A new Viva Piñata? Yes, the word has been floating around, but THQ nailed it for us today with an official announcement: the game will be called Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise and will come to the Nintendo DS this fall. Gardening on the go, huh? I would have laughed at that idea a few years ago, but that was before Viva Piñata sank its addictive claws into thousands of Xbox 360 owners across the globe…
Not surprisingly, the DS touch screen will be heavily implemented, placing the player in charge of reviving neglected Piñata Island and turning it into a garden of paradise. The game will introduce seven new species of piñatas, not to mention the usual chores of keeping the garden and breeding your adorable friends. Yes, Viva fans, it looks like in-game animal humping will be back. I know you’ve all been waiting for this.
A new mode called Playground has also been added; it allows players to create a blooming garden full of piñatas in a short amount of time. Portable speed mating? I suppose only time will tell. More on this title as soon as the details sprout (horrible, I know, but how could I resist?).
Wildly Popular Franchise Scheduled to Debut on Nintendo DS(TM) This Fall with THQ’s Viva Pinata(R): Pocket Paradise(TM)
Players Can Garden On-The-Go with an Intuitive Control Scheme Designed Specifically for Nintendo DS
AGOURA HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 13, 2008–THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that Viva Pinata(R): Pocket Paradise(TM) is scheduled for release this fall for Nintendo DS(TM). The game is based on Microsoft Game Studios’ highly-rated original Viva Pinata game for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise features an array of content exclusive to Nintendo DS and an intuitive control scheme designed to take full advantage of the DS touch screen and stylus, making it a breeze to navigate through the garden.
“Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for the Viva Pinata franchise because players can have direct interaction with the environment and their pinatas using the stylus,” said Bob Aniello, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, THQ. “We are thrilled to introduce Microsoft’s critically-acclaimed Viva Pinata series to an entirely new segment of the gaming community.”
In Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, players will inherit a neglected garden on Pinata Island and turn it into a pinata paradise by tending to all aspects of cleaning the garden, growing and maintaining vegetation, caring for and breeding pinatas, as well as attracting new pinata species. The game features seven all-new pinata species, each with new requirements, houses and unique cut scenes. Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise also includes twelve full motion video clips that serve as tutorial levels within the game. The videos feature the stars of the Fox 4Kids Viva Pinata TV series, including Hudson Horstashio(TM), Fergy Fudgehog(TM) and Paulie Pretztail(TM). The brand-new Playground mode allows players to create a lush garden full of exciting and exotic pinatas in a very short amount of time. In addition, certain rare pinatas can only be acquired by using the Nintendo DS local wireless connection, where players can transfer items from their garden to a friend’s garden.
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise is developed by Rare Ltd., one of the world’s leading video game developers and masterminds behind some of the most popular video games in history, including multi-million-dollar sellers “GoldenEye”, “Perfect Dark”, “Banjo-Kazooie” and the “Donkey Kong Country” Series. From 2005 to 2006, Rare released “Perfect Dark Zero”, “Kameo: Elements of Power” and “Viva Pinata” for Xbox 360. Rare continues to entertain the world with the release of “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” and “Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise” later this year. For more information on this game, as well as additional THQ titles, please visit www.thq.com.
