Xbox 360 FanboyXbox 360 Fanboyhttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/feedlogo.gifXbox 360 Fanboyhttp://www.xbox360fanboy.comen-usCopyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Viva Pinata's birthday brings old-school assetshttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/11/26/viva-pinatas-birthday-brings-old-school-assets/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/11/26/viva-pinatas-birthday-brings-old-school-assets/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/11/26/viva-pinatas-birthday-brings-old-school-assets/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Viva Pinata's UK birthday is just around the corner and in celebration Rare is opening up their super secret chest of hidden Pinata game assets and revealing all kinds of info nuggets. Every day, from now through Viva Pinata's birthday on December 1st, BIGSheep over on the Pinata Island forums will post a special Pinata goody for everyone to enjoy. Today's gems include early Pinata drawings, the first general game description and a screenshot taken from the very first game build. And, if you look close enough, you'll notice that they used some recycled Banjo and Kazooie models too. Enjoy your daily trek over to Pinata Island to get a Pinata nugget and be sure to wish your Fizzlybear a happy birthday come December 1st.

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]]>rareviva-pinataDustin BurgMon, 26 Nov 2007 16:00:00 ESTRare: GoW took Viva Piñata'a marketing cashhttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/10/15/rare-gow-took-viva-pinataa-marketing-cash/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/10/15/rare-gow-took-viva-pinataa-marketing-cash/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/10/15/rare-gow-took-viva-pinataa-marketing-cash/#commentsFiled under: , ,

In an interview with Gamasutra, James Thomas and Justin Cook (two members of Rare's development team) talked about the history of Viva Piñata and how hard it has been targeting a new family-IP to the stereotypically hardcore Xbox 360 gamers. Specifically, Thomas mentioned that last Fall, publisher Microsoft Game Studios left little in the Viva Piñata marketing bank and instead sunk more focus and effort into their new Gears of War franchise. Thomas commented saying that,

"So much of the [marketing] money went towards Gears of War, which is going to sell millions anyway. It was a bit of like, 'What about the other franchise?' I think we got left in the wake somewhat."

Here at X3F we've always been enthusiastic about Viva Piñata and give it nothing but praise. But, even for us, trying to get other gamers to try the game is a bit of a task seeing that it is somewhat nontraditional. Maybe Microsoft didn't do a good job at marketing it and maybe Gears of War was more important last year, but we have confidence in their commitment to bringing the somewhat under-achieving Viva Piñata franchise into focus again ... heck, we've got BK toys to prove it.

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]]>gears-of-wargowrareviva-pinataDustin BurgMon, 15 Oct 2007 16:45:00 ESTViva Piñata aids in gamer's marriage proposalhttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/13/viva-pinata-aids-in-gamers-marriage-proposal/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/13/viva-pinata-aids-in-gamers-marriage-proposal/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/13/viva-pinata-aids-in-gamers-marriage-proposal/#commentsFiled under: ,

Hey kids, Viva Piñata isn't just a great game that'll help keep you entertained and improve your gardening skills, but it can also be used for marriage proposals too!

PINATAcast over on the Piñata Island forums did just that, he proposed to his girlfriend by using Viva Piñata and sending her an in game crate filled with a single diamond (the only diamond his diggerling has ever unearthed) with the message "will you marry me?". She was playing on her console in the other room and when she received the message, giggling and laughter could be heard, because she thought it was a silly joke. But PINATAcast was serious and went down on his knee asking for her hand in marriage again. Knowing that he was serious, she started crying, said yes and their wedding is tentatively scheduled for this Spring. Congrats PINATAcast, your interesting proposal worked and we hope you have a happy marriage filled with lots of sugary sweets and fuzzy Bunnycombs. Those damn Bunnycombs are so cute.

[Via Joystiq]

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]]>rareviva-pinataDustin BurgThu, 13 Sep 2007 16:15:00 ESTNo Viva Piñata DLC coming, evar!http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/04/no-viva-pinata-dlc-coming-evar/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/04/no-viva-pinata-dlc-coming-evar/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/04/no-viva-pinata-dlc-coming-evar/#commentsFiled under: ,

Fellow Viva Piñata fans, if you've been waiting ever so patiently for some new downloadable content to hit the Marketplace then developer Rare has some bitterly sad news for you. In their somewhat monthly Scribes column, where the team answers fans' letters and questions, Rare fielded a question about the possibility of some new content for Viva Piñata. Their answer ... not a chance, more specifically they said that "we aren't doing any downloadable content for Viva Piñata because we are much too busy doing something else...". Too busy for Viva Piñata? We raise an eyebrow to that!

Even though we didn't expect to see any new Viva Piñata DLC hit the Marketplace a year after its release, this official confirmation is somewhat sad. But we don't need it, you're fine the way you are Viva Piñata and don't let anyone tell you differently.

[Via Xbox 360 Rally]

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]]>rarevivapinataDustin BurgTue, 04 Sep 2007 11:30:00 ESTRare is bringing Viva Piñata to the DShttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/30/rare-is-bringing-viva-pinata-to-the-ds/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/30/rare-is-bringing-viva-pinata-to-the-ds/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/30/rare-is-bringing-viva-pinata-to-the-ds/#commentsFiled under: , ,

During the final day of Comic Con, Rare held a Viva Piñata panel discussion and made a surpeise announcement that Viva Piñata will be heading to the Nintendo DS. So, it looks like Shane Kim's talk of bringing the franchise to the DS making sense ended up being one of those sly hints of things to come. Viva Piñata on the DS is being developed by Rare and will be very similar to its lovably fun Xbox 360 version featuring the same core gameplay elements. Nothing more about the DS version was mentioned other than it'll be teh awesomeness, but we'd like to hear when the DS version will hit retail, if it'll incorporate the DS's wireless features and how pretty it is.

So, there you have it fanboys. Viva Piñata will be on the Nintendo DS and Horstachio will have a new condo to call home. Touch screen and all!

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]]>dsnintendodsrarevivapinataDustin BurgMon, 30 Jul 2007 11:45:00 EST13 minutes of Viva Piñata: Party Animalshttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/18/13-minutes-of-viva-pinata-party-animals/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/18/13-minutes-of-viva-pinata-party-animals/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/18/13-minutes-of-viva-pinata-party-animals/#commentsFiled under: ,


Our friends at Piñata Island -- these guys -- have gotten their candy-stained hands on a thirteen minute video of Viva Piñata: Party Animals. The video was taken with the lead designer, Cameron Davis, of Krome Studios, developers of Party Animals. The video shows off several of the mini-games, as well as the races, which serve as the transition between mini-games. All of the games -- save the racing sections -- are controlled via the left stick and a single button, which Davis says should allow anyone to pick up and play the title. The game also includes drop-in / drop-out versus play, so anyone can join or leave a game at any time. Finally, Davis reveals that the E3 demo should be available on Xbox Live Marketplace in the near future. Hit the "read" link to check out the video.

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]]>kromestudiosmgsmicrosoftgamestudiosvivapinatavivapinatapartyanimalsRichard MitchellWed, 18 Jul 2007 15:30:00 ESTX3F hands-on: Viva Pinata: Party Animalshttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/14/x3f-hands-on-viva-pinata-party-animals/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/14/x3f-hands-on-viva-pinata-party-animals/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/07/14/x3f-hands-on-viva-pinata-party-animals/#commentsFiled under: , ,


As a game designed to appeal to a younger audience, Viva Piñata had one fault that probably stood out the most: other than the cutesy characters, it wasn't really designed to appeal to a younger audience. The game is fairly complicated and requires some pretty intense micromanagement in later levels (at least it does if you want to advance). Furthermore, VP does almost nothing to capitalize on the children's property around which it is centered. The various piñatas, which are wacky and wisecracking characters on the children's program, are little more than grunting, mindless animals in the game. With Viva Piñata: Party Animals, Microsoft looks to take on all these problems at once. We took it for a spin at E3 to see what sets it apart.

Continue reading X3F hands-on: Viva Pinata: Party Animals

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]]>e307handsonmgsmicrosoftgamestudiosvivapinatavivapinatapartyanimalsRichard MitchellSat, 14 Jul 2007 18:45:00 ESTEveryone has a Viva Piñata confessionhttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/06/01/everyone-has-a-viva-pinata-confession/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/06/01/everyone-has-a-viva-pinata-confession/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/06/01/everyone-has-a-viva-pinata-confession/#commentsFiled under: ,

It's true. We confess. We love Viva Piñata and we always have. And Viva Piñata Confessions has taught us that we aren't weird, we don't have a problem and that our love of the game isn't something we should be embarrassed about. Even our rebel of a game designer Cliffy B loves himself some Viva Piñata every once and a while. You too can come clean, you too can let go of all the built up anxiety and just do it ... confess. Confess that you love Viva Piñata and aren't afraid to tell the world.

And if our inspirational talk doesn't make you believe in the wonder that is Viva Piñata, be sure to check out the embedded video after the break. Those piñatas truly have an affect on a person's brain.

Continue reading Everyone has a Viva Piñata confession

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]]>confessionrareviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgFri, 01 Jun 2007 16:15:00 ESTCreate-a-Rare-Developer results are in!http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/05/08/create-a-rare-developer-results-are-in/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/05/08/create-a-rare-developer-results-are-in/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/05/08/create-a-rare-developer-results-are-in/#commentsFiled under: , ,


The winner of Piñata Island's Create-a-Rare-Developer contest has been chosen. For those that don't recall, the purpose of the contest was to create a new piñata species (named after a Rare developer) for Viva Piñata. It looks like Piñata Island received loads of outstanding entries. In the end, though, it was the Goldipop (pictured above) that beat the odds and won the grand prize (a wild-card piñata). The piñata is named after Andy Pollington, fights with anchors and contains delicious orange suckers. Hit the "read" link to check out the runners-up and honorable mentions.

Has a 360 game inspired you to create anything artistic lately?

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]]>pinata islandPinataIslandrarerare studiosRareStudiosviva pinataVivaPinataRichard MitchellTue, 08 May 2007 18:30:00 ESTViva Piñata gets parents' approvalhttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/05/01/viva-pinata-gets-parents-approval/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/05/01/viva-pinata-gets-parents-approval/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/05/01/viva-pinata-gets-parents-approval/#commentsFiled under: ,

Everyone's favorite piñata growing simulator Viva Piñata has received top honors from a collective group we call "parents". The Parents' Choice Foundation awarded Viva Piñata with the Parents' Choice Award in gaming for its "excellent production values, universal human values, appeal to children, and age appropriateness". We're sure it's an honor, but we wonder if such an award will deter older gamers from picking up the game. We know how sensitive some fanboys can be when it comes to their gamercard and playing "children's games", so does the new Parents' Choice Award further embarrass/deter those who are uneasy about trying Viva Piñata?

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]]>awardpinatarareviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgTue, 01 May 2007 12:30:00 ESTCreate-a-Rare-Developer, win wild-card piñatahttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/04/20/create-a-rare-developer-win-wild-card-pinata/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/04/20/create-a-rare-developer-win-wild-card-pinata/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/04/20/create-a-rare-developer-win-wild-card-pinata/#commentsFiled under: ,

Our piñata loving friends over at Piñata Island are holding a contest where the winners will receive an extremely rare in-game Viva Piñata wild-card piñata. To win, all you have to do is pick a name of a developer off of the credits list and make a piñata that you feel best fits that person. Draw a piñata, build one out of wood, or use paper mache, it's up to you. Oh, and be sure to make up a brief back story for the little guy too. One lucky winner will have the choice of picking a discovered or undiscovered wild-card piñata or have a Mystery Crate sent to them. Three other runners up will get a discovered wild-card piñata of their choice. All entries must be posted on the forum by May 5th, so find a developer and make a piñata already!

[Thanks, jimmcq]

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]]>contestmicrosoft game studiosMicrosoftGameStudiospinatapinatasrareviva pinataVivaPinatawild cardWildCardDustin BurgFri, 20 Apr 2007 13:30:00 ESTThose silly, little, inbreeding Whirlmshttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/25/those-silly-little-inbreeding-whirlms/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/25/those-silly-little-inbreeding-whirlms/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/25/those-silly-little-inbreeding-whirlms/#commentsFiled under: ,

The latest VG Cats comic features one of our favorite Xbox 360 games, Viva Piñata! Actually, the comic focuses on the darker side of our piñata game ... a side few have the courage to openly talk about. You'll have to read the comic to get the full impact, but let's just say giving too much power to a Viva Piñata gardener can have twisted consequences. Guys, we all know inbreeding Whirlms isn't acceptable in our society, but the answer is not feeding a Whirlm baby their parent's "candy". Sick, sick sick ... this is just sick.

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]]>comicrareviva pinataVivaPinatawhirlmwhirlmsDustin BurgSun, 25 Mar 2007 12:00:00 ESTMicrosoft's posse leads in NAViGaTR nominationshttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/14/microsofts-posse-leads-in-navigatr-nominations/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/14/microsofts-posse-leads-in-navigatr-nominations/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/14/microsofts-posse-leads-in-navigatr-nominations/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The nominees for the 2006 National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers (NAViGaTR) awards were just announced with Microsoft leading the pack in nominations count. Microsoft garnered 29 nominations for various games including games like Gears of War and Viva Piñata. Speaking of Gears, it's up for an amazing 16 nominations including Graphics/Technical and Game of the Year. With over 1,150 media critics, analysts, and journalists making the final decision, we'll be keeping our eyes open on May 20th to see if Gears can add to its ever expanding trophy case.

[Via TeamXbox]

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]]>awardsgears of warGearsOfWargowmicrosoftmicrosoft game studiosMicrosoftGameStudiosnavigatrviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgWed, 14 Mar 2007 14:00:00 ESTViva Piñata demo now availablehttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/13/viva-pinata-demo-now-available/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/13/viva-pinata-demo-now-available/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/03/13/viva-pinata-demo-now-available/#commentsFiled under: ,

A demo of Viva Piñata is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Clocking in at just under a gig, the demo promises to let you raise your own sparrowmint piñata. Viva Piñata vets will know that sparrowmints are available fairly early in the game, but the demo should give players about 30 minutes to an hour plenty of gameplay. Considering the high hopes that Microsoft originally pinned on the game, we wonder why it took this long to release a demo. With any luck, maybe this will convince more gamers that Viva Piñata is worth checking out. Trust us, if you give it a chance, you'll find that Viva Piñata is very addictive.

Update: It looks like the demo has more gameplay than we thought. Enjoy.

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]]>live marketplaceLiveMarketplacemarketplacemicrosoft game studiosMicrosoftGameStudiosrarerare studiorare studiosRareStudioRareStudiosviva pinataVivaPinataxblmxbox live marketplaceXboxLiveMarketplaceRichard MitchellTue, 13 Mar 2007 10:30:00 ESTWin a Viva Piñata coffee mug! (coffee not included)http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/22/win-a-viva-pinata-coffee-mug-coffee-not-included/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/22/win-a-viva-pinata-coffee-mug-coffee-not-included/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/22/win-a-viva-pinata-coffee-mug-coffee-not-included/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Over at Piñata Island (the information epicenter of all things Viva Piñata) they are running a contest and giving away a few Viva Piñata coffee mugs. All you have to do to enter is edit the wiki in any shape, way, or form three times between now and March 2nd. They'll then randomly select a few winners who'll receive piñata mug goodness. That's not all that hard now is it? Anyone up for changing the Horstachio wiki page to read "Definition: When you kill a prostitute and hide her beneath your hotel room bed"? Yeah ... the whitty Cliffy B came up with that one.

[Thanks, jimmcq]

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]]>contesthorstachiopinata islandPinataIslandviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgThu, 22 Feb 2007 21:00:00 ESTVideo: Banjo-Kazooie and Viva Piñata sequel infohttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/19/video-banjo-kazooie-and-viva-pinata-sequel-info/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/19/video-banjo-kazooie-and-viva-pinata-sequel-info/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/19/video-banjo-kazooie-and-viva-pinata-sequel-info/#commentsFiled under: , ,


In the above video, Rare talks with GameTrailers about the potential of a Viva Piñata sequel as the direction they'd need to take it to keep it fresh, as well as their plans for the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie game. Banjo-Kazooie 3 will be a continuation of the series so it will be a safe bet that all of your favorite characters from previous iterations will be making a triumphant return. That being said, the concept artists couldn't confirm whether Gruntilda would be showing up or not. Are you looking forward to Banjo's new gen title? How do you feel about a Viva Piñata sequel?

[Via QJ.net]

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]]>Banjo KazooieBanjo-KazooieBanjoKazooieGametrailersGruntildaJinjoRareViva PiñataViva PinataVivaPiñataVivaPinataDavid DregerMon, 19 Feb 2007 16:15:00 ESTIs Viva Piñata headed for the DS?http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/13/is-viva-pinata-headed-for-the-ds/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/13/is-viva-pinata-headed-for-the-ds/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/13/is-viva-pinata-headed-for-the-ds/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Would you play Viva Piñata on your Nintendo DS? That's the question Microsoft may be bouncing around the corporate board room table, because Shane Kim, Microsoft Game Studios VP, thinks it would be a great idea. In an interview with 1UP Kim said that "Viva Piñata on a DS makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways from a franchise perspective". We have to agree if they can pull it off on a DS and want those little piñatas to reach mass appeal. What do you think, would it be a good idea for Microsoft owned developer Rare to create a Viva Piñata spinoff for a competing company's handheld? Or do you think it would be a much better fit on Sony's PSP?

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]]>dsmicrosoft game studiosMicrosoftGameStudiosnintendo dsNintendoDsrareviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgTue, 13 Feb 2007 15:30:00 ESTAhh cute, Viva Piñata Valentine wallpapershttp://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/11/ahh-cute-viva-pinata-valentine-wallpapers/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/11/ahh-cute-viva-pinata-valentine-wallpapers/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/11/ahh-cute-viva-pinata-valentine-wallpapers/#commentsFiled under: ,


As part of Microsoft's Let's Play on Valentines Day celebration not only are they urging fellow gardeners to trade piñatas, but also posted some downloadable goodies too. Over at the official Viva Piñata website they put up a few downloadable wallpapers for you to send to your loved one or to simply spiff up your own desktop. And for those of you who are in a relationship, remember this Wednesday is Valentines Day. Forget the candy and flowers, just snuggle up for a nice romantic four hour Viva Piñata gaming session. You just can't get much more romantic than that.

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]]>downloadrarevalentinevalentine dayValentineDayvalentines dayValentinesDayviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgSun, 11 Feb 2007 19:00:00 ESTRare going to reveal wild card Piñatas?http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/08/rare-going-to-reveal-wild-card-pinatas/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/08/rare-going-to-reveal-wild-card-pinatas/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/08/rare-going-to-reveal-wild-card-pinatas/#commentsFiled under: ,

Over at the Viva Pinata Forum Rare's very own BIGsheep decided to run a poll asking fans which wild card piñata they'd like to see. And for those of you who aren't in the loop, wild card piñatas are extremely rare, randomly born, and there is no concrete formula on how to create them. Think of them as genetic screw ups that are one in a million. Anyway, BIGsheep's poll ends in roughly a week and we're curious to see what will happened when the poll ends. Is he going to be kind enough to show us what the wild card piñata looks like, maybe lift the lid on his entire wild card stash? We'll just have to wait and see what goes down with this wild card poll fiasco. And don't forget to vote!

[Thanks, jimmcq]

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]]>rareviva pinataVivaPinatawild cardwild card pinataWildCardWildCardPinataDustin BurgThu, 08 Feb 2007 21:30:00 ESTViva Piñata, the most overlooked game this year?http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/12/25/viva-pinata-the-most-overlooked-game-this-year/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/12/25/viva-pinata-the-most-overlooked-game-this-year/http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/12/25/viva-pinata-the-most-overlooked-game-this-year/#commentsFiled under:


Simon over at Game Set Watch wrote up an article explaining his reasons for why both the media and online communities haven't pushed Viva Piñata into the mainstream. Ultimately, Viva Piñata hasn't yet reached its mass appeal, yet garners not only great reviews, but praise from those who give it a chance. If you haven't noticed, all of us at Fanboy Towers enjoy the game and some are even mildly addicted. We feel the problem may be that Viva Piñata is just so hard to explain, hard to get its point across, and hard to market. It offers so much, has so many intricacies and appeals to such a wide audience ... it's difficult to package their gaming message into one nice box. Just another good read and if you haven't picked up Piñata, buy it with all the money you get from returning those crappy Christmas gifts.

[Via Digg]

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]]>pinatarareviva pinataVivaPinataDustin BurgMon, 25 Dec 2006 18:45:00 EST