Viva Pinata, a game you can only find on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, is said to possibly be also heading to Nintendo DS. Viva Pinata, which is also a popular Saturday morning cartoon that even my own children watch, is often one of the most misunderstood games in the Xbox 360 catalog. First pegged as a children’s game and sworn off by hardcore gamers, Viva Pinata has come to be a game that many adults also enjoy playing.
According to 1UP, a gamer’s paradise resource, one of their own spoke directly with Shane Kim who is the Corporate Vice President for Microsoft Game Studios and relayed that Viva Pinata on Nintendo DS would make perfect sense from a franchise perspective. Nintendo DS is known for more kid-friendly games, while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Live target that elusive 18-34 male demographic and offers more hardcore violent games such as Halo and Gears of War. Viva Pinata has slowly come to find success on Xbox for those seeking more family-friendly games. It is most likely part of their catalog of games to be more well rounded since it is not only men gaming, but women as well as evidenced by Xbox’s Gamerchix group.
If Microsoft partners with Nintendo to distribute Viva Pinata on their DS console, it is certainly good for Rare, the creators of Pinata, but also in the end, it is very good for Microsoft who’s games often have achievements that can only be accomplished through Live (access you have to make an additional purchase for) thus bringing a new set of gamers to possibly dually own a DS and Xbox just to play Pinata on Live. I’m not sure anyone should count out Viva Pinata as a kiddie game just yet, as 1UP’s very detailed review of Pinata fully explains how a large part of this game is too complex for the wee ones. After playing this game myself for a month now and watching my son (who has a far more advanced garden than me), I can certainly see how adults can get addicted whether it be through Xbox or possibly (eventually?) on Nintendo DS.
Posted by 
