LEGO’s Chance to Join Hello Kitty’s Gaming Moment

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For over three decades, the LEGO Group has made a significant impact in the video game industry. Although they don’t directly own any game development studios, they have given out licenses for their LEGO Intellectual Property (IP) to numerous companies throughout the years. With over 150 games released, there is an extensive variety of genres represented, such as 3D platformers, action-adventure titles, racing games, and even 3D puzzle games. It’s worth noting that not all games based on the famous toy have been successful, but many have significantly influenced the gaming experiences of millions of players worldwide.

In simpler terms, many popular LEGO video games are inspired by well-known cultural franchises such as Star Wars and Batman. Generally, the LEGO Group avoids collaborating with mature-rated properties like Call of Duty and James Bond. However, there are numerous family-friendly intellectual properties that haven’t had a chance to work with LEGO yet. For instance, Hello Kitty, a highly recognized character in pop culture history, has not received its own real-life LEGO sets or a dedicated LEGO game. Given the recent surge of interest in gaming for Hello Kitty, this could be an excellent opportunity for The LEGO Group to create a game based on that franchise.

Now is the Perfect Time to Make a Lego Hello Kitty Game

Hello Kitty Hasn’t Had a Great Track Record in Video Games

Since the early ’90s, Hello Kitty has graced multiple video games. This cute British cat is also a frequent guest character in various other games. Intriguingly, she has even inspired some special edition consoles, like the Hello Kitty Sega Dreamcast from the late ’90s. Regrettably, most of the Hello Kitty video games have been exclusive to Japan, and those few that reached the West haven’t received particularly good ratings. Games such as “Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue” from 2005 and “Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy” from 1999 didn’t receive much praise.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is the First Great Hello Kitty Game in Ages

The good news is, Hello Kitty’s involvement in video games has been stepping up recently. After taking a break for quite some time, the Hello Kitty video game franchise re-emerged significantly with the 2023 launch of “Hello Kitty Island Adventure”. Developed by Colorado studio Sunblink, this game can be compared to Animal Crossing as it’s a life simulation video game set on an island populated by Sanrio characters.

Initially available exclusively on Apple Arcade in 2023, “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” is now migrating to various consoles. The game made its debut on Nintendo Switch and Windows PC in January 2025, with plans for release on PlayStation 4 and 5 later this year. So far, reviews for the game on these new platforms have been predominantly favorable, earning an 80/100 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic. Notably, around the same time that “Hello Kitty Island Adventures” was released for the Switch, Mojang Studios launched the “Hello Kitty and Friends” DLC for “Minecraft”, marking their first collaboration with Sanrio on such a project.

Sanrio, a Japanese corporation, manages the intellectual property rights for the beloved character, Hello Kitty, whereas Mojang Studios is the innovative team behind the creation of Minecraft.

A LEGO Hello Kitty Game Could Capitalize on Hello Kitty’s Newfound Popularity

As someone who’s been captivated by the incredible success of “Hello Kitty Island Adventure,” it seems a real shame for The LEGO Group to overlook this golden opportunity. With both franchises enjoying immense popularity, a top-notch LEGO “Hello Kitty” game could potentially fly off the shelves, if only given the right marketing push. After all, the quality and appeal of such a game, similar to those crafted by TT Games, would surely be irresistible.

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2025-03-10 21:04