Here’s Why ‘South Park’ is Responsible for This Hello Kitty Video Game

If not for Butters Stotch, hundreds of thousands of school children across the world would have no choice but to play World of Warcraft.  

Back in 2006, Comedy Central aired a South Park episode that series co-creator Trey Parker feared would kill the show forever. To Parker’s great surprise, “Make Love, Not Warcraft” wasn’t the show’s shark-jumping moment – in fact, it became one of the most beloved South Park episodes of all time, and its cultural influence would continue to expand across multiple mediums for decades. South Park’s extended parody of the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, which the studio animated mostly within the world of the game, is the seminal video game parody, and “Make Love, Not Warcraft” sent earnest, non-satirical ripples across the gaming industry.  

So, in 2023, it came as no surprise when Sanrio Company Ltd, owners of the massive popular Japanese brand Hello Kitty, released a game entirely based on a throwaway joke from “Make Love, Not Warcraft.” If anything, I’m surprised that it took them so long to make Hello Kitty Island Adventure a reality.  

Yes, on July 28th, 2023, Sanrio Company released the multi-platform life simulator game Hello Kitty Island Adventure, finally fulfilling a prophecy made by South Park's most innocent gamer 17 years prior. The matching title is no coincidence, as the company had previously acknowledged the formerly fake game's popularity as a meme among the gaming community used to describe casual, childish games, once centering a hilarious April Fool's joke around the South Park line.    

On April 1st, 2008, Sanrio Digital posted an announcement for a Hello Kitty MMO called Hello Kitty Online, which, of course, would feature an expansion pact called “Island Adventure” in which the cutesy characters of the Hello Kitty universe would have to band together for survival following a plane crash on a deserted island. The real Hello Kitty Island Adventure is not nearly as dire as the joke one Sanrio announced in 2008, of course, as it emulates the low-stakes adorability of the Animal Crossing series for its gameplay.  

But despite its origins as a South Park joke, Hello Kitty Island Adventure makes no mention or homage to either the show that created the idea or the character who would, no doubt, log hundreds of hours in the popular cozy game. And, likewise, South Park hasn't yet acknowledged the fact that Butters' favorite game is now a reality, though, if there is ever a sequel to “Make Love, Not Warcraft,” Hello Kitty Island Adventure would make for a perfect setting.