Special Feature - Konami

Crown Duels Special Feature

It’s shaping up to be a big year for Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! (TCG), with the company announcing the return of the World Championship and a raft of exciting new products sure to excite existing fans and attract new ones. Shin Ishida, vice president, Enrico Tassinari, head of TCG Sales, and Dom Galizia, head of TCG Marketing at Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. (Konami), tell Toy World exactly what there is to look forward to in the months ahead and why the duelist community is so important to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s success.

In February, Konami announced the return of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship. How have duelists reacted to the news and what level of participation do you expect as a result?

SI: The Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship is currently scheduled to return in August this year. The last Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship took place in Berlin in August 2019, so it’s been four years since we’ve held this event. It’s something duelists are very excited for.

ET: It’s great news. The World Championship is an opportunity to inspire a new generation of players, and we know there will be many duelists around the world watching and excited to see such a high level of competition.

DG: If I had to choose one word for my answer, it would be ‘hype’. The community has responded extremely well to the news: duelists are so happy to be returning to the World Championship event. It’s also clear that we’re seeing an increase in participation numbers for all tournaments leading up to this. We had 3,600 registrations alone for the special 250th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) event that took place in London at the start of April.

Will the World Championship translate into increased demand for product? How will you be meeting this demand in terms of new product?

DG: It’s a difficult question to answer right now because the demand for all our Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG products is exceptional.

ET: Some products will see a spike because they feature cards from the leading decks seen at tournaments including the World Championship. Those products will be sought out by our community of players, who pay very close attention to that kind of thing.

SI: The demand has been and will be high, as Dom said. We’ll have duelists competing at the highest levels. Similarly, our line-up will be strong, with great cards, exciting new themes and wonderful new decks to collect and build.

How do your latest launches cater to what duelists want from their decks and accessories?

ET: It’s a good question because we have lots of different duelists to cater to. There are the more competitive duelists – those who might be attending events like YCS London – and those who play more casually. Then there are those who like to collect the cards, or duelists coming back to the game after some time away. We’re always trying to increase the number of duelists discovering our game through the type of products we release, so we ensure we’re catering for all these groups with lots of different product types.

SI: You can look to some of our recent products to gain a better sense of what we’re doing, even outside of the 25th anniversary celebrations. In February’s Photon Hypernova set we introduced cards based upon a completely new theme, Gold Pride, bringing a brand-new set of cards and strategies to the game. Gold Pride is a World Premiere: it was introduced first in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG rather than in Japan. There are more Gold Pride cards in the Cyberstorm Access booster set too, which arrived in May. We are exploring new opportunities like this for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG audience - cards that no-one worldwide will have ever seen before.

DG: Themes are always a major part of the puzzle, offering our duelists support for the themes they enjoy and providing them with new monsters that help them augment their decks. This is an integral part of the development of our Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG products and it translates into accessories too, such as the upcoming Gold Pride set of accessories that we’re sure duelists will love.

How important is duelist feedback when it comes to developing new products?

ET: It’s very difficult to please everyone, but our latest products seem to appeal to a larger, broader audience. That’s what we need to expand the reach of our game and attract even more duelists.

DG: We’re always listening to the community. We’ve got our ears to the ground at events and our eyes glued to the forums and public pages that our users gravitate towards. We’re always going to listen to them as we value them. If we do well, it’s because they’re happy with what we’re doing, and it’s in our interest to continue making duelists happy.

SI: We also utilise things like our support app, Yu-Gi-Oh! Neuron, to monitor deck submissions from our community. As Dom mentioned, we’re paying attention at our events, seeing what kind of decks people are playing, how they are enjoying our new themes and our new cards. Ensuring our duelists enjoy our game is hugely important, so we pay very close attention.

Aside from the World Championship and related qualifiers, will Konami be hosting any other fan events this year?

DG: We have the European Championship and additional YCS tournaments, so there will be a lot going throughout the year on the Organised Play (OP) side. All I can say is ‘watch this space’ for our YCS events. We’re trying to bring even more added value to those for the users in attendance.

How can retailers get involved with these events and make the most of product launches?

ET: We offer very strong support in terms of resources, marketing and product for retailers who’d like to get involved with our games. We encourage friendly communities that make the retailer feel like the ‘third place’ for our duelists. Home is the first place and work is the second place, while the third place is where we like to spend our time. That’s what we want our retailers’ spaces to feel like for our fans.

DG: Retailers are a vital part of what we do in terms of continued OP support. For us, it’s about making sure they understand that our users are continually looking to improve and update their decks. Being part of the new stock cycle and supporting OP activity, especially if you’re an Official Tournament Store (OTS), is vital. Our users are always looking to play in new ways, experience new themes and add to their library of cards. It’s an ongoing process that retailers can really get behind.

ET: Retailers have multiple ways to get involved with us: they simply need to ask their distributors to connect them with our teams. We will roll out the red carpet for them and are happy to offer support to any retailers willing to give a welcoming home to our communities.

Are there still opportunities for stockists to become Official Tournament Stores?

DG: Of course. We’re always expanding what we’re doing and we’re always trying to reach new users where there may not be an existing OTS to support them. Konami remains keen to uplift brick-and-mortar retailers and new retailers because, ultimately, new communities mean a new generation of fans. That means new ideas, perspectives and experiences that all add to the fun of even bigger, more national and even continental experiences.

ET: It takes time, effort and dedication to be a part of the OTS programme. We will offer our retailers support, and all we ask in return is that they offer a professional experience for our communities. You can find out more about being an OTS and how to join the programme on our new site - www.yugioh-card.com/ eu/play/ots/

How else is Konami supporting its retail partners this year?

DG: Digital marketing is a big pillar of what we’ve been doing in recent years. We know our users gravitate towards digital spaces and we’re making sure they’re aware of the product cycle by engaging them on social media with information on new products releases, YCS events, premiere events and more. When we’re working on YCS events we’re looking at the big communities in our markets and choosing accessible locations. We try our best to make sure our users can get hands-on with our product at events. Digital media is the biggest pathway for that.

Konami celebrates the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game’s 25th anniversary in 2024: what can you tell us about commemorative products and anniversary celebrations?

SI: We’ve already started with the Legendary Collection: 25th Anniversary Edition, which arrived in April this year and brought back some of the most iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG booster sets of all time.

ET: Certain products like the Legendary Collection: 25th Anniversary Edition also feature Quarter Century Secret Rare cards. This is a brand-new rarity created just for the 25th anniversary celebration of the YuGi-Oh! card game, which is very exciting. These are going to be very sought-after cards and they look incredible. There will be more products to come featuring Quarter Century Secret Rare cards.

SI: We’re also re-releasing individual Yu-Gi-Oh TCG booster packs soon, going right back to the beginning of the game. Our fans will love revisiting their prized memories and storied products such as Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon, Metal Raiders, and Invasion of Chaos.

DG: The 25th anniversary is very special - very symbolic. The Yu-Gi-Oh! IP is phenomenal. It’s a classic in terms of longevity and how much it’s sustained. The fans are the backbone of this and always have been. Fans and retailers will doubtless be excited to know that we’re going to bring as much added value to our events, and in particular our premiere events, as we can.

Finally, what are your hopes and aspirations for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and its community of duelists this year?

DG: We’re looking forward to many wonderful moments with duelists, hearing their stories, sharing in their experiences on social media and at events. It’s going to be a fantastic moment for a lot of people, a moment to rekindle their best moments and highlight exactly why, after 25 years, they still love the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG so much. Konami will do its best to augment that, to help people experience that together, to retell and relive those moments with some very special products that will resonate with our duelists.

ET: For me, it’s that people are having fun. After two years of lockdown, duelists are rediscovering the beauty of playing with each other in a warm, friendly environment. The best stories I hear from duelists are the memories of their friendships, of travelling together to an event, playing together in a tournament. That’s what this is all about: friendship, community, and enjoying this great game together.

SI: There’s a lot to be excited about this year. From the return of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship to the 25th anniversary celebrations, there are so many exciting products to come and lots of promotional activities that we can’t wait to talk more about. Most of all, as Dom said, we’re excited to celebrate the incredible history of the game with you, with our duelists, and with everyone who loves the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.

Enrico Tassinari

Dom Galizia