Viva Piñata
Encyclopedia
Viva Piñata is a life simulation game
developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360
video game console
. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles
and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series
, based on an idea from Tim Stamper
. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was officially announced on March 15, 2006, and first released in November 2006. With a "general audiences" or "everyone" rating, the game provides bright, colorful visuals, intended to appeal to children and more casual gamers. The game received a positive reaction from game critics, eventually selling over 1.5 million copies.
A Windows
version of the game was released in November 2007. An Xbox 360 sequel Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
was released in 2008. A slightly enhanced Nintendo DS
version of the game entitled Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
was also released in 2008.
, Animal Crossing
, and Harvest Moon, the game tasks the player with turning a neglected plot of land into a beautiful garden. As with many sandbox games, the game is open-ended, with no strict winning or losing requirements. Instead, players are guided only generally towards the objectives of increasing their garden's value and attracting piñata
residents. Players are free to determine their own sub-goals and work towards them.
Developing a successful garden requires setting up the land and foliage appropriately to attract piñatas, as well as purchasing various items to place within the garden (e.g., homes for the piñatas). When certain requirements are fulfilled, the garden will attract a simple black-and-white version of a given piñata species. After fulfilling additional requirements, the piñata will become a resident, changing into a full-color version. Once two piñatas of the same species are residents and their mating (romance) requirements are met, they can perform a romance dance, resulting in a baby piñata egg. No piñata has a gender specific design, and hence any two piñatas of the same species can mate (with inter-species romances possible as well in a few cases). After a given piñata species has successfully romanced, the player no longer needs to fulfill the full romance requirements for piñata of that type, but can instead simply have the piñata eat a specific type of candy.
When piñatas get together to mate, a maze-navigation minigame
is initiated. Completing the mating minigame successfully will result in a piñata egg being delivered shortly thereafter. For species encountered early in the game, the minigames are simple, but as the game progresses, minigames become increasingly difficult. The difficulty also increases as more members of a given species are resident, as the more piñatas in a garden, the fewer the number of lives the player receives during the minigame. The first time the minigame is completed successfully for a given species, the player is rewarded with a unique video sequence which shows the two piñatas dancing to music.
In addition to looking after the needs of their piñatas, players must also watch out for Ruffians (and their leader, "Professor Pester") as well as sour piñatas, who enter the garden with the sole intent of wreaking havoc. Their mischief includes eating seeds and produce, destroying objects, or dropping sour candy which causes resident piñatas to become ill if consumed. If the player is resourceful, sour piñatas can, however, be won over and turned into productive garden residents. Additionally, players can earn or purchase individual parts of a totem pole
-like structure known as the "Tower of Sour" to deter the type of sour piñata each part corresponds to. Different parts of this become available as the player completes certain requirements. Players can pay Ruffians to leave the garden temporarily, but in order to keep the Ruffians from returning, players must purchase a "Captain's Cutlass" from one of the merchants.
Each piñata which is a resident of the garden can be customized as the player sees fit. Customization options include:
Customizations, including accessories, are lost if a piñata is broken (Viva Piñatas version of death) for any reason, including being eaten by another piñata, being hit with a shovel or by Professor Pester, or after being sick for an extended period of time (after which the witch doctor
Dastardos breaks the piñata).
/Games for Windows - Live, but does so in a strictly non-interactive fashion in order to remain "family friendly". It also includes a safety video for children and parents, explaining potential issues with using the service.
While the game supports leaderboards and score comparisons, its primary use of Xbox Live
is to allow players to send presents to friends. Piñatas and other items can be packaged up and shipped off to other users. The contents of the box are unknown by the recipient until it is opened, at which time the contents emerge into the garden of their new owner.
Lastly, players can use the Xbox Live Marketplace
to download several Viva Piñata related items. These include accessory packs and an interactive video which acts as a brief tutorial for the game. During the video, the user can decide which piñata that they would like to walk them through the features of the game. Xbox Live members can also download several episodes of the television series from the Xbox Live Marketplace, with the precise number available varying by locale. These episodes are available in both standard-definition and high-definition
for no charge.
gum
s" or "Shelly
bean
s". The species include both wild and domestic animal types, with the latter being purchased rather than simply appearing. Rarer species based on fictional animals, such as the Dragon
ache
, are also available.
Some of the animals are "piñatavores", and must eat other piñatas in order to become residents or reproduce. An intricate food chain
(referred to as the doughnut of life) exists, with a number of piñata species having one or two others that are considered prey
. When such piñatas are visiting the garden, they can and will devour garden residents in order to satisfy their own residency requirements. However, once piñatas are residents, they will not eat each other unless instructed to do by the player, although fights can break out between residents who do not share the predator-prey relationship.
With some exceptions, piñatas each have different appearance or coloration variants. These variants can be produced by fulfilling certain requirements in the game. For example, a given piñata species may be able to change from its default color to a yellow color by eating a sunflower. Additionally, certain piñatas can evolve into other species altogether, e.g., when a Sparrow
mint
eats a buttercup flowerhead, it turns into a Cand
ary.
and others, the game was originally designed for the Pocket PC
platform. After Rare's acquisition by Microsoft, the title was then moved to the Xbox
video game system before finally being developed for the Xbox 360 video game system. At various times, more than 50 different people contributed to the project.
During development, Microsoft and Rare realized the growing popularity of the project and began searching for licensing partners; they eventually teamed up with 4Kids Entertainment
. As a result, in addition to being a video game on Microsoft
's Xbox 360
console, it is also a computer-animated television series
produced by 4Kids Entertainment. The show began airing on 4Kids TV
on August 26, 2006, on Canada's YTV on September 9, 2006, and on the UK's Nick Toons
on March 5, 2007. Animation for the television series is done at Bardel Entertainment
in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
. Recently, the show began airing on ITV2 in the UK as part of the "Action Stations! " children's programming block.
Released as a launch title
with the Brazilian launch of the Xbox 360, it was the first game ever translated to Portuguese
for the Xbox 360. It was also the first non-PlayStation
console game to be translated into Polish
and Korean
.
Microsoft
collaborated with Six Flags Mexico
to promote the Xbox 360 as well as Viva Piñata. To do this, a 14.6-meter tall, 16-meter long piñata, specifically a Horstachio, was built at the park. At the time, it was the largest recorded piñata ever built.
port of Viva Piñata was announced. The conversion was handled by Climax Group
and runs on both Windows XP
and Windows Vista
. The game is part of the Games for Windows
program which offers easier installation and support for Windows Vista's Games Explorer, Xbox 360 Controller
for Windows, Parental Controls, and the use of Games For Windows - Live. The game was released on November 6, 2007 in the United states, followed by the release in Europe on November 16, then in Japan on January 18, 2008.
was announced in May 2008 and released in September 2008. The sequel adds more than 30 new piñata species, a "Just for Fun" sandbox mode, and new co-operative modes, as well as new desert and arctic environments.
was released on Audio CD and digital download on the 28th of June, 2009. It features 25 tracks spanning 59 minutes ,
2007. It was later revealed to be titled Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
and was subsequently released in September 2008. Key changes include a control scheme which makes use of the stylus, as well as the presence of additional context-sensitive information on the second screen.
spin-off, Viva Piñata: Party Animals
was released. Developed by Krome Studios
, the game features the TV show piñata characters competing in races and close to 50 party mini-games including activities such as apple eating, bug stomping and paint splattering.
indicating that it is the best Rare game since Microsoft
acquired the company in 2002. In addition to IGN's positive 8.5/10 rating, it has received an 8.3/10 from GameSpot
, an "A" from 1UP.com
, and an 8.7/10 overall from Electronic Gaming Monthly
. International reception was also warm; for example, popular Russian website AG.ru gave the game a score of 85/100 and an "Our Choice" award. The game scored 84% on Metacritic
based on 51 reviews, and an 85% on Game Rankings
.
While published sales figures for the game appear relatively low and failed to gather as much momentum as Nintendo's Pokémon
craze, Justin Cook (of Rare) insists that the game has sold "close to half a million". During a later 1UP.com
interview with Gregg Mayles, Mayles noted that he wasn't expecting immediate blockbuster sales, explaining, "Viva Piñata, it's come out; it's now sold really well; it's been a very steady seller like we thought it would be. We didn't think it would suddenly fly off the shelves. It was going to take time for people to appreciate it or give it a try beyond the initial, quite mixed reaction." Despite the initially discouraging sales figures, the game quickly gained a loyal cult following. Hyper
s Cam Shea commends the game for being "charming, open-ended and plenty of surprises and depth". However, he criticised it for "uneven pacing and patronising voice over of the first guide".
Viva Piñata's concept artist, Ryan Stevenson, stated that, regardless of sales numbers, Rare is planning to expand the series with new elements including new piñatas and new characters.
The game's music score by Grant Kirkhope
was nominated for Original Score at the 2007 BAFTA awards.
The game was also nominated for "Best Original Game" in X-Play
's "Best Video Games of 2006" awards. Other accolades include a "Parents' Choice Gold Award" from the Parents' Choice Foundation., and GameSpot included the title as one of their 10 nominees for their "2006 Game of the Year" award, although it later received only 3% of the total votes.
Life simulation game
Life simulation games is a sub-genre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual lifeforms...
developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles
Gregg Mayles
Gregory Ashley Mayles , better known as Gregg Mayles, is a British video game designer currently working for video game company Rare as Creative Director...
and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series
Banjo-Kazooie series
Banjo-Kazooie is a series of video games created by Rare in 1998. The game stars a honey bear named Banjo and his friend, a large red bird named Kazooie, who are both controlled by the player, and a witch named Gruntilda as the primary antagonist. Throughout the various games they are tasked with...
, based on an idea from Tim Stamper
Tim and Chris Stamper
Tim and Chris Stamper are the co-founders of Ashby Computers & Graphics and later Rare...
. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was officially announced on March 15, 2006, and first released in November 2006. With a "general audiences" or "everyone" rating, the game provides bright, colorful visuals, intended to appeal to children and more casual gamers. The game received a positive reaction from game critics, eventually selling over 1.5 million copies.
A Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version of the game was released in November 2007. An Xbox 360 sequel Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is the Xbox 360 sequel to the critically acclaimed life simulation game entitled Viva Piñata. The title was officially announced on May 13, 2008 with a September 2, 2008 release date in North America and a September 5, 2008 date in Europe.-Plot:The second Viva...
was released in 2008. A slightly enhanced Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
version of the game entitled Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Nintendo DS video game console and based on the original Viva Piñata, rather than being an all-new game in the series....
was also released in 2008.
Gameplay
Likened to The SimsThe Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
, Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing (series)
The Animal Crossing games have garnered positive response. The first three games are among the best-selling for their respective consoles. Animal Crossing has sold 2.321 million copies; Wild World 10.79 million; and City Folk 3.38 million...
, and Harvest Moon, the game tasks the player with turning a neglected plot of land into a beautiful garden. As with many sandbox games, the game is open-ended, with no strict winning or losing requirements. Instead, players are guided only generally towards the objectives of increasing their garden's value and attracting piñata
Piñata
A piñata is a papier-mâché or other type of container that is decorated, filled with toys and or candy and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. Piñatas are most commonly associated with Mexico, but its origins are considered to be in China...
residents. Players are free to determine their own sub-goals and work towards them.
Developing a successful garden requires setting up the land and foliage appropriately to attract piñatas, as well as purchasing various items to place within the garden (e.g., homes for the piñatas). When certain requirements are fulfilled, the garden will attract a simple black-and-white version of a given piñata species. After fulfilling additional requirements, the piñata will become a resident, changing into a full-color version. Once two piñatas of the same species are residents and their mating (romance) requirements are met, they can perform a romance dance, resulting in a baby piñata egg. No piñata has a gender specific design, and hence any two piñatas of the same species can mate (with inter-species romances possible as well in a few cases). After a given piñata species has successfully romanced, the player no longer needs to fulfill the full romance requirements for piñata of that type, but can instead simply have the piñata eat a specific type of candy.
When piñatas get together to mate, a maze-navigation minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
is initiated. Completing the mating minigame successfully will result in a piñata egg being delivered shortly thereafter. For species encountered early in the game, the minigames are simple, but as the game progresses, minigames become increasingly difficult. The difficulty also increases as more members of a given species are resident, as the more piñatas in a garden, the fewer the number of lives the player receives during the minigame. The first time the minigame is completed successfully for a given species, the player is rewarded with a unique video sequence which shows the two piñatas dancing to music.
In addition to looking after the needs of their piñatas, players must also watch out for Ruffians (and their leader, "Professor Pester") as well as sour piñatas, who enter the garden with the sole intent of wreaking havoc. Their mischief includes eating seeds and produce, destroying objects, or dropping sour candy which causes resident piñatas to become ill if consumed. If the player is resourceful, sour piñatas can, however, be won over and turned into productive garden residents. Additionally, players can earn or purchase individual parts of a totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
-like structure known as the "Tower of Sour" to deter the type of sour piñata each part corresponds to. Different parts of this become available as the player completes certain requirements. Players can pay Ruffians to leave the garden temporarily, but in order to keep the Ruffians from returning, players must purchase a "Captain's Cutlass" from one of the merchants.
- The name of the piñata.
- The piñata's decorative tag (which stays with it, wherever it goes).
- Unlockable accessories the player can purchase for their piñata, ranging from hats, to backpacks, to large teeth. These accessories can increase a piñata's value, or can grant the piñata additional abilities.
Customizations, including accessories, are lost if a piñata is broken (Viva Piñatas version of death) for any reason, including being eaten by another piñata, being hit with a shovel or by Professor Pester, or after being sick for an extended period of time (after which the witch doctor
Witch doctor
A witch doctor originally referred to a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine...
Dastardos breaks the piñata).
Xbox Live functionality
The game supports Xbox LiveXbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
/Games for Windows - Live, but does so in a strictly non-interactive fashion in order to remain "family friendly". It also includes a safety video for children and parents, explaining potential issues with using the service.
While the game supports leaderboards and score comparisons, its primary use of Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
is to allow players to send presents to friends. Piñatas and other items can be packaged up and shipped off to other users. The contents of the box are unknown by the recipient until it is opened, at which time the contents emerge into the garden of their new owner.
Lastly, players can use the Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
to download several Viva Piñata related items. These include accessory packs and an interactive video which acts as a brief tutorial for the game. During the video, the user can decide which piñata that they would like to walk them through the features of the game. Xbox Live members can also download several episodes of the television series from the Xbox Live Marketplace, with the precise number available varying by locale. These episodes are available in both standard-definition and high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
for no charge.
Piñatas
The game features a wide variety of piñata types (60 in total), in most cases inspired by real-world animals. The names of the piñata species appear to have been generated by combining an animal name or sound with that of a food or candy, producing creatures such as "BuzzleBumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
gum
Bubblegum
Bubblegum is a type of elastic chewing gum, designed to be blown out of the mouth as a bubble.-History:In 1928, Walter Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. One recipe was found to be less sticky than regular chewing gum,...
s" or "Shelly
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
bean
Jelly bean
Jelly beans are a small bean-shaped type of confectionery with a hard candy shell and a gummy interior which come in a wide variety of flavors. The confection is primarily made of sugar.-History:...
s". The species include both wild and domestic animal types, with the latter being purchased rather than simply appearing. Rarer species based on fictional animals, such as the Dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
ache
Ganache
Ganache is a glaze, icing, or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream.Ganache is normally made by heating cream, then pouring it over chopped dark semi-sweet chocolate...
, are also available.
Some of the animals are "piñatavores", and must eat other piñatas in order to become residents or reproduce. An intricate food chain
Food chain
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
(referred to as the doughnut of life) exists, with a number of piñata species having one or two others that are considered prey
Predation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
. When such piñatas are visiting the garden, they can and will devour garden residents in order to satisfy their own residency requirements. However, once piñatas are residents, they will not eat each other unless instructed to do by the player, although fights can break out between residents who do not share the predator-prey relationship.
With some exceptions, piñatas each have different appearance or coloration variants. These variants can be produced by fulfilling certain requirements in the game. For example, a given piñata species may be able to change from its default color to a yellow color by eating a sunflower. Additionally, certain piñatas can evolve into other species altogether, e.g., when a Sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...
mint
Spearmint
Mentha spicata syn. M. cordifolia is a species of mint native to much of Europe and southwest Asia, though its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive early cultivation. It grows in wet soils...
eats a buttercup flowerhead, it turns into a Cand
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
ary.
Development
The original concept for the game began under the name Your Garden in 2002, and eventually evolved into the colorful world of Viva Piñata. According to interviews with Rare by Eurogamer TVEurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
and others, the game was originally designed for the Pocket PC
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...
platform. After Rare's acquisition by Microsoft, the title was then moved to the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
video game system before finally being developed for the Xbox 360 video game system. At various times, more than 50 different people contributed to the project.
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
. As a result, in addition to being a video game on Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console, it is also a computer-animated television series
Viva Piñata (TV series)
Viva Piñata is a Canadian-American animated television series seen around the world. It is based upon the Xbox 360 video game of the same name. It is produced by an American company, 4Kids Productions and a Canadian company Bardel Entertainment, a children's animation company in Canada...
produced by 4Kids Entertainment. The show began airing on 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
on August 26, 2006, on Canada's YTV on September 9, 2006, and on the UK's Nick Toons
Nicktoons UK
Nicktoons is a British digital television channel launched on 22 July 2002. It is a cartoon based sister channel to Nickelodeon. The channel airs cartoons, these are commonly known as Nicktoons, as well as other cartoons known as non-Nicktoons. Unlike the United States version, it has been...
on March 5, 2007. Animation for the television series is done at Bardel Entertainment
Bardel Entertainment
Bardel Entertainment is a Canadian animation studio founded in 1988.- Releases :*Silverwing *Dragons: Fire and Ice *Dragons: Metal Ages *Chaotic...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Recently, the show began airing on ITV2 in the UK as part of the "Action Stations! " children's programming block.
Released as a launch title
Launch title
A launch game, or launch title, is a video game released to consumers synchronously with the release of its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these games are also packaged with the console...
with the Brazilian launch of the Xbox 360, it was the first game ever translated to Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
for the Xbox 360. It was also the first non-PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
console game to be translated into Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
collaborated with Six Flags Mexico
Six Flags México
Six Flags México is an amusement park owned by Six Flags Inc. and the only Six Flags park operating in Latin America. It is located in the Tlalpan forest and borough, on the southern edge of Mexico City, Mexico. Six Flags México has become one of the most important theme parks in Mexico and the...
to promote the Xbox 360 as well as Viva Piñata. To do this, a 14.6-meter tall, 16-meter long piñata, specifically a Horstachio, was built at the park. At the time, it was the largest recorded piñata ever built.
Special edition
A "Special Edition" of the game was released with a unique box. Everything except the backdrop of the Horstachio is part of a plastic sleeve. A separate disc includes the following bonus content:- A playable demo of LucasArts' Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
- A playable demo of the arcade classic FroggerFroggerFrogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
, enhanced and reinvigorated for the Xbox 360. - A Time PilotTime PilotTime Pilot is a multi-directional scrolling shooter and free-roaming aerial combat arcade game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, released by Konami in 1982, and distributed in the United States by Centuri...
demo, allowing gamers to fly a futuristic fighter jet with the ability to travel through time against wave after wave of enemies. - A return to AstroLab for a playable demo of Marble Blast UltraMarble Blast UltraMarble Blast Ultra is a 3D puzzle/action game involving a marble developed by GarageGames. It was released on January 25, 2006 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It is the sequel to Marble Blast Gold. It features 60 brand new levels, enhanced graphics, 2 new power-ups and a multiplayer mode...
, where players guide their marbles through a landscape of moving platforms and perilous obstacles. - A sneak peek at the animated TV series, produced by 4Kids Entertainment & Bardel Entertainment. This is the first episode in the animated series, named 'Horstachio of a Different Color'.
Windows version
At E3 2007 during the Microsoft press conference, a PCPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
port of Viva Piñata was announced. The conversion was handled by Climax Group
Climax Group
Climax Group is a British independent video game development company. It was founded by Karl Jeffery in 1988 and is based in Portsmouth, Hampshire....
and runs on both Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
and Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
. The game is part of the Games for Windows
Games for Windows
Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
program which offers easier installation and support for Windows Vista's Games Explorer, Xbox 360 Controller
Xbox 360 Controller
The Xbox 360 Controller is the primary controller for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console and was introduced at E3 2005. The Xbox 360 controller comes in both wired and wireless versions. Original Xbox controllers are not compatible with the Xbox 360...
for Windows, Parental Controls, and the use of Games For Windows - Live. The game was released on November 6, 2007 in the United states, followed by the release in Europe on November 16, then in Japan on January 18, 2008.
Sequel
A sequel, Viva Piñata: Trouble in ParadiseViva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is the Xbox 360 sequel to the critically acclaimed life simulation game entitled Viva Piñata. The title was officially announced on May 13, 2008 with a September 2, 2008 release date in North America and a September 5, 2008 date in Europe.-Plot:The second Viva...
was announced in May 2008 and released in September 2008. The sequel adds more than 30 new piñata species, a "Just for Fun" sandbox mode, and new co-operative modes, as well as new desert and arctic environments.
Viva Piñata (Original Soundtrack)
The Viva Piñata (Original Soundtrack) by Grant KirkhopeGrant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope is a British video game music composer, known for writing the soundtracks for numerous games by Rare, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64.-Biography:...
was released on Audio CD and digital download on the 28th of June, 2009. It features 25 tracks spanning 59 minutes ,
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Rare announced plans to release a Nintendo DS version of the game at Comic-ConComic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
2007. It was later revealed to be titled Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Nintendo DS video game console and based on the original Viva Piñata, rather than being an all-new game in the series....
and was subsequently released in September 2008. Key changes include a control scheme which makes use of the stylus, as well as the presence of additional context-sensitive information on the second screen.
Viva Piñata: Party Animals
On October 30, 2007, a party gameParty game
Party games are games that some people play as forms of entertainment at social gatherings. Party games usually involve more than one player. There are a large number and styles of party games available and the one selected will depend on the atmosphere that is sought to be generated...
spin-off, Viva Piñata: Party Animals
Viva Piñata: Party Animals
Viva Piñata: Party Animals is a video game developed by Krome Studios for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console and set in the world of Viva Piñata...
was released. Developed by Krome Studios
Krome Studios
Krome Studios is an Australian video game company. Its headquarters are in Brisbane and it previously had offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. Krome Studios is best known for their Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games and for revitalising the Spyro the Dragon series...
, the game features the TV show piñata characters competing in races and close to 50 party mini-games including activities such as apple eating, bug stomping and paint splattering.
Viva Piñata TV series
An animated TV series was produced in conjunction with the Xbox 360 game, which airs on the CW's 4Kids animated block. The program is also available on DVD.Reception
A number of gamers and gaming journalists proclaim that Viva Piñata is one of Rare's best outings yet, with IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
indicating that it is the best Rare game since Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
acquired the company in 2002. In addition to IGN's positive 8.5/10 rating, it has received an 8.3/10 from GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, an "A" from 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, and an 8.7/10 overall from Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
. International reception was also warm; for example, popular Russian website AG.ru gave the game a score of 85/100 and an "Our Choice" award. The game scored 84% on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 51 reviews, and an 85% on Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
.
While published sales figures for the game appear relatively low and failed to gather as much momentum as Nintendo's Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
craze, Justin Cook (of Rare) insists that the game has sold "close to half a million". During a later 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
interview with Gregg Mayles, Mayles noted that he wasn't expecting immediate blockbuster sales, explaining, "Viva Piñata, it's come out; it's now sold really well; it's been a very steady seller like we thought it would be. We didn't think it would suddenly fly off the shelves. It was going to take time for people to appreciate it or give it a try beyond the initial, quite mixed reaction." Despite the initially discouraging sales figures, the game quickly gained a loyal cult following. Hyper
Hyper (magazine)
Hyper is a multi-platform Australian video game magazine. Australia's longest running gaming magazine, it has been in publication since 1993, and was released the same month as the better known UK magazine Edge...
s Cam Shea commends the game for being "charming, open-ended and plenty of surprises and depth". However, he criticised it for "uneven pacing and patronising voice over of the first guide".
Viva Piñata's concept artist, Ryan Stevenson, stated that, regardless of sales numbers, Rare is planning to expand the series with new elements including new piñatas and new characters.
Awards
Viva Piñata was nominated for 6 awards by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences for its 10th annual awards covering 2006, the most nominations a Rare title has had since GoldenEye 007. Nominated categories included:- Console Game of the Year
- Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance - Female (won)
- Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
- Family Game of the Year
- Most Unique Game of the Year
The game's music score by Grant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope is a British video game music composer, known for writing the soundtracks for numerous games by Rare, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64.-Biography:...
was nominated for Original Score at the 2007 BAFTA awards.
The game was also nominated for "Best Original Game" in X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
's "Best Video Games of 2006" awards. Other accolades include a "Parents' Choice Gold Award" from the Parents' Choice Foundation., and GameSpot included the title as one of their 10 nominees for their "2006 Game of the Year" award, although it later received only 3% of the total votes.
External links
- Viva Piñata official website
- Viva Piñata on Rare's Official website
- Viva Piñata Wiki - PinataIsland.info