Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (KONAMI) is excited to announce that it will be supporting the Japan eSports Union (JeSU), a general incorporated association, by participating in the "JAPAN ESPORTS CONNECT " event to be held for two days from Wednesday, July 23 to Thursday, July 24 at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (EXPO 2025).
This event will explore the theme of "Global Pulse (The Power of Esports to Connect the World): Connecting People and the Future Through esports," where visitors from all over the world will be able to experience the future of an esports society through stage events, demonstrations, and exhibitions.
In esports, where video game competitions are considered sporting events, there are more and more elite Japanese athletes appearing on the world stage, and the number of spectators and viewership at tournament continues to grow to levels comparable to real major sports. As a leading company in this field, we pioneered esports initiatives, providing new ways to enjoy and engage in sports through games. Over the years we have provided competition titles for various tournaments organized by international sports federations and hosted numerous world championships in an effort to promote esports to a wider audience.
At JAPAN ESPORTS CONNECT –, a match between professional players and influencers will be held using our football game "eFootball™" as its competition title. Please wait for future announcements regarding the participants, performers, and match rules.
Konami Digital Entertainment will continue to deliver the fun of esports to its customers through its esports initiatives.
| Name: | JAPAN ESPORTS CONNECT – |
|---|---|
| Date: | Wednesday, July 23 – Thursday, July 24, 2025 |
| Time: | 12:00pm - 8:00pm (tentative, both days) |
| Venue: | EXPO Messe "WASSE" Event Hall South Side |
| Reservations: | Not required |
| Organizer: | Japan eSports Union |
| URL: | https://jesu.or.jp/expo2025/ |
[About KONAMI's esports initiatives]
KONAMI hold esports tournaments in Japan and overseas that utilize our game contents.. The eFootball™ series has been featured in the competition title for exhibition matches at the 18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang, the Culture Program at the Inter-Prefectural Esports Championship, and the FIFAe World Cup hosted by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and it is attracting attention as a competition title both in Japan and overseas. The Powerful Pro Baseball series was selected as the competition title for the international tournaments Olympic Virtual Series 2021 and Olympic eSports Series 2023 hosted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and "WBSC eBASEBALL™ POWER PROS" was selected as the competition title for the Hughan WBSC ePremier 12 2024 hosted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), in an effort to combine esports and real sports and expand the genre. In addition, the "Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game" has been a staple of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship since 2003. The mobile game "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links" was added to the World Championship in 2017, followed by "Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel" in 2023, gaining popularity as an esport.
[About eFootball™]
eFootball™ has been played by football fans around the world since its launched in 1995 as “Winning Eleven”, and the total number of copies sales and downloads now exceeds 900 million. Players can enjoy a variety of content in eFootball™; In “Dream Team” Mode, they can build their own original team, choosing from players lighting up the scoreboards in real matches, superstars active in major leagues or legends who have made their mark in football history; in “Co-op”, they can experience the thrill of competing online with their friends in 3-on-3 matches. In addition, eFootball™ has been used as a competition title in various esports tournaments both in Japan and overseas, spreading the joy of football digitally around the world.
eFootball™ official website: https://www.konami.com/efootball/ja/
Official X account: @we_konami