Viva Pinata goes portable on the DS
by Nate Mallory 
{ Jul 30th 2007 at 10:40AM }
As had been hinted at earlier this year by Microsoft VP Shane Kim, Rare officially confirmed at the San Diego Comic-Con that its much overlooked fiesta / garden sim Viva Piñata will be smashing its way onto the DS.
While all we have currently is a blurry photo taken at the convention of what the game will look like, Rare has confirmed on the popular pinataisland.info forums (well, popular if you played the Xbox 360 version) that Viva Piñata DS will use the same gameplay principles as the original garden-sim title, as opposed to the recently announced party game for the 360. That means all the produce-tending, romance dancing, and savage piñata-on-piñata combat your little portable can handle.
Beyond that, all we can tell you at this point is that it's being cultivated by the original Viva Piñata team and according to Rare, "The DS team have done an amazing job at getting most of the features from the original into the DS version." Wi-Fi connectivity and official release date are still unknown, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it sprout up for purchase in time for the holidays.
We're expecting an official announcement from Rare any time, but for now, check out that action shot after the break.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
hvnlysoldr @ Jul 30th 2007 11:29AM
I don't know if it's appropriate to say Viva Pinata has finally reached its target audience. The Japanese!
Michael K. @ Jul 30th 2007 12:17PM
why would we want microsoft crap on our machine
Skippy @ Jul 30th 2007 12:32PM
This isn't the first game made by Rare for the DS. They already made Diddy Kong Racing.
DBuck_Eye @ Jul 30th 2007 1:50PM
@ Micheal K.
Microsoft has published a few titles on the DS, including the aforemented dkr, and Mech Assault. Since they do not have a handheld platform, they allow their studios to make games for the ds. As Joystiq mentioned in a similar article, it helps spread the word of the 360; this is why Halo DS had the slightest bit of credibility.
Also, will this game feature zoo tycoon, boktai, etc. style of graphics, or will it be in 3d?
Nate Mallory @ Jul 30th 2007 1:59PM
@Michael, actually I played Viva Pinata on the 360 back in May and you might be surprised, it was a lot of fun!
My big concern is how much of the DS version is just going to be retread. If it's just a handheld version of what I've already played, I'll probably pass on it; but if it has a lot of new content, count me in!
ambient @ Jul 31st 2007 1:43PM
Nate Mallory, I have the exact same concern. I really hope there are some new creature types, or that they at least shake up the romance/resident requirements. Given the extreme platform change, I'd think it would be easier to build a similar gameplay experience from the ground up, rather than trying to shoehorn a 360 game into the DS...let's hope that's the case!