'Yu-Gi-Oh!' to Release New Duel Disk Replica

One of the most popular arcs in Yu-Gi-Oh! was the Battle City arc not only because it took the series' card games to a new level, but it sparked the imaginations of fans everywhere who wanted a duel disk of their own.

While it may not produce large projections of monsters like in the series, Bandai Namco announced that it will soon be releasing a new Duel Disk replica under their high-quality Proplica brand.

カイザーが着けているのはデュエルディスク⁉︎ 本日、ジャンプフェスタにてPROPLICAブランドより商品化プロジェクト進行中の発表をさせていただきました！ pic.twitter.com/kQtlagegiZ

— Ｖジャンプ編集部@2月特大号好評発売中！ (@V_Jump) 22 tháng 12, 2018

Announced during Jump Festa 2019, a tweet from Shueisha's V-Jump account revealed the prototype for the Duel Disk replica and teased its imminent release with (as translated by Anime News Network), "The Emperor's wearing a Duel Disk?! Today at Jump Festa, the PROPLICA Brand has announced their efforts to develop a new Duel Disk product!” The new disk already seems to be a much higher quality than previous Duel Disk releases.

Previous replica releases under Konami and Mattel were appreciated when first released back when the Battle City arc was at its peak, but soon fans of the series found the replicas to not quite be to their liking as they did not have enough room to hold their cards completely, and the Life Points counter wasn't up to their standards. But this new version leaves a much better impression with its LCD Life Points display. Not to mention that Bandai Namco's Proplica releases have all been of equally high quality.

There is currently no further information on the new Duel Disk's release date or pricing details, as this was a prototype shown during the event, but you can see a much closer look at it below shared by @chaotic_brain on Twitter.

開発中の決闘盤！
音声と音楽も付けて欲しいｗ pic.twitter.com/xWSrmSrUVq

— Ｃ☆Ｒ☆Ｌ (@chaotic_brain) 22 tháng 12, 2018

Yu-Gi-Oh! was originally created by Kazuki Takahashi for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and ran from September 1996 to March 2004. The series follows Yugi Mutou, a young boy who solves an ancient puzzle and is possessed by the spirit of the Egyptian pharoah. Being skilled at deadly games, the Pharoah goes on to create and solve problems for Yugi based on deadly games of chance.

Two anime adaptations were created for the series, but the one most fans will recognize is Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. Duel Monsters was the first arc in the story to focus on the "Duel Monsters" card game and was the first season licensed for an English language release by 4Kids Entertainment. The first season of the series, which fans often dub as "Season 0," has such deadly games of chance with horrible consequences that fans could not believe it was a part of this series at first.

With the series currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year, it's now more popular than ever. Collectors have made the merchandise even more valuable than ever as a result, and now some of the rarest cards in the trading card game are selling for ridiculous amounts.

Source: ANN