2009 News

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December

  • December 30, 2009: Town Hall Meeting

HKO NA: Come join GM_MorningBell at 5:30 PM server time in the Florapolis chat room for a town hall meeting. You can come and ask questions, or just hang out. A random attendee will win a special Christmas house item! See you then!

And a warm season’s greetings to everyone from Sanrio Digital and the Hello Kitty Online Team! We want to thank all our players for spending their holidays with us, especially to those who participated in our main event last December 23, 2009. We are pleased to announce that the event was a success, and it was truly heartwarming to see so many players cooperating and sharing the items they’ve received to others.

Santa’s work was going smoothly and Mr. Jinch was having fun with all his pranks, but suddenly there was an unexpected turn of events in Hello Kitty Online!

Rare Fruits at the Dream Shop
It’s the Holiday Season, and it appears that Rare Fruits have become quite the commodity. Rare Fruits are, as the name implies, extremely rare. With a little patience, you can harvest enough of what you need from the Mystery Seeds to finish your quests.

During the global Founders’ Beta stage of Hello Kitty Online, a guild-based event called "Food for Friends" was held to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Food for Friends gave players an opportunity to give for a good cause through their in-game efforts, and the event proved to be a major success. And now, for this year’s Holiday Season, HKO celebrates the spirit of giving by bringing back this event for another round!

Hello Kitty’s “Holiday Capers & Celebrations” December 18-28!
‘Tis the season for celebrations! The streets of Hello Kitty Online are adorned with festive decorations, the holiday spirit is in the air, and everyone is busy preparing for the big day. From December 18 to December 28, 2009, players of Hello Kitty Online from all over the world can get together with their friends to enjoy a very special in-game event celebrating the holiday season.

  • December 13, 2009: Item Mall Maintenance

HKO NA: On December 13, 2009 the item mall will be down for maintenance from 9:00 PM server time through 11:00 PM server time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

  • December 8, 2009: Server Maintenance

HKO NA: At 7 PM server time today (December 8th) the servers will be down for maintenance. We thank you for your patience in this process.

November

  • November 28, 2009: Town Hall Meeting

On November 28th, 2009 come hang out with GMPirate at the London Chatting Room at 8pm server time (Eastern Time) It's your opportunity to hang out, socialize, and discuss all things HKO!

  • November 25, 2009: Emergency Patch Today

HKO NA: Emergency patch today! There will be an emergency patch today to fix the Tailor Made quest bug. Currently it does not recognize double-stitched shirts in a player's inventory. More information to come, please check back.

  • November 23, 2009: Patch Update

HKO NA: There will be a patch tonight that will be removing the Party Master NPC from all cities. In addition to the Party Master being removed, monster strength has been tweaked to be more manageable, and sellback prices have also been raised for some items and crops!

  • November 21, 2009: Mascot Slippers Sent out

HKO NA: Mascot slippers have been sent out to both guilds! Sailor Scouts members received Hello Kitty slippers Monte Python members received Keroppi slippers

MMORPG.com released today an exclusive interview with two members of the Hello Kitty Online team. Game Designer Abby Reyes and VP of Business Development and Publishing Robert Ferrari offered some updates regarding the latest news in HKO as well as an exciting peek of what’s to come!

  • November 15, 2009: Town Hall Meeting

HKO NA: Meet GM_MorningBell and your fellow players to discuss all things Hello Kitty Online! Meeting takes place in the Florapolis Chatting Room at 6pm server time (EST)

Hello Kitty Online has gone live on the Philippines! Level Up!, one of the country’s leading publisher of online games opened their servers yesterday, November 11 at 15:00 (3pm) GMT +8 to throngs of excited Hello Kitty fans.

Patch Next Week
HKO NA: There will be a patch early next week that will be removing the Party Master NPC from all cities. This means after the patch you will no longer be able to buy any limited-edition 35th Anniversary items from the Party Master using birthday tokens. Please spend your birthday tokens if you'd like any remaining birthday items!!

State of Play HKO NA: Hello, players! Now that we're solidly into Open Beta and seeing more and more of you online, we would like to update you on what we are focusing on in Hello Kitty Online! Currently, we are working with the developers, Sanrio Digital, to get some changes finalized before we transition from Open Beta to launch. First things first: There is no planned wipe of the servers when we launch. We mean to have all of your characters, possessions, and guilds be intact when the game launches!

Hi everyone, it’s me again, Abby, writing on behalf of the Hello Kitty Online development team for our Developer Diary. I have a few updates and news to share with you.

  • November 9, 2009: GS Event Suggestions Event!

HKO NA: WHAT IS IT? A simple event to get suggestions for in-game events that GameSages can run! Most of the suggestions in the current thread are really good, but require higher-level help, like GMs, Aeria, or even Sanrio Digital developer support. GameSages are normal players, so we need ideas that anyone could use! HOW DO I WIN?

  • If a GameSage decides to use your event idea, you'll get a prize shortly after the event is completed!
  • The GameSage might tweak your idea -- details, event titles, prizes, etc -- but if your idea is the one that started it, then you'll still get a prize!
  • A list of winners and winning events will be available in another thread once people start winning. Event ends December 31, 2009.
  • November 8, 2009: Town Hall Meeting

HKO NA: On November 8, 2009 come hang out with GM_MorningBell at Pinkuru's house (Florapolis) at 7 pm server time. It's a time to just hang out, chat, and discuss all things HKO. See you there!

If you can’t get enough of the minigames on Hello Kitty Online, here’s a game that’s just right for you! “Jungle Jumper” is the latest addition to the arsenal of flash games that you can play right here on SanrioTown.

Blogging about your adventures in Hello Kitty Online is one of the many fun activities you can do in the game. Did you know that you can post images of your farm and house directly into your SanrioTown blog?

35th Anniversary Marathon!
HKO NA: To celebrate 35 years of Hello Kitty, we're running another marathon! The prize for this event is the much-coveted Balloon Kids (1993) handheld item. This item was a prize from the giant pinata that was broken during Hello Kitty's birthday party and will be awarded to the first 50 finishers in the marathon! The event will start inside the Sanrio Harbour Sunbright Express station at 8pm server time (Eastern time.) You are advised to get there 5-10 minutes early for the headcount and have time to warm up before the race starts! The finish line is at South Secret Peak, in the Stonehenge area at the top of the map.

Looking forward to seeing everybody there! Disclaimer: we realize that high volumes of players in the same area makes some folks more prone to lag and disconnecting. We apologize if this causes you to lose your place during the course of the event.

YouTube Video

HKO Malaysia and Singapore is holding a special event for new players that log in on Wednesday, November 4, between 10pm to 12am GMT+8.

Town Hall Meeting
HKO NA: On November 4, 2009 come hang out with GM_MorningBell & GMPirate at the Florapolis chat room at 9 pm server time. It's a time to just hang out, chat, and discuss all things HKO. See you there!

Maintenance 2 AM Server Time
HKO NA: There will be a short maintenance tonight at 2 AM server time (Eastern time) as we take down the birthday decorations from Hello Kitty's 35th Anniversary celebration. The Party Master will still be in the game for a few more days selling items, and the birthday tokens will still be in your inventories. However, the pinatas, birthday quests, games, and party clown are going away. We hope you enjoyed the 35th anniversary events as much as we did! Make sure to check out the GM events for your final chances to win limited edition items and tokens!

This is definitely the biggest party to hit Hello Kitty Online to date! Hundreds of players around the world flocked to London to celebrate Hello Kitty’s 35th birthday in Hello Kitty Online. It was definitely one for the books!

I <3 HKO 35th Anniversary Edition
Aeria: It's time for another round of I <3 HKO!!! In celebration of Hello Kitty's birthday on November 1st we're dedicating the month of November to I <3 HKO, 35th Anniversary Edition! Here's what you need to do:

Take a photo of yourself with a sign that legibly states I <3 Hello Kitty Online while completing the objectives below. Have fun and show off your creativity! Try to get as many completed as you can, remember prizes are up for grabs! This event will last until November 30th when we will tally all of the points and find our winners!

Our beloved Hello Kitty is celebrating her 35th Birthday today, and things are getting busy in preparation for tonight’s big event in Hello Kitty Online! Get a chance to see our celebrant walk the streets of London in our big birthday bash, and be sure to get your party clothes on!

Hello Kitty's Birthday Video
Here is a video Rikki made of the HK Birthday celebration. If you weren't there, watch it to see what happened!

October

  • October 29, 2009: Hello Kitty's Birthday Party!

HKO NA: Come join us for Hello Kitty's birthday party in London! Hello Kitty's birthday is November 1st, and in her honor your GMs are hosting a birthday party in her hometown, London! On November 1st come to London at 7 PM server time (4 PM PDT). GMPirate will be there waiting for everyone to join! Wear your favorite Hello Kitty items! The birthday party will include a fun scavenger hunt game, and a giant birthday pinata, which will take everyone's help to explode! It drops extra-special rare items too! We hope to see you there for the fun. Come and with Hello Kitty a happy birthday in style!!

Note: Everyone can join Hello Kitty's birthday party! However, after the event ends (and the giant pinata has been pulverized) we will take a log of all players who are wearing four or more birthday items (four or more items that are equipped that have been purchased with birthday tokens, or won from pinatas). All players who meet this requirement will receive a special item in the item delivery tab next week! Please make sure your account is linked properly to receive your gift!

  • October 28, 2009: Server Maintenance 11:30 PM Server Time

HKO NA: The servers will be going down at 11:30 PM server time (8:30 PDT) for an emergency maintenance patch. We appreciate your patience and will update this announcement when the server is back online.

Server is Back up!
The server went back up around 1 AM server time. According to GM_MorningBell the maintenance was to fix the bingo bugs, however many country errors were also fixed with this new patch. So if you had a country error, see if you can get on!

The past few weeks have been insightful to us, as we’ve gathered some feedback and suggestions about recent updates to the game, and are amazed at the urgency by which certain concerns were raised. This, above everything, tells us how devoted our players are to Hello Kitty Online.

Trick or Treat!
It’s getting close to the spookiest holiday of the year! We’re going to celebrate Halloween HKO style! Here’s how it works: We’re going to trick or treat! In preparation for the fun event, you can help us gather materials and earn a exclusive costume in return! We’ll need a selection of food items, some thread, and some gathered items to work on sewing up some neat costumes and putting together some great treats! By 3:00 PM server time(12PM PDT) on October 29 have screenshots posted to this thread of the following items in your inventory:

In return, you will receive a Halloween costume to wear trick or treating. Please specify the Pumpkin costume or the Skeleton costume. On October 30 we will trick-or-treat! (We know it’s a bit early, but we want you to enjoy IRL trick-or-treating too!) At 8:30 PM server time(5:30 PDT), walk around the maps in and near Florapolis. If you find a GM dressed in a Halloween costume and open a trade, you will get a treat! But beware, every 13th trade will receive a trick! Players dressed in a Halloween costume (from the previous days’ event, or created by themselves) will be rewarded for their extra effort!

  • October 22, 2009: Welcome to Open Beta!

HKO NA: Hurrah! Open beta has arrived! Please note that if you have the HKO closed beta client, you DO NOT need to download HKO again. Your client will automatically patch. We have quite a few OB events, so be sure to check to forums for them!

Hello Kitty’s birthday is almost here! Starting today, Hello Kitty Online will be hosting a massive event where fans all over the world can get together with their friends to celebrate, have fun, and get limited-edition virtual items, all in preparation for the big day on November 1, 2009!

Our plans for world domination continues! Sanrio fans in Thailand will soon be able to enjoy Hello Kitty Online as C2 Vision Co., Ltd, a leading PC game distributor and developer in the country brings the cuteness of Hello Kitty and her friends to the region!

  • October 12, 2009: Beta Founder Forum Icons!

Aeria: File:Beta Founder Icon.png Beta Founder forum icons have been implemented! If you were involved in the Founders Beta or Closed Beta you will receive a Beta Founder forum icon!

  • October 7, 2009: Crop Circle Winner

HKO NA: Congratulations to Nankosh [IGN: Claudia] for your wonderful farm screenshot! Nankosh has won a Level 16 Farm for Open Beta!

September

It’s time to reward the hard work and achievements of our loyal beta testers! Several events were held during the Sanrio Digital beta runs. The winners of these Beta events are eligible for rewards in Hello Kitty Online’s North American version, available at http://hko.aeriagames.com.

The game is on! European and Filipino players will be having a ball as Hello Kitty Online opens its servers in Europe and the Philippines! Burda: publisher of HKO Europe and Level Up Games: publisher of HKO Philippines, today announced the launch of HKO in their regions. Click to read the official announcements: HKO European Launch and HKO Open Beta Philippines.

Created by Glyth on the 24th, before we knew about the official one. Link here

  • September 23, 2009: Kittypedia

The Hello Kitty Online Wiki link was officially posted on the HKO forums for public access after being created on the 22 of March.

  • September 20, 2009: End of CB Extravaganza!

HKO NA: Thank you all for participating in Closed Beta. Please be sure to keep checking for news of Open Beta on the website and forums!

  • September 16, 2009: CB Servers Updated

HKO NA: See Patch Notes.

Hello Kitty Online receives another positive review, this time from Examiner! Tucson Video Game Examiner Tara Foulkrod took a peek at the North American closed beta of Hello Kitty Online and she liked what she saw.

Hello Kitty Online has conquered North America! September 1, 2009 marked the beginning of HKO craze in the country as Aeria Games: the exclusive publisher of the game in NA, announced the start of the HKO Closed Beta in their region. An overwhelming and increasing number of enthusiastic fans have registered and are still signing up to join and enjoy Hello Kitty Online.

August

  • August 29, 2009: Closed Beta Almost Here!

Closed Beta for Hello Kitty Online North America is almost here! Sign up, quickly.

One of the unique aspects of Hello Kitty Online is the integration of online social networking services. We are now improving that further! We are expanding Hello Kitty Online’s blogging features through Adventurer’s Journal: an in-game feature that allows players to post real time blog entries about their farms and houses.

This month’s SanrioTown event features Bubble Catcher, a very special HKO-themed minigame where players can catch HKO pets to win the game! Only a week since its release, and our players have already shown just how much skill they have by pushing the high scores way up!

Hello Kitty Online is now in Southeast Asia, and we invite all our fans and players from Singapore and Malaysia to join the fun! Starting today at exactly 12:00 (GMT+8), Gloot.net will be hosting their Commercial Preview for HKO. This launch serves as their Open Beta, where players will be able to access the Item Mall and enjoy special events led by the Game Masters.

July

  • July 31, 2009: Sign up Now!

Accepting applications for HKO North America now!!

The wait is almost over for our players and fans from North America! Aeria Games, the exclusive publisher of Hello Kitty Online in North America, is now accepting registrations for their upcoming Closed Beta! Visit the official website for HKO North America to sign up for this highly-anticipated launch.

The Open Beta of Hello Kitty Online in Singapore and Malaysia will be starting August 5, 2009! We invite everyone from the region to join in the fun, as the GMs are planning some special events for all the players!

SanrioTown just released a new theme for all our bloggers, and this time it’s featuring a map that we’re sure all of our HKO players are familiar with — Sanrio Harbour! This map marks the start of the adventures in Sanrio Land, so new and veteran players alike will surely find this theme endearing.

The Philippines is now in on the Hello Kitty Online fun! HKO Philippines, which is published by Level Up! Games, will be having their very own Founders’ Beta soon, and they’re inviting people to be part of the first group to enter Sanrio Land through the Philippine portal. Fans in the region can visit the official registration page and find out how they can get a chance to join the upcoming Founders’ Beta!

The first commercial final release of Hello Kitty Online is now live in Indonesia! GOGAME, the exclusive publisher of Hello Kitty Online in Indonesia, announced the game’s commercial launch on July 1, 2009. Fans in the region can now enjoy all the features of Hello Kitty Online, including the Item Mall system, in the final launch build of the game.

June

They are cute, cuddly, a handful at times and energetic. Your pets will accompany you throughout your travels and quests. Aside from being good company, they can help you by providing bonuses such as added defense, stamina, health, inventory space and much more!

They’re onto us! The clever folks at Massively have put the puzzle pieces together, and uncovered our plans of world domination! And yes, it’s true: Hello Kitty Online is working on conquering Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, Europe, and North America. And, soon, the rest of the world!

Hello Kitty Online is on today’s edition of My Paper, a popular cosmopolitan newspaper in Singapore. The article features an interview of one of our SanrioTown users, Starfirre7.

Hello Kitty Online is covering even more ground, as Sanrio Digital and Oriented Games announce the upcoming Closed Beta launch of the game in Singapore and Malaysia in July 2009! Players from the said regions will soon get to experience the new and improved version of the popular and highly-anticipated MMORPG featuring Hello Kitty and her friends.

Some more good news, this time for our friends in Brazil! In a recent press release, Sanrio Digital and online games publisher GameMaxx announced that they will be bringing Hello Kitty Online to Brazil!

Quests and maps aren’t the only new things that you would find when the game comes back. The next release of Hello Kitty Online will feature hundreds of new items and customization options!

We’ve been spending a lot of time reworking many aspects of Hello Kitty Online but we’ve been paying particular attention to the quests. After many hours of brainstorming and hundreds of lines written, we’ve come up with completely new quests that you’ll be sure to enjoy!

May

As you know, the Hello Kitty Online Team has been working to improve the game based on your feedback, and thanks to you HKO has come a long way since its first Closed Beta. So, starting today, we’ll be walking you through some of the major changes and improvements to the game, the ones you’ll be seeing for yourself soon when the game launches!

April

In a press conference held at Club XXI Djakarta Theater last April 22, 2009, Sanrio Digital and GOGAME announced the launch of Hello Kitty Online and SanrioTown in Indonesia, signing a symbolic cooperative agreement to mark the official start of their partnership in developing Hello Kitty Online in the country. The event was attended by partners, friends and media, while selected users from SanrioTown were also invited.

As a special treat for all our readers, we bring you this brand new 3D trailer for Hello Kitty Online! Whether you’re a beta tester or new to the game, we’re sure you’ll enjoy watching this exciting video showcasing the magic of Sanrio Land.

Some more great news, this time it’s for Hello Kitty fans in Indonesia! Sanrio Digital and GOGAME are performing a soft launch of SanrioTown Indonesia, opening its servers to the public starting today, April 2, 2009. This “soft-launch” will be used to test the site’s features and systems to iron out any problems before the official launch of the site.

March

Great news for all the fans of Hello Kitty Online from North America! Sanrio Digital and Aeria Games & Entertainment Inc., a US based online games publisher, announced the launch of HKO in North America. The announcement was made at the 2009 Game Developer Conference®, held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center from March 23-27.

Calling on the leaders and representatives of the 3 winning guilds for our Helping Hearts charity event! We will be sending the questions for the guild interviews soon, so please send us an email at hkoevent{at}hellokitty.com so we will know who to send the questionnaire to. Please include your character name, email address and the name of the guild you are representing.

Sanrio Digital recently received an unexpected surprise from the children who received the bags and shirts you selflessly worked for during our Helping Hearts charity event. Of course, none of this would have been possible without you, our dear players, so now we'd like to share with you a few scanned images of the thank you cards we received from the Po Leung Kuk residential child care unit.

As a direct result of your efforts in the Helping Hearts charity event, Sanrio Digital donated 183 shirts, 84 bags to the Po Leung Kuk residential child care unit.

We’d like to congratulate and thank everyone who participated in the Helping Hearts special charity event. Each item you crafted and donated is deeply appreciated, and we would like to take this time to recognize all our donors for their generous contributions.

February

Thanks to everyone’s support, Hello Kitty Online got 4th place in the “Most Anticipated Game” category of the 2008 MMOsite’s Reader’s Choice Award. This is truly an amazing feat considering the competition, and we know we wouldn’t make it there without everyone here who supported us. Thank you for voting for us!

During Happy Hearts, we had a series of quests that gave players a chance to find Cupid, save Valentine's Day, and win their very own plush doll from Sanrio's "The World of Hello Kitty" collection. Many raced to be among the first five to finish the quests, and now without further ado, here are your winners!

Happy Hearts is now over!
As of February 22, 2009 at 23:00 Eastern Standard Time, the doors of Hello Kitty Online are now closed to make way for further improvements. Founders and other Sanriotown members will no longer be able to log-in until our next launch.

We know how hard you have all been working to craft shirts and bags for our in-game charity event "Helping Hearts", so we've decided to give you a well-earned boost! As of right now, each Helping Hearts Charity Item is worth three (3) real-life items. That means that every in-game bag or shirt you craft will become a real gift for three children! Just don’t forget to submit your items to a GM at the end of the event!

In line with our beta testing, we would like to share with you some new minigames that we are preparing for Hello Kitty Online. Based on comments from previous betas, we’ve come up with new minigames that are more addictive, challenging, and most of all, fun! To start off, here is our very own Tuxedosam, who needs your help catching some fish!

Following the success of the Founders' Beta event "Food for Friends", Hello Kitty Online proudly announces "Helping Hearts", in which players have another chance to turn in-game effort into real assistance for those in need.

Good news for fans of Hello Kitty Online: the current beta preview of HKO has been extended for 5 days! Hello Kitty Online will be open until 23:00 (EST) on Sunday February 22, 2009. If you haven’t played yet, there’s still time!

Happy Hearts is almost over, and our players wasted no time finishing the Valentine's quests. We're pleased to announce that we now have our 5 winners for the race to help Cupid, but before we announce them, here are the items they will be receiving!

As of February 14, 2009 at 20:00 (8pm) EST, the doors of Hello Kitty Online have been opened to the public for a 3-day stress test! Non-Founders from SanrioTown can now join in the fun and see just what the excitement is all about, in the new and improved version of HKO!

A problem with the HKO installer can result in a desktop shortcut for HKO that does not launch the game. If your game won’t start, please download and run the Client Shortcut Hotfix and follow the instructions.

Our Valentine’s celebration has finally begun, and you know what that means! The birds are singing, the air is fresh and lovers snuggle like nobody’s business — Wait, no they’re not. Where are the birds? Why does the air feel normal? Where’s the love? Something’s not right in Sanrio Land! Cupid needs your help!

HKO Happy Hearts Officially Launched!
The world's cutest MMORPG is back! As of February 12, 2009 at 22:00 EST, the Hello Kitty Online "Happy Hearts" Valentine's event is now officially underway! Founders of HKO can now log into the game and embark on a race to save Cupid.

Farming guide now available
As mentioned before, we’ve made a lot of improvements to the gameplay, and among these changes is the new farming system. Some of you probably remember the old farming system from Founders’ Beta, so if you find yourself a little lost, we’ve made a basic farming guide to help you get started!

The official Hello Kitty Online Download Center is now up and running, so Founders and other Sanriotown members can now start downloading! Simply follow the instructions on the page, and you will be one step closer to our Valentine’s event “Happy Hearts“!

Do you know someone who wants to try HKO? On February 14-17, 2009, everyone will be able to log in and enjoy the “Happy Hearts” HKO Valentine’s Day event.

January

February is the Month of Love, and we invite all Founders to celebrate the joy and love of Valentine’s Day in Hello Kitty Online! From February 12-17, 2009, HKO will host Happy Hearts, an exclusive Founders-only event in which players can get together once more with their friends, take on exciting new quests, and be first to experience some major enhancements to the game!

Kung Hei Fat Choi! A very happy Chinese New Year to everyone! May the Year of the Golden Ox be prosperous and bring good health and good fortune for you and your family and friends!

Our developers have been working hard on major improvements to the game based on the suggestions of Beta players. Here are some of the enhancements coming in the Open Beta.

We are proud to announce that the top 4 donors in our Founders’ Beta event “Food for Friends” are now immortalized in the official Hello Kitty Online website! You can navigate to the page on the official website by selecting “Events Archive” under “Community”, and then selecting the Food for Friends button. Note: this website is no longer available.

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