Viva Piñata

This article is about the video game series. For the TV series, seeViva Piñata(TV series).For the first game in the series, seeViva Piñata(video game).For other uses, seeViva Piñata (disambiguation).

Viva Piñata
Genre(s)	Life simulation
Developer(s)	Rare Krome Studios
Publisher(s)	Xbox Game Studios THQ
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 Windows Nintendo DS Xbox One
First release	Viva Piñata November 9, 2006
Latest release	Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise September 5, 2008

Viva Piñatais a video game franchise created and produced byXbox Game StudiosandRare.The series' first game,Viva Piñata(2006), was conceived as a mobile gardening game beforeRarewas acquired by Microsoft. It was released onXbox 360.It launched alongside ananimated seriesproduced by4Kids.The game received two console sequels:Viva Piñata: Party Animals(2007) andViva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise(2008), as well as a handheld release,Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise(2008), for theNintendo DS.

Development

Raredecided on the game's animal and gardening motif before adding the piñata(pictured)theme.

Tim Stamper,the co-founder ofRare,conceptualized a gardening game for the handheldPocket PCplatform around 2002. A small (three-person) team began work on a simple prototype whileRarewas still affiliated withNintendo,prior to itsMicrosoftacquisition. The game's development transferred to the originalXboxand, ultimately, to theXbox 360for its graphics capabilities.Rarewanted its animals to have a unified style, which was how the game's concept artist arrived at thepiñataconcept. The idea was exciting toRare,as piñatas were not commonplace in England. The connection between piñatas and candy-filled insides led to new gameplay directions.

TheViva Piñatateam was a model for productivity and regular output withinRareandXbox Game Studios.Though compared to the 12-person teams behind earlier Rare games, the company'sXbox 360development teams consisted of 50 to 60 people.TheViva Piñatateam included about 50 people at its zenith. Microsoft also transitioned its development teams to use the company'sXNApackage to streamline and reduce duplication in engineering efforts. Microsoft pressured theViva Piñatadevelopment team to keep the game's themes kid-friendly,as the parent company planned for the game and resulting franchise to increase the market appeal of theirXbox 360.In 2006, a Microsoft Games executive called the game its most important franchise, but its reception was tepid.

As Rare released the originalViva Piñatafor theXbox 360in 2006, its development team saw it as incomplete. The developers had cut partial ideas from the release in order to meet their deadlines.Rare'sGregg Maylessaid that the game sold well and steadily on par with their expectationsand Xbox'sPhil Spenceradded that the game was considered a success inside the company.The team incorporated player feedback and worked towards a "more definitive version" of the original.Mayles left the team to work onBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Boltsand Justin Cook became the team's lead designer.The sequel was built atop the original and the developers re-used many of the tools from the original game's development.In both the sequel and the original, the development team volunteered to record the sounds used for the piñatas.One of the team's new ideas was "Piñata Vision", a feature that detects printed cards via theXbox camerato change the in-game environment (e.g., adding piñatas or altering the weather).Near the time of the sequel's release, Rare's Mayles figured that the team would likely not have enough new gameplay ideas to warrant a sequel toTrouble in Paradise,though Cook said that he would work on the game's shop interface had he more time.The games were later re-released on the 2015 compilation of Rare games,Rare Replay,but the server that handled their piñata sharing features had been shut down by that time.

In-between the two series releases, Krome releasedViva Piñata: Party Animals.In early 2007, a Microsoft Games executive had expressed interest in continuing the series onto theNintendo DSplatform.Rare had attempted to makeTrouble in Paradise'scamera features work withPocket Paradise,but chose instead to release the games on time.

Games

Aggregate review scores

Game	Metacritic
Viva Piñata	84/100
Viva Piñata: Party Animals	56/100
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise	82/100
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise	82/100

• Viva Piñata(2006)
• Viva Piñata: Party Animals(2007)
• Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise(2008)
• Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise(2008)

Animated series

Further information:Viva Piñata (TV series)

Viva Piñatawas planned as a larger intellectual property. 4Kids TV had agreed to make aViva Piñatacartoon before the game was released. 4Kids selected the series out of several Microsoft properties offered. 4Kids also handled the series merchandising. The cartoon is tied very closely to the game, and its animations are based on the game's own 3D character models. Its episodes are approved by Rare'sGregg Maylesfor their applicability to the game. The cartoon was also designed to give viewers tips on how to interact with the in-game piñatas.The animated series' storyline later influenced the plot ofTrouble in Paradise.

Further reading

• McLaughlin, Rus (July 28, 2008)."IGN Presents the History of Rare".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on December 8, 2020.RetrievedMay 30,2017.