KONAMI PREPARES NORTH AMERICA FOR
JAPANESE PHENOMENON "YU-GI-OH! DARK DUEL STORIES"
Smash Hit Cartoon Series Coming To
Game Boy Color This Fall
REDWOOD CITY, CA — July 16, 2001 –
Watch out, America, here comes Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories for Game Boy Color.
Konami of America Inc. announced today that the Game Boy Color version of the
hot comic book and cartoon series will arrive in stores this November for a
suggested retail price of $29.99.
"After selling more than 7
million games and over 3.5 billion cards since 1998, Yu-Gi-Oh! has proven to be
an unstoppable force," said Dick Wnuk, Executive Vice President of Konami
of America Inc. "Yu-Gi-Oh! is so big in Japan that Americans are already
getting excited about the launch of Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories for Game Boy
Color in the US"
In Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories,
players can either compete against the game’s artificial intelligence or battle
against another Duel Monsters player via the Game Boy Link cable. Selecting from
a deck of hundreds of unique battle cards with thousands of possible
combinations, players must attack, defend, combine monsters and set traps in
order to drain their opponents’ life points and win the game. Players must
carefully build up their 40 card deck, selecting from 8 different types of cards
– Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Dark, Light, Magic and Trap – in order to compete on
the Duel Field.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories is based
on the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" comic series from artist Kazuki Takahashi that
appears in Shonen Jump, Japan’s largest weekly comic book ("Manga").
Since Yu-Gi-Oh! first appeared in Jump in 1996, the comic has spawned a hit
cartoon show, a hugely popular collectible card game, several Game Boy Color and
Sony PlayStation™ games and other licensed merchandise. Yu-Gi-Oh! follows the
adventures of Yuugi, a young boy who possesses the "Millennium Puzzle"
that allows him to transform into the Game King whenever he is challenged. To
date, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories Game Boy and Playstation titles have sold
over seven million units in Japan.
4Kids Entertainment has obtained the
merchandising and television rights to Yu-Gi-Oh!. The Yu-Gi-Oh! cartoon will be
shown on Kids WB! starting this Fall, followed by the release of Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark
Duel Stories shortly thereafter.
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About 4Kids Headquartered in New
York City with international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:
KDE) is a global provider of children’s entertainment and merchandise licensing.
4Kids, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides domestic and
international merchandise licensing and product development, television, film,
music and home video production and distribution, media buying and planning and
website development. For further information, please visit the company’s Web
site at www.4kidsEnt.com
About Konami Konami is a leading
developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties,
specializing in the home video game market. Konami’s action and adventure titles
include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Castlevania,
among other top sellers. In addition, the company has an agreement with ESPN to
develop and publish sports games. 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 subsidiary offices, Konami of America, Inc.
in the US and Konami of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany.
Konami is a registered trademark of
Konami Corporation. 2001 Konami of America, Inc. Kids WB! is a registered
trademark of Warner Bros. Game Boy is a registered trademark of Nintendo of
America. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment
America. All other trademarks copyright of their respective owners.
Contact: BENDER/HELPER
IMPACT
KONAMI OF AMERICA, INC.
Tammy Schacter
Chris Kramer
310-477-4647
x261
650-654-5684
[email protected]
[email protected]
