Hello Kitty Online

As 2010 winds to a close and we prepare for 2011, the ZAM news team decided to take a look back at this year's highs and lows, as well as share what we're excited to see in 2011. Our team has changed a bit recently, so we wanted to take the time to properly introduce ourselves and talk about about our favorite topic: gaming.

Over the next few pages, you'll get to meet Editor-in-Chief Darryl "Togikagi" Gangloff (yours truly), Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom, Reporter Kayla "Reiyami" Smith and Staff Writer Paul "LockeColeMA" Cleveland. Keep reading after the jump for my personal thoughts on 2010 and then flip through the pages to hear from the rest of the team.

We'd love to know what you thought about 2010. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below, or contact us at news@zam.com. You can also find our individual contact information on the staff list page.

Sanrio Digital has announced a Hello Kitty Toys for Tots Winter event in which players can collect in-game items that will turn into real world donations. Players are asked to collect a specific set of items (see after the jump) that will count towards one donation to Toys for Tots.

Once a player has collected a full set of items, they can then hand them in to a GM. For each complete set that is handed in, players will receive an in-game Colorful Teddy Bear as a badge of honor, and Hello Kitty Online will make a contribution to Toys for Tots. Players can collect as many sets as they'd like for more contributions to the charity.

GMs will be in game to collect your sets at Sanrio Harbour on the following dates:

Sanrio Digital has announced that two new limited edition in-game items have gone on sale in Hello Kitty Online to support breast cancer awareness. Players can purchase a virtual Ribbon Awareness Tee and Ribbon Research Wand for 240 Sanrio Cash Points each or as a bundle for 390 Sanrio Cash Points.

All proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to Susan G. Kommen for the Cure. The organization works in funding breast cancer awareness and research. The organization has funded research that has touched every major breast cancer advancement in the past 27 years.

To show that breast cancer is an ongoing problem, Hello Kitty Online will have the new items on sale year round in hopes of raising even more money for the cause.

Talk about your socially minded MMOs! Throughout the month of September, Hello Kitty Online is planning to kick off a unique online charity event for their players. This time around, players will take part in the "Chocolate Harbour Rescue" in-game event, when an offshore chocolate refinery spills tons of chocolate into the sea. Players will need to head down to Sanrio Harbour to mop up this choclaty mess with Mop-a-Chocs, where they will then generate donation points and virtual chocolate bags full of special rewards. At the end of the month, Sanrio Digital will add up the total donation points generated and will then donate that amount to both Oceana and UNICEF, with each receiving 50% of the total.

For those of you who don't know, Oceana is an international organization focused on ocean conservation (HKO is focusing specifically on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill), while UNICEF is trying to drive charitable missions into Pakistan, which has been ravaged by massive floods. Unfortunately, UNICEF has just recently announced that its life-saving missions in Pakistan may be in jeopardy due to a shortfall in funding. Let's get to mopping up that chocolate in Hello Kitty Adventures, everyone!

Hello Kitty Online is celebrating Christmas a little bit early, as they are announcing the beginning of their "2009 HKO Toys for Tots Charity Drive!" During the event, which takes place from December 14th to the 16th, players will have the opportunity to gather in-game items and trade them in for an in-game reward that also translates into a donation to the Toys for Tots organization. One set of items to trade in consists of:

Short Sticks (x10)
Webley Webs (x5)
Shell (x5)
Bramble’s Comfort (x10)

And the time windows when GM's will be at the Sanrio Harbour next to Nyoko, ready to take in trades are on:

December 14th at 5, 6, & 7 PM server time (EST).
December 15th at 7, 8 & 9 PM server time (EST).
December 16th at 10, 11 & 12 PM server time (EST).

*If you cannot make it to a drop off time, please PM GMPirate or GM_MorningBell to arrange a trade.

You can check out the promotion in more detail at the Hello Kitty Online webpage.