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Massively Multiplayer Hello Kitty

Thanks (I guess) to GameGossip for the news that SanrioWave Software is planning a Hello Kitty Massively Multiplayer Game. From the article: "The game will give players access to up to three characters, each customizable, and will include 15 different occupations, and five shops in which players can make in-game progress. Hello Kitty Online World will carry an subscription fee of sorts when launched throughout Asia later this year." The official game site is also available for perusal.

59 comments

  1. My idea of a Hello Kitty MMO... by mbourgon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Combine two popular franchises, and you get...

    Hello Kitty 40K

    --
    "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    1. Re:My idea of a Hello Kitty MMO... by FLAGGR · · Score: 2, Funny

      You're getting this page because someone tried to link directly to an image or sound on my site. I'm glad you like the stuff I have. Really. But I am not here to serve as your personal server. My stuff is here as part of my pages. You can link to the pages, and use it from there, but if you attempt a direct link, you will be denied. If you really want to use something, the Johnny Cash ad being the most common, you can put it on your own server and link to that.

      See, the owner doesn't want to be /.'ed, you insensitive clod!

      /me visits the site a few more times and downloads some stuff for good measure

    2. Re:My idea of a Hello Kitty MMO... by arcanumas · · Score: 4, Informative
      You link does not work because the site checks the referer to prevent this kind of direct linking.

      Either go to:
      http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~kamikaze/Sanrio/ and click on the link from there , or get it with wget:

      wget http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~kamikaze/Sanrio/image s/HK40K.jpg --referer=http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~kamikaze/Sa nrio/
      --
      Slashdot Sig. version 0.1alpha. Use at your own risk.
    3. Re:My idea of a Hello Kitty MMO... by Poseidon88 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      You link does not work because the site checks the referer to prevent this kind of direct linking.

      Ironic, because the page is full of direct links to images and media on other sites.

    4. Re:My idea of a Hello Kitty MMO... by Anubis350 · · Score: 2, Funny

      personally I want to see hello kitty combined with Halo. They wouldnt stand a chance

      --
      "goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
  2. Let me be the first to say... by hunterx11 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I am at a total loss for words. The only thing I can say is that this is only possible...

    ...IN JAPAN!

    --
    English is easier said than done.
  3. SWEET by FLAGGR · · Score: 1

    This is the MMO ive been waiting for. Those kittys are so furry ! Thank those japanesse geniuses.

  4. Hello Kitty 4000 by centauri · · Score: 5, Funny

    In the grim future of Hello Kitty there is only war.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Durga.
    1. Re:Hello Kitty 4000 by wed128 · · Score: 1

      when i read this, i laughed so hard my stomach hurt...

    2. Re:Hello Kitty 4000 by centauri · · Score: 2, Informative

      Here you go, then:

      http://www.40k.ca/imperialguard/hk40k.gif

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Durga.
    3. Re:Hello Kitty 4000 by Laxitive · · Score: 1

      Sometimes, pictures don't have anything on the evocative purity of a simple phrase.

      I read your first post, read it again, cracked a huge grin, and repeated it to myself in different voice impressions about 20 times :)

      First it was a voice imitating the narrator voice on the intro to the original Law & Order series ("In the criminal justice system, there are ...").

      Next I imagined it with a more "grave" voice that might be used for a trailer narration of some sci-fi war flick.

      Then I giggled like a little girl for about 5 minutes straight. Still am.

      All of which is a long way of saying: great post. You brightened my day, but the impression from the picture isn't nearly as good as the impression from the post.

      -Laxitive

    4. Re:Hello Kitty 4000 by centauri · · Score: 1

      Happy to oblige.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Durga.
  5. This could work... by Gothic_Walrus · · Score: 4, Insightful
    There is a possibility that this could work. Hello Kitty has been huge in Japan for ages, and games like The Sims Online or A Tale In The Desert have performed decently.

    And lest we forget, NeoPets is still insanely popular with younger kids...the demographic of this game.

    I wouldn't be caught dead playing it, but if it will make a little girl in Japan happy, it's served its purpose.

    --
    Goo goo g'joob.
    1. Re:This could work... by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 2, Funny

      "but if it will make a little girl in Japan happy, it's served its purpose."

      if i make a little girl in japan happy, have *I* served my purpose? yes, i have.

      --
      1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
    2. Re:This could work... by mink · · Score: 1

      Neopets are still insanely popular with adults as well.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
    3. Re:This could work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...but if it will make a little girl in Japan happy, it's served its purpose.

      Sanrio is really committed to making little girls happy. Just look at this little item.

      (Anonymous. Yes, I think so.)

  6. Digital by DJKC · · Score: 1

    Seems like Sanrio is reaching out more into the digital world lately. First Hello Kitty gets her own blog (warning: in Japanese so if you don't read moon language and/or hate cuteness don't click) and now her own MMORPG. I'm probably going to have to play it. I'm guessing I'm in the minority since it'll be my first MMORPG and I'm a white, male, 23 year old. Oh well, yay cuteness (image is from her blog - moblog? it has pictures for each entry... I didn't read that article about them last week so I'm not up on the terminology ^^;)

  7. From the site... by cjpez · · Score: 4, Funny
    These Sanrio characters are the only ones not controlable by you. They are the main theme and "God" of one Nation. For example, in Hello Kitty World, Hello Kitty reigns supreme as the overseer of the land. With her guidance, love and happiness is abound and people are able to live in the cute land of Kitty Kingdom in Hello Kitty World. Hello Kitty will be there during your important occasions to bless and help you. Hello Kitty will also arrive to give guidance and new missions to residents of her world.
    I dunno, that just sounds really damn freaky to me.
    1. Re:From the site... by Tyrdium · · Score: 1

      Hello Kitty holy wars?

    2. Re:From the site... by Farmer+Jimbo · · Score: 1

      No, that's coming out as a sepertate expansion.

    3. Re:From the site... by MayonakaHa · · Score: 1

      Before Hello Kitty 40K, the holy wars were just beginning. The Bishops of Batz rebelled against the overlords of Hello Kitty World and it's evil dictator, Hello Kitty herself. Welcome to.... Hello Jihad!

    4. Re:From the site... by ronfar · · Score: 0
      Well, this helps make sense of it:

      The Misadventures of Hello Cthulhu

      Ia, Ia, Hello Kitty phtagn!

      --
      All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  8. Question by cuteseal · · Score: 4, Funny

    So... the big question is - can Kittys PK each other?

    1. Re:Question by Zugok · · Score: 2, Funny

      dude, you have it wrong, it's KK each other

      --
      "I just can't sit while people are saying nonsense in a meeting without saying it's nonsense" J Watson, Sci Am 288:(4)51
  9. So what's this all about? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 5, Funny

    A Hello Kitty MMORPG?

    Role-playing little kids in a sweatshop making pink and white toys and accessories for little girls?

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    1. Re:So what's this all about? by DJKC · · Score: 2, Funny

      And for guys. At least, I assume the Hello! Kitty (and otehr Sanrio character) condoms are intended for little girls... I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they're going to leave that sort of licensed Sanrio product out of this game though.

    2. Re:So what's this all about? by DJKC · · Score: 1

      aren't. aren't *sigh* and I previewed that too. end of the work day...

  10. Life-leech Kitty by {8_8} · · Score: 4, Funny

    From the official page:

    Feeding (instruction)
    The Player must remember to feed his or her pet every day after the Angel has grown beyond the infancy stage. If this is neglected, the relationship between the Player and the Angel will drop and the Angel would take the Player's life bit by bit until it goes out of control.


    I envision a server full of cute, maniacal, life-sucking kittens and frogs.

    "Sure, Wiggles may be slowly draining my life essence, but isn't he just the cutesOH MY EYES HE RIPPED OUT MY EYES!"

    Hilarity ensues.

    1. Re:Life-leech Kitty by DJKC · · Score: 1

      [quote]
      I envision a server full of cute, maniacal, life-sucking kittens and frogs.
      [/quote]

      Sounds fun to me. Soundtrack preferably by lolipop groups like BerryZ Koubou, Perfume, SweetS, Route0, Pipo's Angels, etc etc. Can easily imagine the voices of the girls from BerryZ Koubou singing lines like "We welcome this happiness tonight" as the background music while a cute little bunny eats your character's soul. It'd be adorable.

    2. Re:Life-leech Kitty by ricotest · · Score: 1

      The Player must remember to feed his or her pet every day after the Angel has grown beyond the infancy stage.

      Oh great. Wean them on an enforced once-a-day checkup or they start losing the game. Before you know it, they'll be on the streets peddling their nubile bodies for next month's subscription cash.

    3. Re:Life-leech Kitty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Woohoo!

    4. Re:Life-leech Kitty by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 1

      Life sucking + Hello Kitty?
      How about The Misadventures Of Hello Cthulu?

      --
      ^_^
  11. Please let this be a joke by node159 · · Score: 1, Troll

    Ohh for the lov of god please! I mean come on, bush is back and now this! What is the world coming too!!!

    --
    GPLv2: I want my rights, I want my phone call! DRM: What use is a phone call, if you are unable to speak?
    1. Re:Please let this be a joke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whoa, an obvious troll with a blatant ortographic error gets an insightful mod?

      Well, at least you didn't post AC (unlike me)

  12. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did anyone else burst into laughter when they read the title?

  13. THIS is the Halo-killer we have been waiting for! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    (jk)

  14. Isn't NEOPETS bad enough? by glowimperial · · Score: 1

    I hope there is KvK combat.

  15. Cutest TOS agreement ever? by CaptKilljoy · · Score: 1

    I have to give Sanrio kudos for what might be the cutest terms-of-service agreement. Almost makes all that lawyerese seem non-threatening.

  16. Good, but... by sbennett · · Score: 2

    I'm still waiting for the Hello Cthulhu MMORPG.

  17. maybe for other things too by eamonman · · Score: 1

    Yup, maybe the City/State officials need to start making their traffic tickets, speeding violations, and jury duty notices with that same light blue colored thatch pattern paper to make people feel at ease. ;) Then I wouldn't feel so weirdly stressed when looking at them. (or maybe I'll become cold and pallid looking at the Hello Kitty website)

    Sanrio should put little gifs of unhappy hello kitty faces next to all the things one shouldn't do (or is that even possible?)

    BTW it is rather funny how they just haphazardly throw User Conduct rules at you.. I mean, harming minors (b.) and "provid[ing] instructional information about illegal activities (n.) are kind of in the same league, but making the conversation windows "scroll too quickly" is wierdly thrown in there as well.

    --
    0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC
  18. Hello... by Moofius.the.Cow · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Hello Festering Den of Pedophiles!

  19. Kitty wants your soul! by Number+110 · · Score: 1
    Reading through I find clips from the manual quoted by different posters.
    These Sanrio characters are the only ones not controlable by you. They are the main theme and "God" of one Nation. For example, in Hello Kitty World, Hello Kitty reigns supreme as the overseer of the land. With her guidance, love and happiness is abound and people are able to live in the cute land of Kitty Kingdom in Hello Kitty World. Hello Kitty will be there during your important occasions to bless and help you. Hello Kitty will also arrive to give guidance and new missions to residents of her world.

    ...

    Feeding (instruction) The Player must remember to feed his or her pet every day after the Angel has grown beyond the infancy stage. If this is neglected, the relationship between the Player and the Angel will drop and the Angel would take the Player's life bit by bit until it goes out of control.

    Why am I left with image of slaves without numbers toiling to build enormous pyramids to their kitty supreme overseers before offering dark sacrifices upon the altars at the top?

    I for one would like to welcome our kitty overlords.

  20. Isn't Hello Kitty some goth thing? by jlefeld · · Score: 1

    I always associated Hello Kitty with something goths were into. That was the first thing I thought about when I saw this title. Anyone else think this?

    1. Re:Isn't Hello Kitty some goth thing? by PedanticSpellingTrol · · Score: 1

      no, that's Happy Bunny(TM) of "mean people suck" fame

    2. Re:Isn't Hello Kitty some goth thing? by usrusr · · Score: 1

      there is a connection, parts of some goth scenes seem to be very much into that japanese-pop-culture thing in their "spare time" from wearing black and pretending to hate people, certainly including hello kitty though probably not as much as that whole sailormoon tentacle complex. and since another important element of j-culture most goths are happily consuming is game console rpgs there will definitely be a "black market" for this. yay for silly puns

      --
      [i have an opinion and i am not afraid to use it]
  21. I'll have to try it since I can't play WoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks to Blizzard's stupid localized server crap. I live in "Latin America" so I don't deserve to spend my money to play an online game.

  22. well there is a goth hello kitty and a Pirate one by cyrax777 · · Score: 1

    as well. But it originaly and still is just some cute mascot that has taken the world by storm.

  23. Seriously though... by Moofius.the.Cow · · Score: 1, Insightful

    ...MMORPGs like this just plain out scare me. Speaking as someone who's MUDded and MMOed for entirely too long of a time, I'd never let a kid in my care (not that there are any, but still) anywhere near an online multiplayer game. I've seen far too many chatroom flamewars, seen little 'girls' scream A/S/L, and done my share of trashtalk on games like Counterstrike. To actively setup a game that's specifically targetting the young and impressionable demographic is just.. not right. Even to market it in Asia, home of the schoolgirl fetish. I'm fairly open-minded in my values, but this sorta thing just plain out disturbs me. Their TOS specifically prohibits harming minors, but it also has the standard corporate CYA legalese thrown in, probably 'just in case'. I wonder what degree of policing will these folks do on their servers? Or how much involvement will Asian parents have in their kids' use of the service? It's ultimately the parent's responsibility for their children, of course, but services like these should be held to some sort of standard, should they not?

  24. Seriously though. by Moofius.the.Cow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gah, formatting. Hello Preview Button!

    ...MMORPGs like this just plain out scare me. Speaking as someone who's MUDded and MMOed for entirely too long of a time, I'd never let a kid in my care (not that there are any, but still) anywhere near an online multiplayer game. I've seen far too many chatroom flamewars, seen little 'girls' scream A/S/L, and done my share of trashtalk on games like Counterstrike.

    To actively setup a game that's specifically targetting the young and impressionable demographic is just.. not right. Even to market it in Asia, home of the schoolgirl fetish. I'm fairly open-minded in my values, but this sorta thing just disturbs me.

    Their TOS specifically prohibits harming minors, but it also has the standard corporate CYA legalese thrown in, probably 'just in case'. I wonder what degree of policing will these folks do on their servers? Or how much involvement will Asian parents have in their kids' use of the service?

    It's ultimately the parent's responsibility for their children, of course, but services like these should be held to some sort of standard, should they not?

    1. Re:Seriously though. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah! Online games are to dangerous for kids. I'd much rather send my kids out to the playground, where they can get asked their age (sex & location are probably already obvious) by pedophiles in person!

  25. Well... by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 1
    If there was ever a franchise that was destined to be milked in this regard in Japan, this would be it. Can't say I'm surprised about it, just shocked that it took this long.

    --
    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  26. oh yay. by ssand · · Score: 1

    Wait till the adolecent leet speakers get into this game. They will most likely be male (although I don't know why they would subscribe to it, but each to his or her own).
    How do you say "My kitty owned you" in leet?

    1. Re:oh yay. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't expect any male adolescents to admit that they play this game, but on the other hand I wouldn't be at all surprised, since it's targeted to girls, and where there are women, men follow.

  27. Yes, it is all wrong .. by RedLaggedTeut · · Score: 1

    Yes, quite informative, it is all wrong ..

    Why didn't they do an MMORPG with Bush and make Hello Kitty U.S. president ? ;-)

    --
    I'm still trying to figure out what people mean by 'social skills' here.
  28. Homework? by randalx · · Score: 1

    The three countries will compete with each other in terms of trade, sports and academic.

    Academics? Hmm this seems like a new idea. Nice way to entice the parents to fork over the monthly fee.

  29. No speaka!! by Axis+of+Weasel · · Score: 0

    How will they talk? Hello kitties have no mouths

    --

    this sig has been discontinued.
  30. Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I, for one, welcome our new feline overlords.

  31. Soon to be seen in the Hello Kitty Forums by saladpuncher · · Score: 2, Funny

    I know the DEVS made some changes to the game with update patch 6 and I think they finally fixed the Badtz-Maru bug where you could take double cute points from mobs that used Enveloping Cute Shields. That's great and I think the people who play Badtz toons will really appreciate it. I think the DEVS have introduced another problem though.
    I finally got my Hello Kitty character up to 21 and I have Cute 3 slotted and Strange Attraction From Asian Girls 4 slotted. We went out Keroppi hunting in the Land of Unholy Pink where I have never had a problem before. We find a huge mob of them gathered around and having a tea party (did they increase mob size as well, 'cause I have never seen them in groups this size!?). So the Pochaccos move in to take agg and we are holding our own when suddenly they drop my Cute Shield and stun me with kisses! How can a +1 mob do stuns and holds now? The DEVS need to seriously reconsider this. I can see Chococat bosses doing these types of mezzes but this is ridiculous. Anyway, I managed to grab about 30k in debt last night from this debacle. Anyone else?

  32. WOW! by GoogolPlexPlex · · Score: 1

    Can't wait. It sounds like there's, like, dozens of things to do in this game!