Hello Kitty Online made the top twisted highlights in inventorspot. The original post can be seen here.

Role-playing games like World of Warcraft worry many with their ability to addict players who need to spend at least some time on things like work, school and a social life. Hello Kitty Online isn’t going to help the situation much. Master marketer Sanrio just keeps finding new ways to promote their signature character, Hello Kitty, as if being the adoration of pre-teens everywhere isn’t enough. Welcome to Kitty’s world… all your babes belong to us!

Some other random 2009 HKO commentary! Happy New Year to you all as well and hopefully the Hello Kitty MMORPG will be out soon!

Apparently this is a recent occurrence.

Anyone who subscribed to the closed beta announcement via GMAIL, better check out their Spam folder so they can get in on time.

The announcement went into some people’s spam folder in GMAIL instead! The announcement on this is below…

Hello Kitty Online (www.hellokittyonline.com) is a free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on Sanrio’s famous characters. The game transports players into the cute and cuddly world of Sanrio Land, where players will meet and interact with over a hundred Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, Keroppi, Dear Daniel, My Melody, Pochacco, Cinnamoroll, and many others.
Hello Kitty Online boasts several new additions and improvements since the Closed Beta version, and the Founder’s Beta will feature a new game client with an improved interface, improved graphics and special effects, new monsters, new maps, new items, and the opening of London and Paris. The Founders’ Beta will also introduce gameplay changes such as new skills, new pet systems and team-play oriented enhancements.

So this is something new, fans and applicants of the Online game are being treated to a free boxed package set that looks very much produced and full featured. Is this a new trend in closed beta testing or something unique to Hello Kitty Online MMORPG? I am quite impressed to see this sort of effort being made to their beta testers from the usual download location stuff.

A really interesting post on the Hello Kitty Online Video Contest entitled:

Hello Kitty Online users must sing for their beta

I have no idea if this type of beta contest has been done before, but I think we’ll see a lot more of it in the future. Already the vids are coming in, with over 8000 uploaded at this date.

They are packed with Hello Kitty cuteness, but one in particular from tehguy caught my eye.

The educator in me is also intrigued by this competition. Assuming that Hello Kitty in a brand that attracts a younger audience, I’m fascinated at the variety of literacies at play in this digital mashup of Hello Kitty images. It takes many skills and much knowledge to create one of these videos. I think it’s a great example of a company that acknowledges the remix culture of their audience, much like the kind mentioned in Lawrence Lessig’s TED Talk.

Is this a bit like public Karaoke?

Inventorspot says "Move over World of Warcraft, Hello Kitty Online is Here!"

MTV’s G4TV says "Watch out World of Warcraft. Hello Kitty is going MMO"

Today Hello Kitty Online, tomorrow the World (of Warcraft)… Sweetness superpower Sanrio of Japan, creators of the omnipresent Hello Kitty character, will be taking the cute cat online in what may be the biggest challenge yet to massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) dominated by World Of Warcraft.

You have to wonder, how much of this is for real, or just plain funny, I for one find it very funny!!

Well done Hello Kitty Online!

Virtual Barbie – Barbie Girls
The Barbie Girls world is a free Website which allows girls to create an avatar, design their own “room,” shop at the mall with B Bucks, go to the salon, play games, hang out and chat live with other girls. There is also a movie theater where you can see Barbie-related entertainment. This summer Mattel also started selling a Barbie Girls device, which can be plugged into the computer and connects to the Web site, giving users more options in terms of fashion, furniture, pets and overall content. The Barbie-Girl handheld retails for about US$60 and can also be used as a music player. Accessory packs for the websites are sold separately for US$9.99. This fall Barbie Girls will also be available in five additional languages, including German, French, Italian and Spanish. With Barbie Girl Mattel hopes to keep the “tween” girl interested, who are outgrowing their dolls and become more interested in technology and music and fashion.

Webkinz
With each Webkinz stuffed animal purchase (US$13) comes a secret code in its tag. When kids log on and type in the code their pet instantly comes to life online. Virtual pet owners than can feed their pets by dragging “food” into their special pet room. They can talk to the pet through the speak menu and a small monitor on the bottom of the screen lets them know if the pet is happy, healthy or hungry. There even is a virtual pet doctor, kids can bring their Webkinz to. Unlike Tamagotchis Webkins cannot die, but they can become sick and than need medicine. This medicine costs KinzCash which has to be earned through quizzes and other activities on the site. Webkinz now has 6 million visitors according to comScore Media Metrix.

U.B. Funkeys
Funkeys are small, colorful characters, which can be found at basically any toy store these days and in Funkeytown online. Each Funkey acts like a key that grants its owner access to a corresponding computer game. Each figure allows players to unlock new areas in the virtual world called Terrapina. Each player can create a nice home - or “crib” - for their Funkey. But they have to pay coins for every item they use. These coins can be earned by playing online games which can be found by navigating through the different zones and portals of the website. Funkeytown was released earlier this year.

This is more of a random post, but the song is Tetris, so I guess it’s video games related, but I’d say the only reason this ggot popular is because of the pigtails I say! That’s it! Wear pigtails and you are INSTANTLY more cute in a matter of seconds.

The Landlord

http://weewar.com/ is a round based strategy game featuring real action on real maps. Up to 6 players command their colorful pixel armies against each other on the many maps available.

And since it is all happening in the browser Weewar can be played from anywhere - including the office.

Weewar joins a plethora of new web based games designed to disrupt the office environment….it looks interesting enough to give it a bit of a spin…