April 21^st, 2005 (4:34pm) - Video games developer and publisher Namco announced today the upcoming North American release of "Hello Kitty Roller Rescue" exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube entertainment system. Developed by XPEC Entertainment Inc. and published by Namco Hometek Inc., "Hello Kitty Roller Rescue" will enchant and delight fans of the icon in August 2005.

"The ’Hello Kitty’ property is recognized and loved on a global scale," said Jeff Lujan, Business Unit Director of Namco. "We are very excited to bring ’Hello Kitty’ to life and give fans the chance to interact with her and other Sanrio character favorites in a delightful adventure."

"Hello Kitty Roller Rescue" is a 3D action-adventure game filled with exploration, whimsical worlds and more than 20 Sanrio characters. In a quest to save Sanriotown from the menacing king of Block Planet, Hello Kitty and her friends must complete missions to thwart Block-O and his legions of evil, yet clumsy, troops from taking over their hometown. Players are immersed in a fully interactive 3D world, complete with beautiful 3D environments, sophisticated AI, zany character interactions and amusing puzzles.

For more information about Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, please visit http://www.namco.com/games/hellokitty.