Hello Kitty
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Netflix's latest batch of games includes a Hello Kitty rhythm title
Netflix has added three more games, including a Hello Kitty rhythm 'parade' and a Three Kingdoms card battler.
Google Search turns Pac-Man and Hello Kitty into interactive AR objects
Google is putting a bunch of iconic Japanese characters in Search as augmented reality objects you can interact with.
'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Sanrio collab brings Hello Kitty items to your town
Nintendo shows off its Sanrio-Animal Crossing collaboration items.
'Animal Crossing' updates send Mario and Hello Kitty to Carnival
An 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' update coming on January 28th brings Brazilian Carnival to the game, and the worlds of Hello Kitty and Super Mario arrive in March.
Barely Related: Marvel movie madness, Harry Potter can rap
Happy Halloween, everyone! Stay safe and have fun. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Barely Related: Hello Kitty is not a cat and other nonsense
Deep breaths, everyone. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Barely Related: Comic-Con envy, Hello Kitty convention
Happy San Diego Comic-Con week, everyone! To the lucky few (thousand) that are actually there, pick up some swag for us, yeah? Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
EVE Evolved: Rubicon 1.3 and repainting ships
EVE Online's recently released Rubicon expansion was an important first step toward a truly player-run universe for everyone, allowing corporations to wage empire wars over planetary customs offices and introducing a series of new personal deployable structures. The initial release was a little light on content, but developers have since expanded on it significantly with three major point releases. Rubicon 1.3 went live this week, and the changes seem pretty good all around. This release overhauled the directional scanner, buffed the SoE Nestor battleship's capacitor recharge rate and remote repair range, and nerfed remote sensor dampeners into the ground. Large corporations like EVE University were pleased to hear that the limit on the size of corporations has been increased to 12,600 thanks to changes to the corporation management skills. And in response to an emerging trend in fleet warfare involving hordes of drone ships assigning their drones to an interceptor, developers have also limited the number of drones that can be assigned to another ship to 50. The 1.29 GB patch also included several overhauled ship models and new ship shaders, but the new feature I see the most potential in is the ability to finally repaint our ships. This could eventually help corporations establish their own visual identities and might even link into gameplay or EVE's spying metagame. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I look at some of the Rubicon 1.3 changes and how repainting your ship could become more than simply a cosmetic upgrade.
Mad Catz sale includes FightSticks, Rock Band gear and more
If you've been in the market for an arcade stick, cheap wired controller or guitar with hundreds and hundreds of buttons on it, now may be the time to slap down some digitally represented dollar bills.Mad Catz has applied 37 to 69-percent discounts on a wide range of its peripheral offerings, dropping its branded SoulCalibur 5 and Street Fighter X Tekken FightSticks down to $100 a pop, its SFXT FightPads down to $20 and various Rock Band 3 instrument bundles to over half off. You can also snag a PS3 version of the limited edition EVO 2012 FightStick for $100, in addition to discounted WWE All Stars sticks/pads and Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII flight stick packs.Sadly, the sale does not include the Sanrio FightStick, which is still both $160 and the cutest ever.
Street Fighter X Sanrio line from Mad Catz includes arcade stick, iPhone/iPad cases
We're not entirely sure why Street Fighter's 25th anniversary equates to a cross-promotional merchandising deal with Sanrio, but man are we glad that it does. Not only do we get adorable figures and plushies out of the partnership, but now Mad Catz has introduced a line of Street Fighter X Sanrio products that are both the cutest and have practical applications beyond said cuteness.Obviously, the Street Fighter X Sanrio Fighstick Pro (above) tugs at a very, very specific part of our heart, even if it does cost $160. While not stated specifically in any of its promotional materials, we feel it's safe to assume the arcade stick uses the same Sanwa Denshi parts as the Street Fighter X Tekken Fightstick Pro models it's based on. Just, you know, very pink.The line also includes iPhone 5 and iPad 2/3 cases in your choice of Hello Kitty Chun-Li or Hello Kitty Ryu flavors, which run for $35 and $45 respectively and can be seen in the gallery below.%Gallery-173109%
Hello Kitty X Street Fighter plushies, figurines, coin purses for pre-order
The Hello Kitty versions of your favorite Street Fighter characters (or the Street Fighter versions of your favorite Japanese spokescat) are up for pre-order on at least one site, with more coming soon, Capcom says.Big Bad Toy Store has Hello Kitty Chun Li, Ryu and M. Bison as plushies, coin purses and figurines, though the figurines are sold as a pack that includes Cammy, Zangief and E. Honda for $40. The 10-inch Chun Li plushie from San Diego Comic Con 2012, which runs $63, is already sold out on Big Bad Toy Store.Capcom specifically called out Hot Topic, Toys 'R' Us and and Sanrio as places to buy Street Fighter X Hello Kitty products, so keep an eye out at your retailer of choice. If you don't see the Street Fighter character you want right now, don't fret – this is only Series 1 in a line of toys from Sanrio and Capcom.
Jukebox Heroes: Whimsy and oddity
I have two big announcements today. The first is that Jukebox Heroes is switching from a bi-weekly to a weekly schedule, which should delight my 30 readers and cause an epidemic of indifference elsewhere. The second is that we're going to take a week off examining specific soundtracks to have a little fun with how silly MMO studios can get. If you haven't figured it out already, this column is kind of a not-so-subtle outlet for sharing my MMO music collection with you. I don't have any firm method of collection other than I just acquire tracks that my ear tells me I'd like to hear again. So along the way, I've acquired a few oddball pieces that you probably won't find on any OST but that are notable enough to share. In some cases, these tracks represent studios' attempts (successful or otherwise) to let down their hair and be humorous. In others, these songs are parodies or one-time special events. So let's take a sidebar to look at the whimsical and odd songs of gaming.
Hello Kitty X Street Fighter plushies heading to a Hot Topic near you
The Chun Li Hello Kitty plushies available at Comic-Con last weekend were sold out by Saturday morning, but there is still hope for the thousands of remaining fans clamoring to get their hands on one. The Hello Kitty Ryu, M. Bison and Chun Li plushies pictured in their Comic-Con display above are soon coming to "as many stores as we can get them into," a Capcom booth employee told us. He mentioned specifically Hot Topic, Sanrio stores and Toys 'R' Us as possiblities for the plushies, which are "Series 1" in a planned line of Hello Kitty X Street Fighter toys.
Hello Kitty Sonic is first character collaboration from Sanrio and Sega
This is a picture of Hello Kitty as Sonic the Hedgehog. Please, take a minute from your hectic, stressful day and really let the majesty of that concept sink in. Enjoy the contrast of bright blue against fluffy white and red; pay attention to the detail of the gloves, the golden buckles and traction lines decorating her shoes, the adorable button nose.Disregard all thoughts of how exactly Hello Kitty got a hold of Sonic the Hedgehog's skin. Don't question the amount of fanatical cutting and sewing it would have taken to make a hedgehog pelt fit over a cat's ears. Pay no attention to the determination in those black eyes. We're sure Sega made sure Sonic was treated with all the respect owed him.Sega and Sanrio are joining forces to create a series of character collaborations, the first of which is the adorable Hello Kitty Sonic we've dissected (too soon?) above. The Sonic x Hello Kitty Jumbo Plushy will be available at Sega amusement parks in Japan starting in late July, made to commemorate the re-opening of Sega's Tokyo Joyopolis on June 14.The Sega/Sanrio crossover project will strike worldwide in summer 2013. Until then, enjoy the Hello Kitty Chun Li plush that will be available at Capcom's booth at San Diego Comic-Con for $40. Enjoy it, lest we end up with a line of Hello Kitty "You" toys in the immediate future.
Hello Kitty pays a visit to CES 2012: If you want it, we got it in pink
An electronics show wouldn't be an electronics show without celebrity endorsements. But there was one icon who had more product tie-ins than anyone else. Yep, Kitty-chan was in attendance and she had plenty of pink paraphernalia to hawk to unsuspecting fans of all things kawaii. We've collated together all the gear spotted at CES and, fortunately, there was more than just a few phone cases and laptop bags. Merchandise spotted includes Kitty-themed karaoke machines, alarm clocks with mounted laser cannons projectors, cordless phones and more. A brief video tour of some of our favorite surprises is coming soon, but until then, enjoy all that the super-deformed cat had to offer in our gallery below.Sean Cooper and Sean Buckley contributed to this post.
Mouse Computer's LuvBook S heals emotional scars, one Hello Kitty at a time
What the world needs now is just one thing, and that thing is a bejeweled Hello Kitty laptop. Fortunately, Japan's Mouse Computer is well aware of this, which is why it's unleashed the LuvBook S, pictured above. Designed in collaboration with Sanrio and Swarovski, this masterpiece is powered by a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i3-2330M processor and boasts an 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 display. It also packs a 500GB HDD and a 1.3 megapixel camera, but all that really matters is the swaggy centerpiece -- a heart-ensconced Hello Kitty mug made out of about 1,100 Swarovski stones and untold buckets of cuddles. The LuvBook is available now for ¥69,930 (about $900), at the source link below.
Pioneer intros Hello Kitty cordless phone, calls the '90s to brag
Is your passion for cordless phones only matched by your love of Hello Kitty? Boy have we got the product for you. From a technical standpoint, the TF-FN2000 is a largely unexceptional cordless phone / answering machine combo with a display that offers up phone numbers and missed calls. This edition does has a secret weapon, however: it's pink, covered in hearts and has an image of an adorable white cat with a bow. If that's good enough for you -- and you happen to live in Japan -- the phone will be available in early October. No word yet on pricing.
Hello Kitty, Snoopy lend their brand equity to the cute clamshell phone cause
In Japan, a certain hallowed distinction has been garnered by all ephemera cute and pretty. So, it goes without saying that this pair of oblong flip phones, with their familiar animated sponsors, should have the Harajuku hordes rushing in with charm straps at the ready. For its particular crack at kawaii, Panasonic's P-06C gets an understated splash of Snoopy cool, visible only through two available built-in themes. The clamshell entry comes with a 3-inch display, 5.1 megapixel camera and retails for about 28,560 yen (or $375). But, let's face it folks, the real stunner of the two is the Softbank-designed model Ms. Kitty-chan adorns. The Antique Berry-shaded 007SH KT packs a 3.4-inch display, 16.1 megapixel camera and Android 2.3 into a 180 degree foldable handset, and can be yours when it goes on sale next month. Be sure to jump past the break for a double dose of this wireless adorability.
Seen@GDC Europe: Epic Games president Mike Capps' adorable laptop wallpaper
Hello Gears of War! As seen above, Epic Games prez Mike Capps has a taste for the ironic in his desktop wallpapers. So, what do we call this adorable little symbol ... COGKitty? Perhaps Hello Kitty of War? She'll chainsaw right through you with a lollipop!
The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I'm going to start this with a strange admission: I love MMOs. I love them as a lumpy, imperfect collective; I love specific ones immensely, and I love being a fan of the genre. I feel that I have to clarify my stance when I sometimes -- often -- see people who apparently follow MMOs quite closely become a neverending fount of bile and venom toward these games. Apparently, not all MMO fans love MMOs, and that perplexes me. Odd as that may be, whatever, I can accept that we live in a topsy-turvy world. What I really don't get are the folks who hate specific games so greatly that their entire bodies and minds have been honed into a dedicated game-loathing entity. Mention that title anywhere on a forum, a blog, or in a post, and these people come out to scream through clenched teeth how this MMO sucks beyond the telling of it and that we are all fools, fools for getting anywhere near it. They aren't just content to say their piece and be done with it, oh no; their vitriol literally knows no end. They will rant, they will attack, they will laugh with derision, and above all else, they will root for the fail. Their greatest desire in life is for this specific game to die so that they can rend their clothes and let out a blood-curdling victory howl. And I don't get it. I feel like an alien in their presence, perplexed at their rage and fixation. Why do people root for MMOs to fail with such intensity? What motivates them and what do they hope to achieve?
