Get the Viva Piñata trailer off WP (7mb)

"Viva Piñata" will offer a number of entertainment elements enjoyable for everyone ~W from kids to adults. The "Viva Piñata" world will include a Saturday morning 3-D animated television series, slated to premiere this fall on 4Kids TV~Y on FOX, that is produced and created by 4Kids Entertainment, known for such powerhouse properties as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Cabbage Patch Kids and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. An immersive video game developed by Rare Ltd. exclusively for the Xbox 360~Y video game and entertainment system is scheduled to debut this holiday worldwide, enabling gamers to create and customize piñata-filled adventures in their own evolving world. The 4Kids Entertainment licensing program will result in additional licensed products launching in 2007.

Set to release this holiday season worldwide, "Viva Piñata" is a customizable, social and spontaneous game that invites players of all ages and skills to explore an immersive world where they are challenged to create and maintain a living garden ecosystem that grows in real time. Beginning with a few basic tools, players build and take control of their environment to attract and host more than 60 species of wild piñata, utilizing hundreds of customizable elements to create their very own distinctively unique thriving paradise.

"Viva Piñata" gameplay continues to evolve with new content available via the Xbox Live service and the ability to play, trade and interact with more than 2 million gamers via the online service.

"With Viva Piñata, we are introducing a revolutionary brand that will entertain, inspire and excite children, families and creative minds around the globe," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. "With Rare and 4Kids Entertainment we will best showcase the vibrant world of Viva Piñata, enabling a mass audience to have an immersive experience via the animated television series, the Xbox 360 title and related merchandise."

The "Viva Piñata" television series is set to air in the U.S. in fall 2006 on 4Kids TV 4Kids Entertainments four hours of childrens programming broadcast Saturday mornings on FOX. In this comedy series, created by 4Kids Entertainment, a cast of piñata "friends" embark on wild adventures on Piñata Island. The appealing characters and their charming personalities are sure to entertain and stimulate the series audience as they accompany the piñata characters on their zany adventures.

"We are very excited about partnering with Microsoft to share the Viva Piñata universe with the world," said Alfred R. Kahn, Chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment. "The potent combination of the Microsoft Game Studios and 4Kids will ensure that the Viva Piñata world, including the video game, television series and merchandising program, attracts a worldwide audience."

The “Viva Piñata” gameplay experience presents a customizable, social and spontaneous world in which gamers play an absolutely crucial role. It is not just a garden, it is an evolving paradise teeming with fantastic living piñata creatures and vibrant plant life, all determined by the player’s choices and actions.

“Viva Piñata” boasts the following qualities:

• Customizable “Viva Piñata” allows players’ imaginations to run wild by providing them with expansive freedom and choice:
  • Your garden Your choice of garden contents will determine which of the piñata species are attracted to your garden, since they all have individual requirements. Sowing grass, digging ponds, planting flowers and growing trees all affect which of the unique piñatas you will see. It’s not just about plants, either; there is a whole range of garden ornaments and structures that could be decisive. Your reward for creating an appealing paradise is to watch the piñatas visit and eventually reside there, which is where the fun really starts.
  • Your piñatas Once you have resident piñatas in your garden, you can begin to personalize your loyal community. Piñatas can be individually named and given their own personally designed tag to put on display as a declaration of their home turf. And the customization doesn’t end there. You can make the colorful critters more distinctive by customizing them with all kinds of costumes and accessories.
• Social The “Viva Piñata” community is a rewarding place to be, whether you remain within the boundaries of your own garden or venture out into the real world or your friend’s garden via Xbox Live, the first and only global, unified online console games service.
  • Interact with the piñatas Getting to know and understand the personalities and requirements of your piñatas is essential if you want them to stay happy and thrive. Make your garden their ideal paradise, and they’ll want to raise a family and expand your community.
  • Interact with the garden characters Players decide how much help they want from the local guides, shopkeepers and garden work force Go it alone or get them involved — you choose.
  • Interact with other players online Via the Xbox Live online community, players can contact other gamers to lend a hand in their garden, lay down a competitive challenge or trade items.
• Spontaneous “Viva Piñata” is much more than just a garden party. It’s a constantly changing world where anything can and does happen:
  • It’s happening outside It’s not just new piñata species that are drawn to the success of your garden; untamed sour piñatas with bad attitudes and troublemaking ruffians do their worst to spoil your creation and must be dealt with.
  • It’s happening inside Maintaining harmony within a growing community isn’t always easy when rivalries, illness, injuries and even candy-spilling fights occur. If players turn their backs, who knows what their piñatas will do?