Microsoft Hopes DS Will Increase Pinata's Audience

[Logan Frederick]

Microsoft Hopes DS Will Increase Pinata's Audience

According Rare, Microsoft hopes that bringing Viva Pinata to the Nintendo DS will introduce the game to a whole new audience.

When the original Viva Piñata was released on the Xbox 360, it was met with critical acclaim, but lackluster sales.

When Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=149074] took a visit to Rare's British branch to view Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise, a new installment in Microsoft's colorful kids series, engineer Joe Humfrey offered insight into the Nintendo-Microsoft mating.

Microsoft primarily partnered with Nintendo to expand its reach to audiences that don't play Xbox 360 games, Humfrey explained.

"They put the Viva Piñata franchise on TV to reach a broad audience, they put it on PC to reach a different broad audience, and they're doing the same thing with the DS," said Humfrey. "They're trying to widen the audience of the franchise, basically."

Another audience Microsoft is striving for is younger TV audiences.

Lead designer Gary Richards explained, "We wanted to tie it in with the TV series more, we thought that would be enough to get the younger audience into it."

Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise is due out in early September.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=149074] via Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5015301/microsoft-thinks-ds-is-very-viable-platform]

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[Cousin_IT]

They should have pursued a better advertising campaign for this game. I only got it when it came free with a new X360 & i think its one of the best game on the 360. Certainly better than the hordes of FPS/3rd person shooter clones that dominate this generation of consoles.

 

[Aymann]

Isn't it that the xbox was created as an idea not by Bill Gates? Did the guys with the idea work for him or something an he'd just baught the idea? I doubt they worked for him! So what's this talk of Microsoft getting so close to the Nintendo franchise. Why is it that Rare, the company that doesn't work as a Nintendo developer anylonger want to make them games? The gaming system is called" Xbox", which is owned by Microsoft, firstly before" Rare". So Rare speaks to the president of Xbox, then the president of Xbox speaks to his boss, which is Bill Gates, therefore making Rare a company that's secondarily owned by Microsoft, secondarily away from the Xbox which it runs on, Making Microsoft their Alpha!
Now trash talking:
They make it seem as if the DS is just some tool theyll use to get around.

Are they really soo desperate, to think that a crapy graphics DS game could help them?

What? Are they going to pay for a graphics improvement next?

Halo would look awesome on a crapy DS screen!

Did Microsoft make the DS2 and will show it all at E3?

Putting games on the DS WOULD teach Nintendo a lesson as to having products with bad graphics.

Nope! Never owned a PSP!!!

Is Microsoft and Nintendo giving each other the usual piggy back ride or what?

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

incomprehensible babble

Could someone translate?

 

[Aymann]

It means the same as the person with the second post.