TCG is. For us, the focus is on making sure our users are safe and happy, then, if possible, offering them experiences they can enjoy, take home with them and cherish for many years.

There are numerous products to be excited about in 2022 too. Ghosts From the Past: The 2nd Haunting will be released this year and is sure to be a community favourite. There are ample fan favourites included as well as Ghost Rares, which people cherish beyond all else, while the iconic Blue-Eyes White Dragon will be another big draw. There are so many new launches this year to look forward to – watch this space.

Anything else that you’d really like our readers to know?

Dom: First and foremost, Konami would like to thank everyone for their support of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and the products we released in 2021. We hope everyone is enjoying them as much as possible (and we get the impression that they are). We’re striving to make sure we create products that are in line with expectations, and we’re so grateful for the support that enables us to do so.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! brand has enjoyed a great reception for numerous years and we’re continuing to see healthy, sustainable growth. Focusing on the TCG, demand is increasing - and we are continuing to meet that demand. We’re very happy with the way Konami’s relationship with the fan community, and the growth of the product line, has been progressing. Ultimately, we’re set to continue providing products our fans want.

It’s a great time be involved with the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG. The overall brand is in such good shape, and this is only bolstered by the likes of the upcoming digital titles connected to the TCG, such as Yu-Gi- Oh! Master Duel. Everyone here at the Windsor Konami office can’t wait to keep this momentum going throughout 2022.