Sanrio Global Consumer Products is pleased to announce the arrival of several new iPhone/iPod touch applications featuring pop icon Hello Kitty®. The applications were created in conjunction with Sanrio Co, Ltd. (Tokyo), Sanrio Digital (Hong Kong) and in partnership with AITIA Corporation (Tokyo). Select products are available now through Apple’s iTunes App Store and the agreements are effective immediately.“Hello Kitty entering into the iPhone/iPod touch space connects our consumer to the fast-paced, on-the-go world of today,” says Janet Hsu, President of Sanrio Global Consumer Products. “We are thrilled to offer our tech-savvy fans fun and relevant ways to personalize their iPhone and iPods with interactive content and accessories. We are confident that our global partners, with their understanding of the Hello Kitty brand, will together offer a complete mobile experience.”In celebration of Hello Kitty’s 35th Anniversary this year, Aitia Corporation has developed a series of iPhone/iPod touch applications that launched in 77 countries last week, including the U.S. & Japan. iHelloKitty Tokyo is inspired by the cultures of Tokyo and offers users the chance to dress Hello Kitty in street fashion items from various locations in Tokyo (Harajuku’s Gothic Lolita and Akihabara’s Maid). Hello Kitty Camera uses a unique facial recognition feature to automatically create fun and customized photos featuring supercute Hello Kitty designs. Hello Kitty 35th Anniversary allows fans to join in the celebration of her anniversary with a special screening of the Hello Kitty Colors video (the theme of this anniversary), an anniversary countdown clock and a Hello Kitty design museum – plus it provides the user with instant news & updates on Hello Kitty’s anniversary. Hello Kitty 35th Anniversary is free to users for download; the other applications retail for $2.99 and are available now at Apple’s iTunes App Store.

Sanrio Digital will be introducing the first iPhone game application based on the Hello Kitty and other SANRIO characters. The game will include an interactive application combined with a fun and exciting video game. Players can score points, collect special items, and create wallpapers featuring Hello Kitty and other popular SANRIO characters like Badtz-Maru®, Keroppi®, and Pochacco®. This game will be the first of many game apps planned by Sanrio Digital and will be available for download on Apple’s iTunes App Store this summer.

In related news, Sanrio Global Consumer Products has signed a new licensing agreement with Power Support USA, to produce a collection of Hello Kitty hard cases for the iPhone and iPod. The hard cases feature signature Hello Kitty graphics and are designed for use on the iPhone 3G as well as the iPod touch 2G and the iPod nano 4G. Prices range from $29.95 to $39.95 for the cases which will be available in July 2009 at the Apple online store and www.powersupportusa.com.

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About SANRIO

SANRIO’s signature brand Hello Kitty celebrates 35 years of fun & friendship in 2009. With fans around the world, Hello Kitty will mark the year with special co-branded partnerships, unique products, retail promotions & year-end exhibition events. SANRIO develops, distributes and licenses a collection of gift, stationery and fashion accessory items for women of all ages. SANRIO was founded in 1960 based on the concept that a small gift can bring a big smile to a child of any age. Today, over 50,000 SANRIO-branded items are sold in over 70 countries around the world. In the Western Hemisphere SANRIO character-branded products are sold in upwards of 12,000 locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and over 85 SANRIO boutiques. For more information, please visit www.sanrio.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 www.sanriodigital.com.

About AITIA Corporation

AITIA Corporation, founded in 2006 is a leading CrossMedia communications company that provides interactive advertising system solutions and entertainment contents softwares. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President: Hiroko Mugibayashi). AITIA specialize in the integration of media art, design, information technology, and communications. AITIA is at the forefront of the digital media revolution with flagship interactive solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.aitia.co.jp.

About Power Support USA

Power Support is a global leader in iPhone/iPod/Mac accessories. With its products selling around the world, Power Support is known for its original designs, superior quality, and advanced manufacturing techniques for the entirety of its product line. Power Support (USA), Inc. can trace its roots back to 1994 when Ryoichi Mase started Power Support Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan. In 2004, Keiko Mase Napier, brought the company to the United States and opened offices in Burbank, California. Since the release of the Crystal and Anti-Glare film sets, Power Support has grown to become a protective staple for today’s portable electronic devices. The company strives to ensure great quality, customer satisfaction, and innovative protection technologies. For more information, please visit: www.PowerSupportUSA.com

* iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc, US.

Hello, Sanrio fans! Because we know you love Hello Kitty, we created a special page featuring everything about her! The profile includes information about her family and friends, so if you want to get to know the details about your favorite white feline, be sure to check the page out by clicking here! More profiles of your favorite Sanrio characters will be coming in the next few months, so stay tuned!

Hello SanrioTown members! Today is the start of the Scrapbook Contest’s BATCH TWO! Here’s batch two’s video. Identify which characters are they by the clues given on each slide. After identifying them all, write your answers using your SanrioTown email (following the example we made in submitting entries) then send it to sanriotown_event@hellokitty.com. Good luck everyone!

(Batch 2 entries will be accepted until May 31.)

Three winners will be drawn for this batch and the prizes will be:
A Limited Edition Hello Kitty 1GB Memory Stick!

E-MAIL ENTRY EXAMPLE

From: kayleecheung@mymelody.com
To: sanriotown_event@hellokitty.com
Subject: HELLO KITTY’S SCRAPBOOK CONTEST BATCH TWO

slide 1 - Hello Kitty
slide 2 – Pochacco
slide 3 - My Melody
slide 4 - Little Twin Stars
slide 5 - We Are Dinosaurs
slide 6 - Dokidoki Yummychums
slide 7 – Cinamoroll
slide 8 – Mimmy
slide 9 – Pandaba
slide 10 - Minna no Tabo

Hi everyone! The April downloads are now available - and we’re not fooling you! Wallpapers, screensavers, calendars, and icons are just some of the things you can grab to decorate your computer with, and that’s just for starters!

More screenshots of the “Hello Kitty and Friends” 3-D Animation can now be downloaded. Also, new Easter e-cards have been made for you to send out to your loved ones on April 12!

We hope you like these treats! To check these out, simply sign in to your SanrioTown account. If you don’t have one yet, don’t feel bad! Click here to register for your free account.

There’s a new game on Sanriotown, and we hope it won’t drive you crazy!

Sanriotown’s “Crazy Wheel”, featuring Shinkansen, is a deceptively simple game: all you have to do is follow Shinkansen and the arrows by pressing the corresponding button. Things aren’t as easy as it seems though, because for every button that you press, the wheel rotates a little, until you’re not sure which button corresponds to what arrow!

It’s fun and challenging at the same time. Just be careful, or you’ll grow dizzy!

You can play this and many other fun Sanrio games just by logging in to your Sanriotown account! If you don’t have one yet, click here and register to get your account for free!

Sanrio Digital proudly announces Hong Kong’s release of “The Adventure of Hello Kitty & Friends” VCDs! Hello Kitty fans in Hong Kong can now purchase volume 1 and 2 of the series from various retailers.

Each volume contains 3 episodes of the animated series and is dubbed by the TVB crew. Now you can watch and re-watch your favorite episodes whenever you like! Enjoy!

For more “Hello Kitty & Friends” 3-D animation, please visit their official blog by clicking here.

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! Click here or on the image below to play the game.

So how was it? Whether you liked just the way it is or have ideas on how to improve it, we’d like to hear what you think! Please let us know by dropping a comment or emailing us at onlinegame@hellokitty.com. You may also discuss it on the HKO forums, share your comments and high scores with the world!

We look forward to your feedback, and hope you enjoyed the game!

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!

That means 5 more days in which to finish quests and explore the cute virtual world of Hello Kitty! What’s more, we have partnered with a charity to launch a special mystery event that will surely make Happy Hearts a memorable experience.

Happy Hearts, Helping Hearts
We’ve put together a special mystery event that will require teamwork, perseverance and, most of all, kind and generous hearts. After all, February is the month of love, and what is love without giving? If you enjoyed our Founders’ Beta charity event “Food for Friends“, then you are sure to like this one! Check our official events blog in the next day or two and all will be revealed!

If you and your friends have not yet tried Hello Kitty Online, then this is your chance! All you need to do is:

1) Download the game and install it
2) Register for an account on SanrioTown — it’s absolutely free!
3) Start HKO and log in using your SanrioTown username and password
4) Have fun!

This extension of Hello Kitty Online is our way of saying thank you for all the enthusiasm expressed by our players. We’re grateful for your feedback and will keep collecting important information that will allow us to keep improving the game. We will close the game at 23:00 (EST) on Sunday February 22, 2009 in order to work on various improvements ahead of Open Beta.

Be sure to check our official news blog and events blog for further announcements, and feel free to contact us at onlinegame@hellokitty.com for any questions. See you all in Sanrio Land!

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, our ever-so-cute herald of Valentine’s Day, has gone missing! Looks like it’s up to the saviors of Christmas to keep the heart of Valentine’s Day beating. We are giving away real Sanrio items to the first five Adventurers who can solve this mystery, and ultimately bring back the spirit of Valentine’s!

Here’s how it goes:

1. London is where it all begins. Choco seems agitated, pay him a visit and maybe he can show you where to start your search!
2. Finish the quests as they come. Every midnight (Eastern Standard Time), new quests will appear that will add to your quest chain, and will lead you closer to saving Valentine’s Day.
3. After each quest chain, you will receive a Key. Do not drop these keys!
4. Right after you finish the final quest “Spreading the Love” take a screenshot with:
   • Your inventory showing 5 keys you’ve collected (Press I)
   • Your character info page open (Press C)
5. With the screenshot attached, send an email to hkoevent@hellokitty.com using your Sanriotown account. Be sure to use the email subject “Happy Hearts“!

If you are one of the first five (5) to send in your valid emails, we will send you a reply with instructions on how you can receive your prize. Stay tuned to find out just what prizes are at stake!

Being one of the most important occasions, it is imperative that everyone in Sanrio Land is enervated with love once again. So good luck everyone! With your help, this can truly become a Happy Valentine’s Day!

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.

“Happy Hearts” features new content and some really cool gameplay enhancements:

Special Valentine’s Day-themed quests
Valentine’s Day under threat! Cupid is missing and so are the romance and friendship of the season. It is up to players of HKO to save Valentine’s Day and prevent the collapse of the greeting card industry. Exclusive items will be awarded to the first players to complete the quest chain. Click this link to read more.

Improved user interface
User interface enhancements include a higher supported resolution, movable windows, re-sizable chat box, and an improvement to the local area map.

Revamped farming system
The new HKO farming system introduces 8 new and unique farm types while allowing players to participate in cooperative farming. Day cycles and related effects on your plants have been implemented. Plant growth times have been adjusted.

Keyword chat filter
The new chat filter blocks offensive language from private and public chat to ensure a safer and more enjoyable gaming experience for players.

Starting February 14, SanrioTown members from select territories can also log in and participate in the Happy Hearts event.  Happy Hearts will end on February 17, 2009 at exactly 22:00 (10pm) EST.  Hello Kitty Online will then be taken offline for further work.

Enjoy the game everyone!