Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. to Host Japan Qualifiers for Heughan ePremier 12 at Tokyo Game Show 2024

September 13, 2024 11:30

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce that the Japan qualifiers to determine the players who will compete in the Heughan ePremier 12, a global baseball eSports tournament, will be held at Tokyo Game Show 2024 on Sunday, September 29th.

“Heughan WBSC ePremier12 2024” is a world esports tournament hosted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and featuring the official WBSC baseball game “WBSC eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Baseball” released by our company as the competition title. The finals to determine the world champion of baseball esports are scheduled to be held at Tokyo Dome in late November in conjunction with the international baseball tournament “Premier12”, also hosted by WBSC.

The qualifying tournament for “Heughan ePremier 12” is currently being held around the world. On Sunday, September 29th, the “ePremier 12 Japan Representative Championship & Exhibition Match” is scheduled to be held on the stage of the Konami Digital Entertainment booth at “Tokyo Game Show 2024”. Online qualifying is being held from the “Championship” mode in the “WBSC eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Baseball” game until Monday, September 16th, so please join us.

Heughan ePremier 12 | WBSC eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Baseball Official Website

From September to October, top players from around the world will be selected in Mexico, Chinese Taipei, the United States, Europe and other locations.

The opening round of “Heughan ePremier 12” will be held in the United States and Chinese Taipei from late October. The final will be held at the Tokyo Dome in November in conjunction with “Premier 12”.

Konami Digital Entertainment will continue to work with its partners to promote the appeal of esports to the world and work to further expand the number of esports fans.

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)

WBSC, the world governing body for baseball and softball, is headquartered in Pully, near Lausanne, Switzerland. It represents 207 national federations and associate members in 137 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania, and coordinates the sport of baseball and softball, which attracts more than 65 million athletes and approximately 150 million spectators to stadiums annually. WBSC oversees all international competitions in which official national teams participate, including the Premier12, Baseball World Cup (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women), Softball World Cup (U-15 Women, U-18 Women, U-18 Men, U-23 Men, Women and Men), Baseball5 (Senior Youth World Cup), world championships for esports, and is also the governing body for baseball, softball and Baseball5 in the Olympic Games.

About our baseball esports initiatives

Since 2016, the company has been working to expand and revitalize e-sports, such as by hosting a national tournament for the “Powerful Pro Baseball” series. In 2017, the company also worked to promote regional development using e-sports, such as cooperating with the “Ehime e-baseball Tournament,” a cultural program for the Ehime National Athletic Meet. Since 2018, the company has been hosting a professional e-sports league in collaboration with the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB), and is working with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) to expand the baseball population around the world. The “Powerful Pro Baseball” series has been selected as a competitive title and is being played in the international tournaments “Olympic Virtual Series 2021” and “Olympic e-Sports Series 2023,” both of which are hosted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

WBSC eBASEBALL Powerful Professional Baseball Product Information

Title: WBSC eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Baseball

Manufacturer’s name: KONAMI

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 100 yen (tax included)

Distribution language: Japanese, English

Number of players: Nintendo Switch: TV mode 1-4 people, table mode 1-4 people, portable mode 1 person

PS4: 1 to 4 players (1 player online)

Notes: To participate in the “Championship” mode in the game software on PS4, you must subscribe to PS Plus (paid). To participate from the Switch version, you must subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online (paid).

Official licensed video game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation

“eBaseball” and “eBASEBALL” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Japan and/or other countries or regions.