For those who wanted to attend the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) but weren’t able to, here are some pictures showing the official launching of Hello Kitty Online (HKO) for North America.The event was held from 4-6 September. Press representatives and PAX attendees were able to get firsthand experience of playing HKO at the Aeria Games booth.

HKO NA is available for download at hko.aeriagames.com.

For those who weren’t able to attend the North America launch of Hello Kitty Online (HKO) at the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo last 4-6 September, here’s a little something for you:

It’s the DVD cover of the game!

HKO NA is available for download at hko.aeriagames.com.

Seattle, Wash. (Sept. 3, 2009)—Hello Kitty® Online (HKO) will make its first public debut in North America at the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle, Wash., Sept. 4 – 6. Hello Kitty Online  brings the world of Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends to life in the first free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) based on the global pop-culture icon. Members of the press and PAX attendees are invited to experience a demo of Hello Kitty Online at the Aeria Games booth (# 22).  Hello Kitty Online is currently in closed beta and will transition to open beta later in September.  Hello Kitty Online will be available for free download in North America at hko.aeriagames.com.

“Hello Kitty gaming fans have long been looking for the ideal level of online community and engagement, and Hello Kitty Online delivers that in a format that will thrive as the fan base continues to grow,” said Grant Wei, executive producer, Aeria Games. “We are proud to have the opportunity to bring one of the world’s greatest characters into the free-to-play PC online gaming space via Aeria Game’s high-quality publishing platforms.”

Developed by Sanrio Digital and published in North America by Aeria Games, Hello Kitty Online invites players to create a fully customizable character and engage with other online players in a world rich in adventure and inhabited by more than one hundred original Sanrio characters and other newly-designed creations. Thanks to the innovative social media features of Hello Kitty Online, players are able to share videos, screenshots, blogs and email messages with other players without leaving the game world.

“Hello Kitty Online was designed to be a fun and interactive social gaming experience that brings Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends together in an engaging MMO setting,” said Robert Ferrari, vice president of publishing and business development, Sanrio Digital. “We look forward to bringing Hello Kitty Online and the integrated SanrioTown social networking site to Hello Kitty fans across North America.”

About Aeria Games

Aeria Games is one of the fastest growing publishers of free-to-play online games providing an unrivaled MMO gaming experience to a growing community of more than seven million members. With a diversified portfolio of titles, including the renowned Shaiya, Shin Megami Tensei, and Hello Kitty Online,  Aeria Games is committed to delivering a dynamic gaming experience with high-quality, innovative content combined with unprecedented customer service. Based in Silicon Valley, California, Aeria Games & Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 2006 and has offices in the United States and Germany. More information about Aeria Games & Entertainment can be found at www.aeriagames.com.

About Sanrio Digital

Sanrio Digital is a joint venture between Typhoon Games (HK) Ltd. and Sanrio Wave Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Sanrio Digital is responsible for the expansion of Sanrio intellectual property assets into various digital and online media, leveraging an extensive library of original material that includes world-famous brands such as Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, My Melody and others. For more information, please visit  http://www.sanriodigital.com and http://www.sanriotown.com.

Hi SanrioTown members! This is MorningBell, Community Manager at Aeria Games responsible for the Hello Kitty® Online North American community.  I am writing you because I have an exciting announcement. Closed beta has formally begun for Hello Kitty® Online North America! Please visit http://hko.aeriagames.com/playnow to login or create an Aeria account, and join Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends! We’re looking forward to seeing you in game!

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.

To participate in the commercial preview, sign up for an account at SanrioTown South East Asia, download the client from the Gloot.net download page, and log-in to the game using your SanrioTown SEA email address.

The commercial preview will run for 2 weeks starting August 5, 2009. See you there, and we hope you enjoy the game!

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.

Stay tuned for more news on the North American Closed Beta here and through their website. You can also follow Aeria Games on Twitter for real-time updates. See you there!

The Philippines is now in on the Hello Kitty Online (HKO) fun! HKO Philippines, which is published by Level Up! Games, will be having their Founders’ Beta soon, and they’re inviting people to be part of the first group to enter Sanrio land through the Philippine portal.

To be part of this, click here. To find more about HKO Philippines, click here.

Singapore residents who are fans of Sanrio and HKO, be sure to grab today’s My Paper! the MMORPG has just been featured today there, which is one of the leading publications in the country and is known to cover “world news, business, sports, lifestyle, and entertainment in two languages within a single newspaper”.Aside from talking about HKO, the article features the impact of the MMORPG on Singapore (the game will be opening for the region come next month), and how the people there are anticipating the game. SanrioTown and HKO’s very own Starrfire7 is even featured in the article, so hats off to you, Starrfire7!

Aside from the newspaper, HKO has also been featured on the websiteToysREvil! Be sure to check it out by clicking here.

More great news for all the Sanrio fans worldwide: Hello Kitty Online (HKO) has now reached Brazil!Sanrio Digital and online games publisher Gamemaxx has announced in a recent press conference that they’ll be bringing the Sanrio-themed MMORPG to Brazil. In addition to HKO, a Brazilian version of SanrioTown will also be made in conjunction with the event.

HKO Indonesia is already set to have their open beta today, 16 June 2009. HKO Malaysia and Singapore are set to have theirs come July of the same year through Gloot.net. Also, as reported earlier, Aeria Games & Entertainment, Inc. will be the North American publisher of HKO.

Find out more of the latest HKO news is by clicking here!

For those who don’t know, a lot of great and new things are going on in the development of Hello Kitty Online (HKO). Aside from the storylines quests and maps that are being created for the players, new avatars, mini-games and more are also being churned out to bring a whole new level of fun to the game!

Click here to see what these improvements are.