YGO sneak peak

Although Cascade Games is not running a YGO prerelease you can find a list of events here http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/index.html#rgbt

also the Samurai comics has asked me to give them a shout out.

YGO RAGING BATTLE SNEAK PEEK

Sunday May 3rd at BOTH Samurai Comics locations
The battle begins at 11 am at both stores.

$20 entry fee. 

Preregistration is now open at both Samurai  Comics locations 

Every participant will receive five packs from the RAGING BATTLE expansion set, and the exclusive BATTLESTORM foil promotional card! 

Prizes include a Raging Battle game mat and Raging Battle deck boxes.

Samurai Comics
10720 W. Indian School Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85037
623-872-8886
www.samuraicomics.com

Samurai Comics
5024 N. 7th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85014
602-265-8886
www.samuraicomics.com

Nationals on track for YGO in Europe and Latin America

From icv.2.com

‘Yu-Gi-Oh! European & Latin American Championships To Be Held as Planned Published: 04/28/2009 04:38pm Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced that all European and Latin American National Championships for theYu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Gamewill be held as planned in 2009.  Duelists can now start preparing their decks for their national championships.  Winners of national championships in Europe can compete for the European Championship, and the top four finalists in the European Championship tournament will win a paid trip to Japan to compete in the World Championships.   Players interested in competing in the National Championship tournaments should visit the yugioh-card.com Website and click on their country’s flag for details on how to participate.

Konami rolls out OP – via barcode scanner

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/news/news_090414gama.html

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. to Address Hobby Store Owners on Plans for Organized Play, New Rankings System & Demonstrate Innovative New Barcode Scanner For Tourney Stores at 2009 GAMA Trade Show

El Segundo, CA – (April 14, 2009) –Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE) will unveil much anticipated Organized Play plans, their new rankings system – Konami Card Game Official Tournament Support System – and an innovative Barcode Scanner for use by Official Tournament Stores to enter players into events and to record their rankings. 

The Barcode Scanners have been in use in Japan and will be utilized for the first time in North America this year. Registering players for your events will now be a snap – Konami’s player ID cards feature a barcode system which allows you to input your players’ data directly into the COSSY system with a single swipe through the USB-enabled barcode scanner.  COSSY will also track each player’s record during the event. Once the tournament is over and final results have been submitted and confirmed, the COSSY system will update your players’ rankings online – automatically.  There are an estimated 300 lucky Store owners that are Official Konami Tournament Stores who will be the first to utilize the Barcode Scanner absolutely free.

“The Games Manufacturers Association Trade Show offers the perfect environment to meet with our hobby store partners and to educate them on what our plans are for the coming year and beyond,” noted Yumi Hoashi, Vice President of Card Business, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.  “GAMA is also the place for us to receive first-hand accounts of how things really are in the hobby.  This is why we chose this event to detail our organized play efforts and the new rankings system – Konami Card Game Official TournamentSupport System.”  

KDE will have a slew of new products for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and the Blue Dragon Role Playing Card Game (RPCG) to unveil to the GAMA Trade Show audience.  Upcoming releases for the the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG will be highlighted included Raging Battle, 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Deck, Raging Battle Special Edition, Gold Series 2009.  Additionally, KDE staff will be presenting the Blue Dragon RPCG demo kits, the Light and Dark Shadows Starter Deck and Destinies Unite booster set.
Hobby stores interested in setting up accounts, hosting Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME events or tournaments should contact KDE customer support at 310-220-8630 or us-cardsupport@konami.com.

 

About The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is the #1 trading card game in the world with more than 18 billion cards sold. It is a game of strategy, where players create individual decks of cards collected from Structure Decks and Booster Packs. Two players engage in a duel while using cards that represent powerful Monsters, magical Spells and surprising Traps. Duelists with well-constructed decks, dominating monsters, solid strategy and good fortune are the victors in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.  Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is the exclusive licensee and rights holder to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG in North America.

About Konami

Konami is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties and traditional trading card games.  Konami’s software titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid®, Silent Hill®, Dance Dance Revolution® and Castlevania®, among other top sellers. 

Konami is also the manufacturer of the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME™, which has sold more than 18 billion cards worldwide.  The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com.  Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiaries Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany.  Konami Corporation is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM.  Details of the products published by Konami can be found at www.konami.com.

 

YGO court case – Europe only

Remember this is EUROPE only – you don’t live in Europe – at least that what the web tats for this blog say. But if your keeping score – its Konami -2 Upper Deck – 0.

from icv2.com

Konami Wins Appeals Court Ruling In European ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ Distribution Case Published: 04/15/2009, Last Updated: 04/16/2009 02:52am The Amsterdam Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. in an appeal proceedings against Upper Deck International in a case stemming from KDE’s termination last December of its distributorship agreement with Upper Deck that designated Upper Deck International as the exclusive distributor of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game in Europe, Latin America, and Oceania.    The Appeals Court ruling overturns an injunction against KDE’s termination of Upper Deck as a Yu-Gi-Oh! distributor that was granted  by a Dutch court on December 24th, shortly after Konami had announced that it was ending Upper Deck’s role as the exclusive distributor of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (see “Dutch Court Sides With UDE”).  The new ruling by the 3-judge Appeals Courtpanel reverses the previous injunction and upholds the termination of Upper Deck’s contract with Konami, which means that, absent any contradictory ruling from a higher court, Upper Deck International is no longer the authorized distributor for theYu-Gi-Oh! TCG in Europe, Latin America, and Oceania.

Great news for YGO Regionals winners

This is briliant. Helps the YGO winners. Makes Magic Nationals even more fun. Adds drama to Magic Nationals. Wizards looks great.  Only question I have is how does someone prove they qualified.

Also I have not seen anyone from Konami sat that YGO Nationals are canceled.  So that part may or may not be correct. It seems likely to me that Konami WILL hold Nationals, but I don’t know for sure.

http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Press/?doc=20090302

Wizards of the Coast Extends Nationals Invitations to Yu-Gi-Oh! Players

 

March 2, 2009 - Renton, WA – Wizards of the Coast today announced that invitations to the Magic: The Gathering® Nationals tournament will be extended to qualified Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game players in response to the recent announcement that their National Championships are cancelled.

“We respect the accomplishments of all high-level tournament players,” said Chris Galvin, VP of Organized Play for Wizards of the Coast. “We’d like to do what we can to honor their achievements and keep them gaming.”

Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game players who hold an invitation to the Yu-Gi-Oh! US or Canadian Nationals that were scheduled to take place this year will be welcomed to come play Magic at the equivalent Magic: The Gathering Nationals in summer 2009. Interested players can simply contact the Wizards Game Support team by visiting customer support or by calling 1-800-324-6496.

About Wizards

Wizards of the Coast is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.

The trademark Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Shueisha, Inc. in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wizards of the Coast is not endorsed or sponsored by, or affiliated with, Shueisha or Konami.

Just to confuse YGO players

I am sure I’m going to get a million phone calls about this press release.  Heres the deal guys – this one is EUROPE and pacific ISLANDS – not the Pacific coast of the US.  Again if you are in the US or Canada this just doesn’t apply to you.

Yes I know that its a bummer having to wait for Konami to roll out its OP system.  I will post details on whatever Konami does as it makes announcements.

Tim

Upper Deck International (UDI) organizes OP-events for Yu-Gi-Oh!™ as scheduled.Following the successful outcome of the injunction against Konami, in which the Dutch court decided in favor of Upper Deck Panoceanic CV and Upper Deck International BV, we are pleased to announce that UDI launches expansions and events as planned. This means that the following expansions will be released:

Duelist Pack – Yusei (DP8):  February 24th, 2009 
Crimson Crisis Booster:  March 3rd, 2009

As with all new booster releases we scheduled a sneak preview for Crimson Crisis. This event will be held on February 28th and March 1st.

“Thanks for your continuous support. It is highly appreciated! We will continue to provide you with the best possible support for Organized Play, as you are accustomed and entitled to.”, says Nico Blauw, CEO Upper Deck International.

Finding a YGO sneak in Phoenix

Samurai comics asked me to post this….
This event is being held on Saturday, February 28th at our West Valley location, and on Sunday, March 1st at our Central Phoenix location. Start time is 10am at both stores.

Entry fee is $25. Each player gets 5 packs and the exclusive card. It is open dueling all day long. Report a total of 5 games played and get a 6th pack. We will also be holding a constructed tournament where you can use the new deck you construct and win Crimson Crisis boosters. Entry fee for this is $5.

Full details can be found at: http://www.popshoponline.com/stores/new_index.asp?StoreID=54&ArticleID=968

Upper Deck responds to Konami

Upper Deck just issued this press release.  I don’t see my role as issuing commentary. To find out what I think you need to ply me with mediocre Scotch at a con.  

Tim

 

Court Rules in Favor of Upper Deck

Courts Not Persuaded by Konami’s Baseless Allegations

North Las Vegas, NV (January 26, 2009) — Since December, Konami has twice attempted to convince the courts to issue a restraining order against Upper Deck in Konami’s case against Vintage.  Both times, the courts have not been persuaded by mere allegations and have denied Konami’s motions. To date, California courts have sided with Upper Deck on all rulings.  InEurope, Upper Deck International obtained an injunction against Konami, forcing them to honor their contractual commitments there. 

On December 11, 2008, following several attempts to negotiate with Konami for the betterment of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, Upper Deck filed a breach of contract suit against Konami, citing unfair business practices and several instances where Konami had made moves to undermine and ultimately take over the Yu-Gi-Oh! business from Upper Deck.  Konami representatives have tried on several occasions to obtain proprietary information from Upper Deck regarding key programs used to support, market and distribute the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand in North America and Europe. Upper Deck has refused to lower itself to the unfair and backstabbing tactics that Konami has used over the past several years toward their ultimate goal of removing Upper Deck from the Yu-Gi-Oh! business.

The day following Upper Deck’s suit, Konami added Upper Deck as a defendant in its three month-old lawsuit against Vintage, an absurd allegation with dubious timing considering Upper Deck’s history of fighting Yu-Gi-Oh! counterfeit cards over the last six years. 

Since the start of the Yu-Gi-Oh! distribution in the USA and Europe, Upper Deck and the Yu-Gi-Oh! consortium (Shueisha, ADK, TV Tokyo and Sensei Takahashi) have suffered irrevocable harm by Konami’s unwillingness to give Upper Deck legal support in fighting against the manufacture and importation of billions of counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Upper Deck has spent millions of dollars fighting against Yu-Gi-Oh! counterfeits and even raided Chinese factories itself because Konami refused to do so or, in some cases, simply reacted too late.

To think that Upper Deck would be involved in Yu-Gi-Oh! counterfeit activity is therefore not only absurd, it simply does not make sense.

Upper Deck estimates that Yu-Gi-Oh! counterfeit activity since 2003 has resulted in damages to the company of several hundreds of millions of dollars in the European and North American territories.

Despite Konami’s unfounded charges against Upper Deck, the company is continuing to support the Yu-Gi-Oh! community with the upcoming Upper Deck Day, a special tournament that will offer high-level Dueling and great prizes, including a Gold Sarcophagus to the winner at each location. Please visit UDE.com for more information about Upper Deck Day.

Headline – “Upper Deck Source of Counterfeit ‘YGO’ Cards?”

Industry informational web site Icv2.com is reporting the following story (below). It is important to remember this is what is alleged in an lawsuit.  The courts need to determine the facts. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/14158.html

Upper Deck Source of Counterfeit ‘YGO’ Cards?

In Vintage Case

Published: 01/25/2009, Last Updated: 01/26/2009 04:33am

In an amended complaint filed December 11th, Konami Digital Entertainment has alleged that Upper Deck is the source of the allegedly counterfeit Yu Gi Oh! TCG cards it found in packages distributed by Vintage Sports Cards (see “Counterfeit Yu Gi Oh! Rares”).  In the original complaint, filed in October, Konami named Vintage as the distributor of the packages, but didn’t name Upper Deck as a defendant. 

In the amended complaint, Konami says, “Plaintiffs recently obtained through discovery documents and testimony from defendant Vintage that identify Upper Deck as the source of the counterfeit ‘Rare Cards’ being re-packaged and sold by Vintage.”  The amended complaint adds Upper Deck Company of California and Upper Deck Company of Nevada as additional defendants, in addition to Vintage, in the case. 

This information makes clearer the reasons behind Konami’s announcement that it was terminating its distribution relationship for the Yu Gi Oh! TCG at around the same time as the amended complaint was filed (see “Konami Takes over YGO TCG”). 

YGO sneak peak clarification – or its all Europe

It is important that you note this is from Upper Deck EUROPE not US.  Upper Deck has won its lawsuit in Europe and therefore events are going forward as scheduled. This is not true in the US. In the US Konami has lost its lawsuit. 

There is a world of difference between Upper Deck winning a lawsuit affirming the contract in Europe and Konami losing a lawsuit lawsuit that would negate the contract in the US.  

If this doesn’t make sense – we can discuss it later – thats all side information – the key takeaway is There will NOT be a YGO sneak run by Cascade Games in the US. Stores are currently being offered Sneak Peak kits that support 16 players. Please go speak with your local store about this.

Tim

From Upper Deck – Europe 

http://www.upperdeck-international.com/tabid/56/language/en-US/Default.aspx?AnnouncementID=1

Upper Deck International (UDI) organizes OP-events for Yu-Gi-Oh!™ as scheduled.Following the successful outcome of the injunction against Konami, in which the Dutch court decided in favor of Upper Deck Panoceanic CV and Upper Deck International BV, we are pleased to announce that UDI launches expansions and events as planned. This means that the following expansions will be released:

Duelist Pack – Yusei (DP8):  February 24th, 2009 
Crimson Crisis Booster:  March 3rd, 2009

As with all new booster releases we scheduled a sneak preview for Crimson Crisis. This event will be held on February 28th and March 1st.

“Thanks for your continuous support. It is highly appreciated! We will continue to provide you with the best possible support for Organized Play, as you are accustomed and entitled to.”, says Nico Blauw, CEO Upper Deck International.