Rare announces Viva Pinata for DS

Last Sunday (July 29, 2007) at ComiCon, Rare announced that it is developing an enhanced remake of Viva Piñata for the DS. The new game will build off the original Xbox 360 garden/pet sim with wi-fi features, new creatures and plenty of touchscreen control options for designing, nurturing, instructing, protecting and caring for the piñatas and the garden.

All of the piñatas from the 360 game will arrive on the handheld intact, along with some new friends and fresh game modes (enhanced versions of the journal and encyclopedia, and the all new sandbox mode and episodes). No release date has been set yet.

Viva Piñata was critically praised but relatively poorly received by consumers after its Fall 2006 launch, many believe due to it’s platform – the cute, Animal Crossing-meets-The-Sims gameplay didn’t necessarily mesh with the 360’s hardcore crowd. The DS should prove a much more welcome home to the piñatas, and it seems like the gameplay was tailor made for the DS. A PC version and 360 party game (Viva Piñata: Party Animals) based on the franchise are also on the way later this year.

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