Kids in India may not be very familiar with this one, but
Yu-Gi-Oh! first appeared in 1996 in a comic series by Kazuki Takahashi. Shonen Jump, Japan's largest weekly comic magazine carried it.
Two years later in 1998, a 27-episode television series accompanied by a collectible card game was a great hit in Japan.
Konami, a Japanese company, controls Yu-Gi-Oh trading card and video game rights worldwide. The company is well known for its work with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games.
In April 2002 Konami started shipping Yu-Gi-Oh! Gameboy video games. 4Kids Entertainment obtained the US merchandising and television rights to Yu-Gi-Oh!
And on December 21, 2001, 4Kids Entertainment granted Mattel exclusive worlwide license (except Asia) to manufacture and market Yo-Gi-Oh action figures and accessories, board games, puzzles, vehicles, playsets and activity sets among others. In April 2002, Mattel began shipping its production.
Yugi, fights an evil organisation full of dungeon monsters to save his friends and family. Yu-Gi-Oh has turned into a worldwide trading-card and videogame mania, earning $725 million in 2002.
Toy maker Mattel, Inc debuted the new Yu Gi Oh figures at the International Toy Fair on February 10, 2002 in New York
Photograph:Lawrence Lucier/Getty Images
Also see: Who's the most corrupt of'em all?