Viva Piñata developer Rare has questioned why its owner Microsoft decided to back Gears of War with such a high-profile marketing campaign, which left its own new franchise in the shadows last Christmas.

Software engineer James Thomas feels that the new family-friendly IP lost out to Epic's Gears of War, which enjoyed a much bigger marketing budget from Microsoft, helping it top the charts all over the world.
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So there is to be allegedly the following offers:those already well-known Xbox 360 Arcade core version is introduced on 03 November 2007 and replaces the present core version. Core with HDMI port, 256 memory card, Wireless Controllers, 1 year Xbox LIVE ONE and the five Arcade games boom boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, contained of UN, and pac-man, at the price of 279,99.

The Xbox 360 Premium VALUE luggage is to cost 349 and likewise on 03 November 2007 appear. In it a Xbox 360 Premium and the two plays Forza 2 and Viva Pinata is contained. (allegedly some dealers think over it after the plays for separating and to sell the console alone for 300 euro).

Activision and Microsoft bring a Call of Duty 4 Bundle. The price for it is to amount to 385 and to contain apart from the play a Xbox 360 Premium with wireless Controllers and HDMI connection. Also this package will appear allegedly at the beginning of November.
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Reuters' Scott Hillis reports:

Microsoft has cemented its reputation among hardcore gamers with the launch of "Halo 3," but it is still struggling to attract the mass market audience that has flocked to the Nintendo Wii.

Deutsche Bank analyst Todd Raker believes that stronger-than-expected demand for 'Halo 3' could drive Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division EDD to profitability. But Microsoft must attract casual customers as well if the Xbox 360 is going to be a living-room fixture.

So far Microsoft's attempts to attract casual audience have met with mixed results. A lot of the problem is image; the huge buzz around games like "Halo 3" obscures the fact that Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade has about 100 casual games available for download. Baker expects Microsoft to ramp up marketing aimed at casual gamers in another month or so.
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The latest issue of EGM contains some tasty Quartermann rumors. With Viva Pinata already heading to the Nintendo DS and the continued success of mini-game compilations on Wii, doesn't it make sense Viva Pinata: Party Animals should show up on Wii? Q seems to think so, but it doesn't seem like it'll be hitting day-an-date this Fall.

Also, those rumors of BioShock coming to the PlayStation 3? Scrap 'em; apparently, the incredible success of 2K Games' new IP on Xbox 360 (and PC) means Microsoft has snatched the rights to keep Rapture on their hardware. The additional content originally planned for the better-late-than-never PS3 version may show up in a Game of the Year edition or downloadable content on Xbox Live.
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A dedicated Viva Pinata player in Jacksonville, Florida concocted a plan to get his girl by getting her hooked on the Xbox 360 and VP. "I just bought a 360 and VP for the sole reason of getting my girl addicted to VP and on her own system," he boasts.

But it actually worked. "Well, I decided to propose to her, so I sent the only diamond my digger has ever found, with a note attached asking her to marry me. When she got it (across the room on the other TV) she giggled and said I was silly. Then I pulled out the real deal, got on a knee and started getting cried upon. She said yes, so next spring we are getting married!"

Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it, the fact that they must have two TVs and 360 consoles in the same room? Imagine the LAN possibilities..
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Sept 13, 2007 Seems like it's not just Viva Pinata's colourful residents that are inclined to a bit of sweet, music-making romance - a Florida-based gamer has proposed to his girlfriend using Pinata Island's postal service. The love-struck gamer (gamer tag 'Procrasturbate') selflessly sent the lady of his dreams the only diamond he'd ever procured from his Pinata patch, along with the message "Will you marry me?" inside one of Fanny Franker's postal crates. As Procrasturbate explains on the ... » Read More

Kotaku.com writes:
"Who wants Viva Pinata on the DS? Microsoft do. Announced at Comic Con yesterday, Viva Pinata DS will see the original game concept (ie not the party game) ported over to the DS, with the main changes a new top-down perspective and what I'd guess is an improved control scheme. The news is hardly surprising, what with Shane Kim's excessive hint-dropping a few months back, but hey. Best of luck to everyone involved. Viva Pinata was a good idea let down by the fact its target audience don't own 360s. They do own a DS, so maybe second time's a charm."
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Celebrations all round at the home of fellow Dundonian coders Real Time Worlds today. Their first exclusive title for Xbox 360 yesterday won the top award for innovation at the Develop Conference currently being held in Brighton, UK.Designed by coding legend David Jones, creator of Lemmings, Blood Money and the original GTA - Crackdown arrived[...]
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There is a new Viva Pinata demo available to download on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Better late than never?

Price: Free

Availability: Available to Xbox Live Gold members in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States

Dash Details: Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence] Want to see what happens when a Mousemallow meets a Syrupent? Want to try your hand at raising your own Sparrowmint? Now is your chance to download the demo for Viva Piñata, the critically acclaimed, award-winning game from Rare and Microsoft Game Studios.
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Lots of interesting info has been gleaned from Shane Kim's (Microsoft Corporate Vice President) open and frank words last week. However in all of the noise about Microsoft cuddling up to Nintendo, the implications of Live coming to Games for Windows and the rumors about a new black 120GB Xbox 360 model coming out to play, a very promising scrap of info has somehow managed to slip by quietly. And what is this salacious detail? It is the muted confirmation that a Viva Piñata sequel is a near certainty.
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Mincing mega geek Bill Gates has committed the ultimate faux pas - he's told Charlie Rose that Viva Piñata is for girls.

Discussing new genres, he said: "We have a thing called Viva Piñata that's for young girls, where you're tending a garden and these animals come along..."

He then goes on to waffle about how Xbox 360's power and connectivity allow you to "conceptualise" game ideas better than ever before.

So anyway, Gates clearly doesn't know much about Viva Piñata...
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In the upcoming issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the rumors section has news on a bunch of new SOCOM, Katamari Damacy and Viva Piñata titles coming out as well as Microsoft's plan for continued domination.

* Sticky Balls - New Katamari for Wii, PS3 and Xbox Live arcade.

* Turning War Around - Microsoft is crafting a brilliant plan to flip flop Gears and Halo every year, so expect Gears of War 2 in 2008 and a new Halo game in 2009.

* Count the COMs - three new SOCOM games are in the works. One on PSP and two on PS3.

* Mii Crossing - Mii's will be your avatar in the next Animal Crossing. All the shirts and accessories you collect will cross over to other games.

* Hudsun is releasing a TG16 pack with 3D remakes of Bonk, Adventure Island, and Super Star Soldier for the PS2.

* Rare is working on a Viva Pinata Kart racing game.

* NFL may drop EA once it's contract expires in a few years.

I always wonder why game companies continue to turn any type of successful franchise into a cart game but they must sell if the trend continues. Oh, before I forget, I hope the NFL drops EA like a bad habit if they don't step up their next gen efforts with Madden in the upcoming years.
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In their latest edition, the Official Xbox Magazine has again rated all new Xbox 360 game that have been released last month. Sonic the Hedgehoc is the only game that scores below average, the other rates are pretty good.

The full list:

Lost Planet (Xbox 360, Capcom): 8,0
Star Trek Legacy (Xbox 360, Bethesda): 8,0
Sonic The Hedgehog (Xbox 360, Sega): 4,5
DOA Xtreme 2 (Xbox 360, Tecmo): 6,5
Viva Pinata (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 8,5
Phantasy Star Universe (Xbox 360, Sega): 6,5
Call of Duty 3 (Xbox 360/Xbox, Activision): 8,0
Superman Returns (Xbox 360, EA): 6,5
Tony Hawks Project 8 (Xbox 360, Activision): 7,5
College Hoops 2K7 (Xbox 360, 2K Sports): 9,0
Roboblitz (Xbox 360 XLA, Microsoft): 8,5
Small Arms (Xbox 360 XLA, Gastronaut Studios): 7,5
Contra (Xbox 360 XLA, Konami): 6,5
Novadrome (Xbox 360 XLA, Stainless Games): 7,0
Defender (Xbox 360 XLA, Midway): 6,5
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Yesterday we reported, That a man was selling Pinata From Viva Pinata on ebay and today he is looking to cash in some more. I was actually checking his Pinata auctions when I noticed he has just put up a auction for the transfer of 100,000 coins from the game. The starting bid is the same as the price for the pinata 9.99 to bid and 14.99 to secure your coins. As mentioned before this defeats the purpose of the game and I encourage you not to buy this.
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Pinata's On Ebay! That's right Pinata's from the Game Viva Pinata have finally made there way to the world of Ebay. A guy has put over 11 of his Pinata's on Ebay over a number of different auctions. If you are really having trouble unlocking these pinata's then you can get your hands on for a price of $10.00 or to make sure some other idiot doesn't out bid you you can Buy It Now for a price of $15.00.
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Here is the very first Console Monster Podcast hosted by James Woodcock. Featured in our first edition is an introduction with Anthony Barker who informs us about the features of 360Monster and what we can expect in the future with the new network sites PS3Monster and WiiMonster. The rest of the podcast focuses on a conversational style debate with James Woodcock, Anthony Barker and Barrie Rogers who is the 360monster.com lead editor. This podcast features:

- Gears of War first impressions
- Viva Pinata expectations
- Gears of War 8 players online enough?
- Call of Duty 3 first impressions
- Halo 2 removed from most played top spot by Gears of War
- Rainbow Six Vegas single player and multiplayer demo impressions
- Xbox 360 advertisement blitz in the United Kingdom
- Halo 3 public multiplayer beta and new Halo 2 maps
- New Xbox Live Arcade titles
- Retro gaming headache?
- Sony PlayStation 3 launch impressions and press
- Nintendo Wii launch impressions and press
- Red Steel mediocre review score on Gamespot

Length: 51 Mins
File size: 18 MB
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One year after its rushed launch -- replete with scratched discs, broken systems, and a dearth of consoles in the heart of the holiday -- Microsoft has overcome technical and production issues and is hitting full stride. One year after Perfect Dark, Kameo, and Project Gotham Racing 3, we actually have Gears of War, Viva Pinata and 158 other games in our hands. One year after Microsoft debuted Xbox Live Arcade, Marketplace and its new Xbox Live subscription service for Xbox 360, we can see just how forward thinking its online service is. We're seeing Microsoft hit a 10 million worldwide subscriber base. We're watching Sony stumble through its own launch, backing into the holiday season with an expensive console and patchy ports. Three-hundred and sixty-five days after its own sketchy North American launch, how has Microsoft fared? We dare say the Xbox 360 is a success.
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Microsoft Game Studios today announced a true Piñata party to celebrate the launch of "Viva Piñata" for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system. On December 2nd, from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM, "Viva Piñata" will take over the Santa Monica Pier foran afternoon of free family fun.
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Feast your eyes on some new screens from the recently released Viva Pinata. Check out our review to find out why 360 owners should give this unexpected gem a try. Among the sights on offer are some beavers sleeping in a lake - surely a dangerous choice of bed for a paper animal - as well as Pinata pandas and a sheep wearing a tiara. Crazy, yes, but in a good ... » Read More

In Bungies latest weekly update Bungie offered their congrats to fellow Game Epic a well as Rare!

"Congrats to Cliffy B and OF COURSE the rest of the team at Epic for the launch of Gears of War. The game is full of amazing art, music, audio and gameplay. A bunch of us have been getting together at night for some curb-stomping, chainsaw-wielding action. It's a violent, gory blast and is apparently the only thing folks on my Friends List are playing. And congrats to rare for busting out Viva Pinata. I won't be playing it myself, because it's for kids, so if you see someone with my Gamertag playing hours of Viva Piñata, then that's erm, my nephew Arvin".
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