Once upon a time Rare though they had a winner; a game which would end all the confusion between a hardcore console and a kiddie console. Viva Piñata was supposed to change the way we think about Xbox 360 gaming by showing off a title that would make children feel more inclined to game on a “big boys console.”
Unfortunately, execution of Rare’s new franchise title came with a few rough patches, namely Gears of War. Earlier on they had press releases and conferences about how this game was going to interact with users, inspire them to watch Viva Piñata the cartoon to get new recipes for the game which would allow you to create new breeds of Piñata. There were a few flaws in the plan. They didn’t hype the game enough prior to the release and then they decided to launch the game during the over-hyped Gears of War title.
Oddly enough my children (two and four years of age) would rather watch Sponge Bob and Dora reruns than a single episode of Viva Piñata. I thought the show was cute and the bright colors and crazy creatures would draw children like moths to a flame, but they just didn’t care.
My children were too young to play the first Viva Piñata and it didn’t provide enough interest for them to watch me play it and invest the hours. I found the game to be creative and fun… for awhile. Once my happy little Piñatas started eating each other and fighting constantly I realized the joy was gone. If I want to listen to screaming and fighting I’ve got my own children, babysitting Piñatas in a fake garden just wasn’t doing it for me.
Now, Viva Piñata: Trouble in paradise has been given a date of September by Eurogamer. Rare is stating we’ll have 30 new Piñata’s to play with along with new environments, co-op play and other cute options. Admittingly, Drop-in/Drop-out co-op play does sound kind of neat but my emotional scares from the first title have not healed yet.
I was told there would be a great deal of downloadable content (DLC) for Viva Piñata. but found nothing available after I purchased the game and, if content exists now, I’ve long since lost interest in the game. The idea was solid, the demographic was available but the execution went flat. You cannot expect older gamers with children to believe Microsoft or Rare are planning to give us real kids games when you release a single title and show us no other kids games for two years.
At this point, if you’re looking for a console with more kid-friendly gaming you’re going to buy a Wii every single time. Titles on the Wii work for both young adults, teenagers, kids and older grandparents while the 360 goes strong with the 18-34 year-old male demographic.
If you want to be serious about bringing kids on board, Viva Piñata is going to need some friends not just a single sequel. Otherwise, you’re going to find out quick that the 18-34 demographic will simply nod politely and move on to their next great fix… Gears of War 2 perhaps (November, 2008).
If the upcoming Viva Piñata franchise executes like its prior title there will definitely be some trouble in paradise.
I’m rather puzzled by the hardware failures already at PS4/Xbone, seems like a lack of foresight to make sure their peripherals to work.
Jordan the Prince of Persia games are Platformers, not adventure.
QotW: My favorite Adventure game has to be Gabriel Knight, each game in the series was a dark thrilling mystery and the main characters were great to follow.
Speaking of which Activision is licensing out the GK IP to Jane Jensen for a remake. Thanks in part to the Kickstart project Moebius that Jane got funded. Along with other Adventure game projects inspired someone at Activision who had a passion for the GK series to convince the company to license out the series to Jane. What has me excited is seeing Adventure games get more notice as a viable product again by game companies, especially Activision.
@Xbox and PS headsets
Personally I don’t see this as a problem. As long as they provide a pack-in headset so that I can discuss my numerous relationships with my oponents mothers on Battlefield I will be fine. I can see how it is a problem for rich folk who blasted loads of cash on some shelled reptilian headset. But I am indifferent to the opinions if others. I fully support Democracy and believe that the opinions of few should be overlooked and they should all be quietly shot.
@Oh can you hear what the Rockstar is cooking?
As long as it’s not ONI 2 I will be glad to play anything Rockstar makes. To me they proved their development ability time and time again. I am curious what it will be. I am guessing it’s Bully 2 but it could be Red Dead as well. Redemption was voted as the best game of last decade so I would expect Rockstar to indulge us with as sequel.
@QOTW
Across my gaming life I played quite a few adventure games. But I don’t remember most of them. Broken Sword 3 was good. Recently I played Anna but had to quit because of lighting issues on my laptop. But my highlight was Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. I know that the prequel was better (never played it) but I quite enjoyed it. Another highlight was Beavis and Buthead game on Mega Drive. It was funny because the Beavis and Buthead IP was aimed at retarded adolescent teens but the game itself was hard as nails. It had puzzles so difficult that you would need a degree in critucal thinking to get to the end.