Rare to unleash Pinatas on 360s this holiday season
Rare's next project is apparently an original IP concerning living piñata animals that will be featured in a Saturday morning TV/3-D/CG show and then in an Xbox 360 game debuting this holiday season worldwide.
As part of the licensing arrangement forged with 4Kids Entertainment in January, Viva Piñata will premiere on 4Kids TV on FOX this fall, with the game following before Christmas (with the hope that viewers will get hooked on the brightly colored universe before the game's released).
While marketed as a game for "players of all ages and skills," the 360 incarnation of the property will probably appeal to kids, the main audience of the animated TV show. Still, the prospect of managing your own garden (in real time) and trading with other gamers on Live might appeal to the Animal Crossing/Pokémon/Nintendogs/Harvest Moon set. And who knows? Maybe you'll get to use those party-loving piñatas for what they were made for, er... partying. We hope this turns out better than Grabbed by the Ghoulies, another IP that Rare created itself (like Kameo).
[Thanks, Ryan Was, Hiro, The1, SickNic, JamesO, bv, and Frank Benjamin]
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