KONAMI TAKE OVER UDE??!!

Is this true...?! As posted on yugioh-card.com...

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/press/press_release_YGO.pdf

What does this mean for the future of the game...? What changes (if any) does this mean for the players, and especially for the judges...? Will there continue to be sanctioned tournaments; especially regionals, shonens, etc...?

Divine Phoenix wrote:

Is this true...?! As posted on yugioh-card.com...

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/press/press_release_YGO.pdf

What does this mean for the future of the game...? What changes (if any) does this mean for the players, and especially for the judges...? Will there continue to be sanctioned tournaments; especially regionals, shonens, etc...?

i hear the regional is canselled for tomorrow is this true

Regional is still on and Invites will be rewarded.


Yea...

Truth of the matter is that it's very difficult what the change will mean to the game as we know it. The changes could be very minimal or they could be extreme. It really depends on how close to the existing programs of organized play / judge certification / TO -PTO structure Konami wishs to make it.

Konami has announced that it intends to "fully support" organized play and the judge program and make the transition "seamless" That sounds good in theory, and I hope that all is indeed true, however, if Konami follows the same model they use in Japan which is...

No Organized play (No regionals, no SJCs, no Sneak Previews. Only local tournaments and Nationals)

No TOs-PTOs (Tournaments are held by stores without any certification)

No judge program (Judges are not tested, tournaments can be judged by anyone)

If they follow this model obviously the face of organized play is nonexistant as we know it. Let's hope this isn't the case.

On a local level, not to worry. We'll still hold tournaments, enjoy the game, and enjoy the people we've come to call our friends. We're blessed to have people locally who are dedicated, knowlegable, friendly, and fair.

It's my guess that Konami will indeed take the reins (eventually) I'd say it will take anywhere between 3-6 months for this all to shake out and have a good idea where organized play and the game in general is going.

Upper Deck International issued a statement today:

http://dnn.upperdeck-international.com/tabid/56/language/en-US/Default.aspx?AnnouncementID=8

There should be a statement from UD US soon.



Alex


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Alex Charsky
Judge Manager
Upper Deck

Upper Deck files injunction against Konami

Upper Deck Panoceanic C.V. and Upper Deck International B.V. (hereinafter called: “Upper Deck”) wish to broadcast the following statement.

Upper Deck files injunction against Konami. Upper Deck was given no other choice since Konami unlawfully terminated the exclusive distribution agreement for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.

“We need to protect our company’s interest but more importantly, we need to stand up for the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand, our customers and our players. Konami’s unfounded decision caught us all by surprise and their statement has seriously damaged the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand and Upper Deck’s excellent reputation in the marketplace. We worry for Yu-Gi-Oh!’s future as Konami has never really contributed anything to the brand”, according to an Upper Deck representative.

This injunction is planned for December 22nd in The Netherlands.

Konami interview from TCGplayer.com

Konami and Upper Deck have been in the TCG headlines constantly over the last week. It started with a Press Release from Konami that they were taking control of Yu-gi-oh away from Upper Deck. It was then quickly noted that Upper Deck Entertainment had file suit against Konami. This was then followed up by the VP of Konami Card Business Yumi Hoashi speaking about the changes and a press release from Upper Deck about their continued support for Yu-Gi-Oh.

This will continue to be a hot topic as we move into 2009, but before we jump ahead we were able to meet up with Konami and get some exclusive answers off to you before the Holidays kick in. All of the answers below are from Yumi Hoashi, Vice President of Card Business for Konami Digital Entertainment.


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1. What prompted the change of hands from Upper Deck to Konami? What were the motivations behind the switch?

[Konami is the manufacturer and exclusive rights holder to YGO. By handling the distribution of YGO, Konami expects to provide the highest level of customer and retail support and looks forward to taking advantage of better synergies with its well-developed gaming platforms to introduce exciting new YGO products and tournament opportunities.]

2. What does this mean for the Yu-Gi-Oh creative team? Will the design/translation team be changing hands or will the same designers stay on?

[Konami has been the developer and manufacturer of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME and therefore, this will not impact the creative aspects of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME.]

3. Your press release said that Konami will be taking over customer support for Yu-Gi-Oh as well. What do you mean by customer support? Will we be seeing changes to the Yu-Gi-Oh website? To rules support?

[Customer support covers everything from retailers and distributors orders, overseeing rules and gameplay questions, to helping Duelists find tournament and Organized Play information. It is pretty broad in scope.
www.yugioh-card.com/en will remain the web site for all Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG information. Please bear with us as we renew the site.]

4. How will this be affecting Yu-Gi-Oh event support? Will we be seeing changes made to current tournaments and events? Will Konami continue to distribute "champion packs" to tournament winners?

[We are currently evaluating all process and procedures and will report all news on yugioh-card.com/en in the near future.]

5. How will this affect the running of local tournaments? How about national tournaments?
What relationship will Konami have with Shonen Jump? Will Konami still support Shonen Jump Yu-Gi-Oh Events?

[We are currently evaluating all process and procedures and will report all news on yugioh-card.com in the near future. Konami has a great relationship with Shonen Jump and has always worked very closely with them. We will continue that relationship.]

6. Will this be effecting expansion distribution in any way? Will upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh expansions be on schedule as usual or do you think we will see a delay?

[We are currently evaluating our product release schedule for the first quarter and will make that information available very shortly.]

7. Konami has developed Yu-Gi-Oh themed videogames in the past. Does this switchover mean we may see more Yu-Gi-Oh themed videogames in the future? If so what platforms are you looking to develop for?

[We are extremely excited about the possibilities! This is part of an overall corporate strategy that we have been working on, but are not ready to discuss at this time.]

8. Will we be seeing any changes in how the game is packaged? Will starter or booster size change? What about promotional packs or preconstructed decks?

[Konami has been the developer and manufacturer of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME and all creative decisions have always been ours.]

9. How will this affect the Yu-Gi-Oh online experience? Will this Synch up Online Duel Evolutions more or less with the offline game? Will the online game change at all?

[We see the changes in the marketplace and are excited about what the future holds. This is part of an overall corporate strategy that we have been working on, but are not ready to discuss at this time.]

10. What sort of relationship will Konami have with 4kids and the developers of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime?

[We will continue to have the same close relationship with all of the Yu-Gi-Oh! partners as in the past. This decision will not impact our relationship with YGO partners.]

11. How do you think this will affect the Yu-Gi-Oh meta-game?

[The overall community and all of the tangible aspects of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, the meta-game will continue to thrive]

12. How do you think this will affect Yu-Gi-Oh on the third party market?

[We believe this will not affect the third party market.]

13. How do you think this will affect sales and trades of Yu-Gi-Oh?

[We have great synergistic opportunities now within Konami across the different platforms that we can utilize.]

14. Do you think Yu-Gi-Oh will become a more affordable hobby now that Konami has control?

[We believe the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME offers Duelists an equal value for the price.]

15. What happens to current tournament judges now that Konami is taking control?]

[Current Tournament judges should contact Upper Deck on their status. Konami is in the process of developing its own tournaments and will have more information on this shortly.]

16. Is there any truth to the rumor that Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh cards may be made American tournament legal?

[At this time we do not plan on allowing the Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! cards to be tournament legal in the U.S.]

Well, that interview told us absolutely nothing didn't it? Every answer was a gracious litlte cooperate side step. This person could make a great politician!

i know when i found it 2 days ago i was like wow that got us no where

Upper Deck International BV wins injunction against Konami

December 24th, 2008 - Netherlands - The Dutch Court has decided in favour of Upper Deck Panoceanic CV and Upper Deck International BV.

The termination of the contract between Konami and Upper Deck is unfounded and has been overruled by the Dutch Court. As of immediately, Konami needs to put all in place to respect all aspects of the contract. This means that with immediate effect, Upper Deck International BV has been and will be the exclusive distributor of The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game moving forward for all European territories.

Mr Nico Blauw, CEO of Upper Deck International BV is pleased with the outcome of the Court. 'In these hectic economic times, this is a great Christmas present for our employees, our customers and the player base'.
shriek - 24. Dec, 23:28

wow !?!?

Perfect timing... Merry Christmas to us...

After hearing this, most yugioh players seemed to have the same consensus...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOVyRoU_Q78

jason that wasnt for the usa so it not merry christmas to us it was only for euorpe not usa read again

You're only partially right Soppe... While the injuction was ruled in favor of Upperdeck in Europe, and nothing is absolutely certain here in the US, you're missing one simple fact... Upperdeck International and Konami are both international corporations (UDE is the US "branch" of Upperdeck International) and what happened regarding the ruling overseas is likely to trickle down... While nothing may be finalized it's at least a step in the right direction...

So in that sense, it is a Merry Christamas for us...

So rejoice with the rest of us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p8-bCPUobQ&feature=related

This one's for you Soppe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnD_JSg7v4o

Also, here's a shout out to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBaIaYymHm8&feature=related - ...you know who you are...

haha very funny jason

and of topic you need to call me jason!!!!

on topic
well it still dont mean it that ude won in the usa only in euope not usa so there is still no reason to be a merry christmas to the usa konami still rules the usa in yugioh ^^

I can see that any explanation of my explanation is pointless...

This is for Soppe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pin8fbdGV9Y

-Corporation 101 (Part 1)-

lol wow jason wow i know what a corporation is but it not the same for the usa there a usa ude corporation that only deals with usa and then the Europe ude corporation that only deals woth europe so it different just dont argue with me jason you will lose this one XD

There is only one Upperdeck Corporation... UDE here and over in Europe are just branches of the same corporation...

this is for jason......

here doggy doggy stick you want this stick..... oh yes you do dont you jason ok doggy get the stick sticky boy stick you how you want it XD

...Gay...

...If you're going to post in this forum then stay on topic...