Doraemon, Kitty, other Japanese characters debut on Roblox

TOKYO -- Hello Kitty, Sonic the Hedgehog and other Japanese characters are starting to gather in Roblox, a U.S.-born online game platform and game creation system. In March, Doraemon will debut in the huge metaverse visited by 70 million people every day.

Holders of the intellectual properties hope to raise the name recognition of their characters through Roblox, one of the world's largest metaverses, and increase sales of goods and other products related to them. The developer and operator of the platform, meanwhile, will need to strengthen the protection of IPs by adopting effective anti-piracy and other measures.