Hello Kitty is the pop culture icon from SANRIO Co, Ltd, the company founded on the concept that a small gift can bring a big smile to a child of any age. SANRIO fans will soon be able to take on the role of Hello Kitty as she sets out from her beloved home in Sanrio Town and begins a new adventure in The Big City. It’s in players’ hands to help Hello Kitty get from her small starter apartment into her dream penthouse by playing mini-games, making friends, and earning friendship points.

Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams offers two unique, yet complementary styles of play: exploration and mini-game. Exploration mode offers players the chance to take control of Hello Kitty and explore a 3D city, complete with streets, buildings, shops, neighborhood characters, and public transportation that Hello Kitty can ride. Different locations within the city will trigger a variety of mini-games for Hello Kitty to play. Completing these mini-games will earn friendship points which Hello Kitty can then use to ride the bus or train, purchase new outfits and items, decorate and customize her apartment, and progress in her journey. In order to keep her friends happy, Hello Kitty will have to stay in touch by checking her mail frequently.

“From the graphics and game play to the colors and characters, we have gone the extra mile to ensure that Hello Kitty’s first 3D adventure on DS exceeds the expectations of our audience,” said Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales, Empire Interactive. “The quality and variety of the mini-games, which all feature scaling difficulty, ensure that fans of Hello Kitty and fans of handheld adventure games in general will all find ample reason to enjoy Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams.”

“Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams brings together some of SANRIO’s most lovable characters in a fun interactive 3D environment” says Yat Siu, CEO of SANRIO Digital Ltd. “SANRIO fans are sure to enjoy navigating their favorite characters from one adventure to the next.”

In addition to technological advances in the game, this marks one of the rare opportunities to join SANRIO characters, including Hello Kitty, Keroppi®, My Melody and TuxedoSam as they inhabit the same play space. If you think you can lend a hand to TuxedoSam by serving customers in Restaurant Rush, beat Keroppi’s Arcade Hero score, test your eye for fashion in My Melody’s clothing store, or show off your dance moves off at Destination: Dance, then you may be ready to take on the adventure that awaits in Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams. These and other mini-games are the key to earning enough friendship points to help Hello Kitty finally move into the deluxe penthouse of her dreams.

Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams, rated of “E” for “Everyone, will ship on November 11, 2008,