Yu-Gi-Oh games coming to North America

[03.07.01] » Konami's Pokémon-slayer will appear in English by the year's end.

   Konami revealed today that it is bringing its enormously-popular Yu-Gi-Oh franchise to North America. Originally a Japanese comic series, the series has since manifested itself in a TV series, a collectible card game, and numerous Game Boy and PlayStation video games. Yu-Gi-Oh games have consistently placed high in Japanese best-seller lists; two Yu-Gi-Oh titles were among the top ten best-selling games in Japan last year.

   At least one of the Game Boy Color games will be released in North America by the end of the year. There's no specifics on which games Konami has chosen to localize, but Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters 4, the most recent Game Boy Color title, seems the most likely bet. (A Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters 5 is currently development in Japan, but the title is for the Game Boy Advance, not the Game Boy Color.) An announcement of which Yu-Gi-Oh game or games will be translated may come at next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

   "Given the tremendous success in Japan, Yu-Gi-Oh is expected to draw strong attention in the United States,'' a Konami spokesperson said.

   The Yu-Gi-Oh collectible card game and animated series are also on their North America, with both also scheduled to debut before the end of 2001. Video Senki reports that 4Kids Entertainment will translate the TV show and handle merchandising rights; the company also performed similar duties with the English version of Pokémon.