Rare’s dropped us word of a special Valentine’s card it’s made for Pinata fans. Get it here.

All you have to do is waggle it in front of your Vision Camera and the little hearty fox thing will appear in your Trouble in Paradise garden.

If you can’t remember how to do the whole Panata card “thing,” there’s full instructions here.

Oh. And here are three Killer Instinct cards. You knew they were working on a KI MMO for DS over there, right?

Rare’s put out some charming Christmas wallpapers to keep you and, well, you, smiling through the festive season.

Look! There’s an Indiana Jones wallpaper with piñatas in it. Put them on your computer. Make an old man happy.

Rare popped over an email this afternoon with details of a jukebox you’re going to be able to stick in your Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise garden for the festive season.

All you have to do is scan the Piñata card you’ll find after the break with your Vision camera and you could be on the way to fame and glory.

There’s more! See, in Rare’s words:

• The Piñata Vision Jukebox card lets the player place the romance dance jukebox in their own garden.
• Special Piñata Vision cards allow the player to add tracks to the jukebox’s playlist in exchange for chocolate coins. These are then played in the garden in place of the usual ambient music.
• When the Christmas Top-Ten Romance Dance Poll closes on December 10th, we’ll do a Top-Ten countdown, releasing the appropriate Piñata Vision card for each romance dance. One card will be released each day.
• We’ll also be releasing other exclusive cards throughout December.
• We intend to write this up as news on the Rare.co.uk website as well.

So do it. Go on.

UK retailer GameStation has announced a slew of Christmas reductions, including Samba De Amigo for £17.49, Battlefield: Bad Company for £19.99 and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise for £17.49.

That is literally cheap.

Press release after the link.

Gamestation Half Price Deals!

Gamestation the home of “Gaming for less” does it again!

Get over to Gamestation now to find a massive range of games at half price or less! Grab these whilst you can because they won’t hang around forever!

Here is a small selection of the games on offer:

What’s cooking? Jamie Oliver (Nintendo DS) – £14.99
What’s Cooking? with Jamie Oliver on Nintendo DS will walk you through virtual and real-life cooking situations, from shopping to chopping, dressing the dish to serving up meals. Try your hand at some delicious real cooking with the interactive cookbook, stuffed with 100 original Jamie Oliver recipes only on Nintendo DS!
(http://www.gamestation.co.uk/DS/Activity/~r409434/Whats-cooking-Jamie-Oliver/?mid=409434 )

Samba De Amigo (Nintendo Wii) – £17.49
Samba de Amigo on the Nintendo Wii is all about shaking your Wii Remote and Nunchuk maracas-style in time to the Latin-flavoured soundtrack. A wildly colourful display demands that you follow the spheres on screen and make the appropriate moves to score big. In Samba De Amigo, you are graded on your performance, get into the swing of things and perform well enough to move onto the next stage in this interactive Wii classic.
(http://www.gamestation.co.uk/Wii/Party/~r407892/Samba-de-Amigo/?mid=407892 )

Battlefield: Bad Company (Sony PS3) – £19.99
In Bad Company on the Playstation 3, players take up the gun of Preston Marlowe, a rookie in the 222nd Army battalion who finds himself fighting for his life and a stack of gold. Battlefield Bad Company is the latest first person shooter in EA’s popular Battlefield series and also incorporates a massive 24 player multiplayer mode.
(http://www.gamestation.co.uk/PS3/Action/FirstPersonShooter/~r407837/Battlefield-Bad-Company/?mid=407837 )

Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Xbox 360) – £17.49
Available exclusively on Xbox 360, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” reinvigorates a colorful and engaging gaming experience on the Xbox 360 platform. Capture, protect, train and manage more than 100 newly discovered and existing piñata species. Viva Piñata also lets two players play together and supports up to 4 players to work collaboratively on a garden over Xbox LIVE.
(http://www.gamestation.co.uk/Xbox360/Action/~r408775/Viva-Pinata-Trouble-in-Paradise/?mid=408775 )

Casino Royale (Sony PSP) – £4.99
James Bond is back! Daniel Craig steps into the shoes of 007 in this blockbusting movie now available in high quality for your Sony PSP. James Bond goes to a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale to square off against terrorist banker Le Chiffre, an international loan shark who gambles with the money of his equally dangerous clients.
(http://www.gamestation.co.uk/PSP/UMDMovies/~r407754/Casino-Royale-UMD-Movie/ )

Find the Full range of Half Price Offers Here:

http://www.gamestation.co.uk/lowdown.aspx?lid=20071

About Gamestation

Gamestation are the fastest growing retailer of video and computer games in the UK. Why? Well it’s pretty simple really. Gamestation was set up by people who love playing computer games, so we know exactly what our customers want.
So if you ask any of our staff for help and advice, they’ll fill your brain full of handy stuff because they’re into games just as much as you are. And you’ll find plenty of games to get your juices going both in our stores and online at www.gamestation.co.uk with a healthy choice of new and pre-owned titles!

The Major sends word that a demo for Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is now up on Live. Blurb:

The Pinata Central database has been ruined by Professor Pester and his band of Ruffians. It’s your job to restore the data by collecting, customizing, & caring for over 100 different piñata species in Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise. Professor Pester has plans of his own to slow this process down. New features include: 2 person coop on one console, and 4 person coop over Xbox Live. Ability to compete in mini-games with your Pinata against others on Xbox Live. Over 100 Piñata from various realms including the new Polar Pinarctic & Dessert Desert. Photo Mode ability to share your amazing garden with everyone online. Piñata Vision allowing you to invite new species to your garden with the flash of a card at your Xbox Live Vision Camera.

Do it. Right now.

Yes, we know. We were supposed to announce this on Monday. We’re a bit rubbish, when all’s said and done. so we’re sorry.

Anyway. Last week, for the grand prize of a copy of Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise signed by the team at Rare, we asked you to complete the following sentence:

• I enjoy playing with animals, because…

And the winner is poster lovemoose, with:

…because I severed both Alan Price’s arms below the elbow, and now they have to pay me to do the organ bits on “House of the Rising Sun”.

Thanks to everyone that entered. You’re all winners in our eyes. Lovemoose, mail patrick@videogaming247.com with your details and we’ll get the game in the post.

Rare’s very kindly sent us a copy of Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise signed by the team. We’d like to give it to you. Chances like this don’t come along every five minutes. This is a signed copy of an original Rare game. You can see what you’re playing for in the pictures after the break.

You can win, tiger. All you have to do is complete the following statement in the comments thread below.

• I enjoy playing with animals, because…

We don’t care where you live. US, Australia, anywhere in Europe: whatever. Best one wins. Enter as many times as you like. We’ll announce who’s got it on Monday. Do your worst.

And once you’ve done that, read our review.

Speaking to ChannelFlip at Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise’s London launch, Rare’s Adam Park said that a decision was made at the beginning of the game’s development that the game’s Piñata Cards wouldn’t be sold in shops.

“We decided quite early on that even though it was something that was quite marketable, we thought that we’d rather people used it as something they could create themselves,” he said.

“So rather than selling these things in the shops – you can’t go in and buy cards – what you can actually do is generate your own within the game.”

Players can customise their piñata in the game and create cards to others to bring into their own gardens via the Live Vision Camera.

Watch the full interview after the link. The game’s out now: read our review here.

Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is here. We’ve played it to death. We thought we’d tell you all what we thought.

After the break.

Writing a Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise review makes us mad. Why bother to try and encapsulate how we feel about the game when our audience has likely made its mind up about buying it? Is there any point in us shouting “buy it”? It’s the 360 Marmite game to end all 360 Marmite games. Love it or hate it, there’s no middle ground here.

One major thing that would perhaps make Viva Piñata more palatable, and thus reach a wider audience, is Microsoft. Where’s the marketing camapign? The only 360 game on the market that we’ve seen that appeals to children, youths and adults alike is apparently being overlooked.

VP2 should be getting as much exposure as Sony’s LittleBigPlanet – which is being shoved under our noses every waking minute of every day, whether we like it or not – but the fact that people on the internet are hunting for Viva Piñata ads, and subsequently letting the world know when they’ve found one, speaks volumes. It seems fans of the series want the game to succeed more than Microsoft itself: tragic.

Anyway, now that we’re here we might as well continue preaching to the converted and tell you what’s different this time round. And if we’re being honest, the answer is: not much. Never have we played a game that is so charming, challenging, infuriating and rewarding on Xbox 360: apart from the first Viva Piñata.

Show us the money

After you’ve got past the initial joy at seeing a couple of new Piñata, you’ll soon realise that it’s pretty much exactly the same game as you paid full price for a year ago. So the fact that it’s being sold at retail as a full priced game in Europe compared with a paltry $40 in the US, does grate a little bit, we have to admit.

That isn’t to say there aren’t any changes. There are. But there are no radical alterations. Rare has made the menus quicker, for example, so the constant to-ing and fro-ing to the invaluable in-game shop, Costalot’s, is now over in mere seconds rather than the age it took us last time.

A “Just for Fun” game-type has also been addded, which is basically a watered down version of the main game. All you have to do is attract and breed those cute and cuddly critters without the distraction of the nasty ‘Sours’ pillaging your progress and the intensely annoying Professor Pester pilfering your Piñata.

There are also two new areas for you to discover, as well: The Pinarctic and Desserts Desert. Here the aim is to trap the new Piñata using some bait and a wooden crate, posting them back to your main garden, and then work out from there how to make them residents, etc. Again, we could easily imagine these two new areas being made as downloadable content for the first game and suffice to say aren’t exactly a huge selling point on their own.

The Piñata Vision Cards are an ingenious idea, however and can markedly change the game. We’ll give Rare that one. Simply scan a card with your vision camera – if you haven’t got one, get one – and the Piñata appears in your garden. You can create your own by snapping your favourite animal with the in-game camera, and turn the Piñata-pic into a card by following the very simple on-screen instructions. You can then upload it to VivaPinata.com then everyone can view it and scan the picture with their Vision Cameras. Very neat indeed.

This feature also comes with its own little gripe from our side however. The point of Viva is trial and error and moreover that of discovery. Feed a Doenut an Oak seed and see what happens etc. Try this, try that. Now you can simply go online and scan all manner of weird and wonderful creations that others have made. You even get the relevant Achievements too, it’s just that you haven’t earned them. So although very cool, it does somewhat go against what we feel is the main premise of the game.

On a more positive note…

Another addition is four player co-op. This is great fun. The clever thing is that all involved level up simultaneously. So after a couple of hours with friends, you can return to your own garden with several new Piñata unlocked and loads more seeds and options at your disposal. There’s local co-op too, which now means you can plug in a second controller and actively assist the wife instead of sitting there shouting at her as she starts watering her Bunnycombs and whacking her Lickatoads.

Yes, another notch to Viva Piñata’s bedpost: your wife/girlfriend will most likely want to play it too: one more reason to push the game to the forefront of people’s focus.

So although the new changes are welcome, they don’t fully justify forking out another 40 quid on what could easily be Viva Piñata 1.5. So why on earth have we been dreaming about it, seeing seeds bobbing up and down every time we close our eyes, and scouring the internet for breeding tips and gardening advice? The answer is simple: because Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is one of the best games we have ever played.

Read it again – Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is one of the best games we have ever played

You see, we’ve been fooling you all along with our moaning and nitpicking. Yes, the game isn’t much different from last year’s venture, but considering that Viva Piñata was one of the best 360 games to date there isn’t really much we wanted Rare to change. The developer’s streamlined the otherwise clunky menus, added some more Piñata and made the whole experience feel tighter, cohesive and therefore much, much “better.”

So we’re back to where we started: anger. Anger over the fact that Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, though brilliant, is so universally unappreciated. If you happen to glance upon this review and are still undecided, stop what you’re doing and go buy this game. Then hold your friends at knife-point until they do the same. You can’t go around moaning about lack of diversity on Xbox 360 and then ignore a game like this, even though the absence of an advertising campaign isn’t exactly creating awareness. It makes us mad, it really does. You should be mad too.

Anyway, we’d like to go on playing it if you don’t mind: our Buzzlegums aren’t producing enough honey, and we need Bart to tinker it into medicine so that one of the visiting Sours can become a resident which will make our Sweetles very happy. Awesome.

By Mike Bowden

Eurogamer’s posted the its proper Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise review, and it’s an 8/10.

The game’s out today. Mike’s going all gooey-eyed over it as we type, so we’ll have a review for you next week.

If you’ve got a score you want listing, just drop it in the comments and we’ll update this story.

More scores:

• Eurogamer.de – 8
• 1UP – A
• Team Xbox – 9
• IGN – 8.5
• Gamespot – 8.5

On CVG. This is the last media you’re going to get before the game actually launched tomorrow, so take a look at what you should be playing this weekend, if you’ve got any sense.

Go and watch the funny animals getting sexy.

The first proper Viva 2 score’s in, and it’s from Japan. The cutesy animal sequel’s score 31/40 in Famitsu ahead of its European launch on Friday.

Still nothing from any European or US sites, but there’s not much time left, so expect a launch-time deluge.

Update: A few more scores. Worthplaying’s given it 8/10, while French site Jeuxvideo’s given is 16/20. Thanks, Gekidami and Rudolph.

Update 2: More scores. 1UP, A; EGM, A; Gamespot: 8.5. Thanks, Psychotext.

Rare’s just sent word that the Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise community site is to launch tonight in preparation of the game’s release on Friday. You’ll be able it here, but the new stuff hasn’t gone live yet.

Game-owners will be able to upload photos of their gardens – along with their Piñata Vision cards – to the website and share them with the world. Which is lovely.

And that’s not all. AceyBongos, aka Xbox Europe community manager Graeme Boyd, is launching a VP2 Piñata-themed treasure hunt over on Xbox.com this Friday. Basically:

1. You look for the Piñata egg icon hidden around Xbox.com.
2. When you mouse over it the little Piñata pops out.
3. When you click on it you open up a PDF doc featuring an exclusive Piñata card that can be printed out.
4. Shove it in front of your Live Vision Camera – free Piñata.

There are 25 to find on Xbox.com, and Mr Bongos will be seeding 25 more through the XCN.

Groovy, huh? BUY THE GAME ON FRIDAY, you cheapskate.

Speaking in this fansite interview on MundoRare, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise lead designer Justin Cook has confirmed that there’s no plans for any Viva 2 DLC at the moment, and that the team itself will be moving off onto something completely non-Viva related after the game ships.

“We don’t have any plans for DLC,” he said.

“As far as the team is concerned we are taking a break from VP for a while to make something new. But things change quickly in the software industry so next week it may be a completely different story.”

Hot shit. No Viva 3? The game’s out next Friday. That’s next Friday. Buy the fucking thing. Make the magic happen.

According to this Perfect-Rare story – translated from the Dutch by Gamer.tm – the Dutch (and Belgian) versions of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise are to cost more than elsewhere as they’ve been fully localised.

The rest of Europe ill pay €39 for the games, while if you want to play in Dutch it’ll cost you €59.

“We decided to fully translate both titles, which drove up costs,” a spokesperson said.

“If you look at the Dutch speaking market, then it’s hard to spread the costs across a limited number of consumers.

“A French or a German version, for instance, would be subject to the same costs, but the costs would fall due to there being a larger number of users.”

Don’t moan. If you want to play it in English, buy it in English. At least you have the option of buying it in Dutch. If you go and buy the Dutch version, maybe more companies will translate games into Dutch instead of just assuming you can speak English so you don’t want to play in your local language, right? Alstublieft? Dank u wel.

“Yes, a demo is on the way,” lead programmer Will Bryan said. “As soon as possible.”

He added: “We built the demo from starting, so we’re pretty much ready to roll on it, we’ve just got to get it through certification.

“It’s from the main game, but there’s pointers to the fact there are Live features and Just For Fun mode. It’s 25 minutes of the main game basically.”

More through the link.

In the wake of July’s NPD figures, we thought we’d look at just how well the ‘big three’ have fared over the last seven months by tallying all hardware data for 2008.

We all know Nintendo is having a fantastic year, but just how well is Wii doing?

Microsoft and Sony are fighting their own high-def battle, but how big is the margin between the two, and who has the lead?

After the drop.

Back in February, “Big” Jack Tretton announced that this was the year of the PS3, and if it wasn’t for Wii he may well have been right.

The Mario machine has certainly lived up to its E3 promise of making people smile, moving 4,038,000 units so far this year.

Wii’s success isn’t the only reason Nintendo’s smiling like a Cheshire cat this year: DS has sold 3,795,400 machines so far in 2008, making Nintendo’s total hardware tally for the US 7,833,400.

By comparison, Sony’s three-pronged attack of PS3, PS2 (no Jan 2008 sales figures are available, oddly) and PSP, has achieved 4,705,000 unit sales in total.

Xbox 360 sales figures have remained steady since January, but have always rested near the 200,000 mark. Total 360 sales for the year come in at a relatively paltry 1,560,800 units.

This figure puts Microsoft’s console firmly at the bottom of the next-gen pile. In fact, if we take every device into consideration, Microsoft’s great green hope has sold just over 400,000 more than PS2, and that’s without January’s figure for the last-gen Sony machine included.

As we’re fast approaching the Christmas period, and with so many big titles from all three consoles – most markedly from Sony and Microsoft – the most pertinent question in the US market is whether or not the Nintendo train can be derailed in any meaningful way.

Sony is pushing LittleBigPlanet hard, with the company wanting Sackboy to become an “emblematic character” for the brand. There’s also the mouth-watering Resistance 2 and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift to look forward to in the last quarter of this year.

Microsoft is betting heavily this autumn on Epic’s Gears of War 2, a Rare duo of Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, and Lionhead’s atmospheric Fable II.

While all the above look fantastic, it remains to be seen if these high profile titles will be preaching to the converted or they’ll have the power to turn onlookers into new customers. Will they encourage the nearly 5 million Wii owners to choose a PS3 or 360 as their second console?

The only ‘AAA’ Wii titles confirmed as hitting US shores before Yuletide are Wii Music, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquillity and Star Wars: Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels. While it looks like an anorexic line-up, Wii Music alone is likely to secure success for the machine this Holiday.

But Christmas is months away. Who’s “winning” in America so far this year?

NPD Hardware for 2008

1. Wii: 4,038,000
2. NDS: 3,795,400
3. PS3: 1,833,000
4. PSP: 1,704,200
5. 360: 1,560,800
6. PS2: 1,168,500

By Mike Bowden

Not sure how legit this is, but there’s a Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Achievement here called “Full House” that’s awarded for playing “4 Player Online Co-op for 1 hour”.

We’ll have an ask this morning. Good though, eh?

The game’s out on September 2 in America, and September 5 in Europe, so you won’t have long to find out. Full thing through the link.

Amazing what you find when you’re least expecting it. There’s a new teaser for Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise after the break, which has seemingly randomly appeared on YouTube.

It’s an obvious piss-take of Bungie’s Halo 3 “Believe” trailer.

The movie’s live as opposed to CG, and features “good” piñata getting into pickles with the nasty red type. Poor piñatas. Take a look.

“At the surface, Trouble in Paradise looks a lot like the first game. That’s, for the most part, a good thing since the original Viva Pinata was a lot of fun,” says the article.

“However, once you start diving into the game you’ll find that there’s a boatload of new features to go along with the expanded roster of piñatas.

“With all of the rough edges smoothed out and new fun to discover, it’s hard to imagine Viva Piñata without all of the updates. Piñata fans, mark your calendars for September.”

Full thing through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Xbox 360 Unveils Gameplay for Every Passion

Microsoft showcases groundbreaking approach to game shows; “Final Fantasy XIII” to be available on Xbox 360 at launch in North America and Europe.

LOS ANGELES — July 14, 2008 — Music, movies and megahits. No matter what kind of game makes your heart race, today at the E3 Media and Business Summit (E3) in Los Angeles the world of Xbox 360 just got bigger, broader and more exciting than ever.

Microsoft Corp. today unveiled a games portfolio for all ages and interests. Included were new titles for music lovers such as “Lips” and the exclusive launch of “Rock Band 2”; family-friendly games from the B-movie maker “You’re in the Movies” to next-generation game shows such as “1 vs. 100”; and even surprise announcements to make the hardest-core gamer weak in the knees, with the reveal of “Final Fantasy XIII,” to be available on Xbox 360 at launch in North America and Europe.

“Xbox 360 delivers entertainment choices so broad that it now rivals what people can find on television and at movie theaters,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and business development with Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. “Whether it’s sports, music, movies, game shows or great games you crave, Xbox 360 is home to the biggest and best out there. From those new to games and eager to jump in, to the hardcore gamer looking for the most intense games experiences, this is truly the year to own an Xbox 360 system.”

The New Game Show Experience, Live From Your Living Room

Xbox LIVE Primetime is a groundbreaking channel on the new Xbox experience, a new generation of games and entertainment experiences that will be available this fall for Xbox 360. The world’s biggest virtual game show stage, Xbox LIVE Primetime is a place where content is always fresh; play is global, live and massively multiplayer; and prizes are plentiful. A first-of-its-kind phenomenon, this new generation of interactive game shows lets Xbox LIVE members challenge friends and choose to compete against people from across the globe in real time. Xbox LIVE Primetime launches in the fall with the following interactive game:

• “1 vs. 100” (Endemol). From the makers of “Deal or No Deal,” Endemol, the world’s largest independent production company, brings the popular television game show “1 vs. 100” to Xbox LIVE Primetime. The exclusive game pits one Xbox LIVE member against 100 others from around the world with a live host and great prizes. The goal of “the One” is to eliminate all the opposition by correctly answering questions, hoping that the opponents will answer incorrectly and be eliminated from the game. And stay tuned for “1 vs. LIVE,” where one lucky winner will have a chance to compete against the entire Xbox LIVE community.

Bringing Music Games to Life

Whether you’re an aspiring groupie, songbird or big-haired rocker, Xbox 360 transforms your living room into a thrilling soundstage for you and your friends. No other system connects you with all the music you love:

• “Lips” (iNiS/Microsoft Game Studios). “Lips,” an all-new music franchise exclusively from Xbox 360, is the only singing game that offers wireless motion-sensitive microphones and the ability to sing from your own music collection.* Start channeling your favorite pop star, because it’s you, your friends and, most important, your music that makes “Lips” the world’s ultimate party experience this holiday.

• “Guitar Hero® World Tour” (RedOctane/Activision). When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of axe shredders, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with “Guitar Hero World Tour.” The latest installment from the No. 1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, “Guitar Hero World Tour” will transform music gaming by marrying the exhilarating guitar gameplay of “Guitar Hero” with a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless instruments with revolutionary new online and offline gameplay modes. The game will feature a slick newly redesigned guitar, a genuine electronic drum kit and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock-and-roll anthems, along with online Band Career and eight-player “Battle of the Bands.” “Guitar Hero World Tour” is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment and will be available for Xbox 360 this fall.

• “Rock Band 2” (Harmonix/MTV Games). Debuting exclusively on Xbox 360 this September, “Rock Band” is developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Games. “Rock Band 2” is the next evolution of the franchise that allows players to virtually step into the shoes of their favorite bands as singer, guitarist, bassist or drummer. This next iteration of the best-selling franchise will allow gamers to access all the great songs they purchased on Xbox LIVE for the original game and will feature new online capabilities and instrument options.

Xbox 360 Is the Life of the Party

Xbox 360 truly gets the party started with a wide-ranging portfolio of exclusive games for the whole family, including the following:

• “You’re in the Movies” (Codemasters/Microsoft). Get ready for your close-up. “You’re in the Movies” brings the cool factor to kitsch as you live out your dreams of becoming a scream queen, zombie or kung fu fighter. Premiering exclusively on Xbox 360 this holiday season, “You’re in the Movies” is the first and only game of its kind to literally transport players into a magical world of cinema mixed with the hilarious world of improvisation. Using the Xbox LIVE Vision camera, players’ actions are captured and placed into short, riotous films. Performances never end up on the cutting-room floor, and are never the same.

• “Scene It? Box Office Smash” (Krome Studios and Screenlife/Microsoft Game Studios). “Scene It? Box Office Smash,” the revolutionary movie trivia game on Xbox 360, will ignite your game night this holiday season with totally new questions, movie puzzles and more high-definition (HD) content from real movies including some of Hollywood’s latest blockbusters. Trivia night goes global as players challenge each other online over Xbox LIVE, customize their own characters, and access extra questions and localized content from films around the world.**

• “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” (Rare Ltd./Microsoft Game Studios). Available exclusively on Xbox 360 in November, from the creative masterminds at Rare, “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” is an action-adventure game that breathes new life into a franchise that has entertained people of all ages for a decade. In a platform genre first, players create their own abilities by building vehicles for Banjo to pilot over land, sea and air in a variety of Challenges where their choice of vehicle and tactics determines the course of the adventure. Players can test their customized vehicles against other players’ creations online or simply compare and share their inventions with friends. The original “Banjo-Kazooie” also debuts with “Stop ’N’ Swop” on Xbox LIVE Arcade later this year.

• “DanceDanceRevolution® UNIVERSE3” (Konami). Celebrating its 10th anniversary, “DanceDanceRevolution UNIVERSE3” dances its way to you with fun new modes — including DJ Mode and Quest Mode — and settings for players of all skill levels. In addition to one of the biggest soundtracks — more than 70 songs spanning from the ’70s to some of today’s hottest tracks — “DanceDanceRevolution UNIVERSE3” brings friends together from around the world via Xbox LIVE.** Character customization features more than 400 options of clothing, faces, skin tones and hairstyles, allowing players to create the ultimate dancer.

• “UNO RUSH™” (Microsoft). “UNO RUSH” is a challenging and exciting party card game for up to four players. Developed by the same team that brought the original, best-selling “UNO®” to Xbox LIVE Arcade, “UNO RUSH” boasts a wide range of gameplay and social features — multiple variants, house-rule options, local and Xbox LIVE multiplay, camera support, avatar support, and more — plus fast-paced gameplay to keep the party going. “UNO RUSH” is coming exclusively to Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008.

• “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” (Rare Ltd./Microsoft Game Studios). In this sequel to the colorful sleeper hit “Viva Piñata” debuting in September, players can venture outside the boundaries of the immersive and ever-changing garden to retrieve exotic piñata species from two new lands, the Dessert Desert and the Piñarctic. Developed by Rare, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” allows up to four players to work together to create the ultimate online garden via Xbox LIVE.** Players can race their favorite piñata or enter them into the P-Factor, Piñata Islands very own talent show and beauty pageant, online against friends or against other gardeners from the island. They can now use the Xbox LIVE Vision camera to drop a new piñata right into their gardens, change the weather or share their custom piñatas with others.

The Biggest Blockbusters of 2008 and Beyond

With the most blockbuster, million-selling games and the most anticipated titles of 2008 and beyond, Xbox 360 is the pre-eminent place to play all the big titles that gamers thirst for, including the following:

• “Final Fantasy XIII” (Square Enix). “Final Fantasy XIII” is the eagerly anticipated title from Square Enix that takes full advantage of the superior power and technology in Xbox 360, providing tangible, intuitive controls while delivering seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and stunning in-game cinematics. Using the latest in cutting-edge technology, this latest addition to the “Final Fantasy” series is worthy of the title “next generation.”

• “Galaga Legions” (NAMCO BANDAI Games). The arcade shooter “Galaga” has captivated players all over the world, and now the legend lives on with “Galaga Legions.” Featuring table-turning game dynamics, updated graphics and vast waves of ferocious enemies, “Galaga Legions” was created by the same team that developed the best-selling “PAC-MAN Championship Edition” for Xbox LIVE Arcade. “Galaga Legions” will debut exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008.

• “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” (Bizarre Creations Ltd./Activision). The latest version of the frenetic retro shooter, “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” debuts exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008. Newcomers and pros alike will be blown away by the screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes, new enemies, scoring strategies and a diverse list of exciting Achievements. “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” also supports multiplayer mayhem for up to four players, with versus or co-op modes, and features razor-sharp 1080p graphics and new, pulse-pounding music.

• “Portal™: Still Alive” (Valve/Microsoft). “Portal: Still Alive” features the full award-winning “Portal” single-player game from Valve plus a new challenge mode. Designed to change the way players approach, manipulate and surmise the possibilities in any given environment, “Portal” has earned more than 70 industry honors for its innovative gameplay, with more than 30 Game of the Year Awards. Solve physical puzzles and challenges by opening portals to maneuvering objects, and yourself, through space. The game is debuting on Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008.

• “South Park” (South Park Digital Studios/Doublesix/Microsoft). Based on the Emmy- and Peabody-award winning show, a “South Park” game (title TBA) is coming exclusively to Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2009.

• “Fable II” (Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studios). This Xbox 360 exclusive action role-playing game offers players an epic storyline and an unprecedented level of freedom and choice. Every decision defines who the player becomes and influences the evolving world around them. “Fable II” is the next great step for the genre, with an innovative dynamic cooperative mode, where players can choose to invite a friend on the same couch or over Xbox LIVE to experience the world together.** The journey begins in August with a first-of-its-kind exclusive Xbox LIVE Arcade title, which allows players to get a head start on earning gold that will transfer to the rich world of “Fable II” when it arrives at stores in October.

• “Gears of War 2” (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios). Epic Games’ design director Cliff Bleszinski gave a stunning new look at the “Gears of War 2” campaign, and confirmed the ability to ride the fearsome Brumak. Also detailed was the all-new five-player cooperative mode “Horde,” where players unite to battle a seemingly endless onslaught of Locust Horde forces.** “Gears of War 2” is the most anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive title this holiday season and will be released worldwide Nov. 7.

• “Grand Theft Auto IV” (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games). Continuing its blistering pace on the Xbox 360 platform, the first of the Xbox 360 exclusive downloadable episodes for this record-breaking game will be available this fall — the only console with new “Grand Theft Auto IV” content available this holiday season.

• “Halo Wars” (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Game Studios). Microsoft is further expanding the “Halo” universe with “Halo Wars,” the blockbuster strategy game designed exclusively for the Xbox 360. A piece of the “Halo Wars” story is revealed through “Five Long Years,” a trailer from Ensemble Studios and Microsoft, which showcases the brutal struggle for control of Harvest early in the Human-Covenant wars. “Halo Wars” will put gamers in command of the entire battlefield, leading both UNSC and Covenant forces.

• “Infinite Undiscovery™” (Square Enix). “Infinite Undiscovery” is the newest fantasy role-playing console game from Square Enix, drawing gamers into a real-time world woven of countless threads where player choices spin untold discoveries — only on Xbox 360. Players will be confronted with a variety of dramatic situational battles, such as executing a daring escape while a gigantic ogre follows in hot pursuit, or waging battle amid towering tidal waves. Dynamic environments change and respond in real time, creating an entirely new experience never before seen in the genre. The title is scheduled to release exclusively on Xbox 360 in North America on Sept. 2, 2008.

• “The Last Remnant™” (Square Enix). “The Last Remnant” is a new role-playing game crafted using the finest artistry and technology Square Enix has to offer. Set in a fantasy world, war-torn and scarred by years of conflict, gameplay revolves around mysterious artifacts — Remnants — that possess magic powers. Groundbreaking graphics possible only on Xbox 360 bring the intensity to a whole new level. “The Last Remnant” is launching worldwide on November 20 and will be available only on Xbox 360.

• “Resident Evil 5” (Capcom). Destined to bring new fans to the series, “Resident Evil 5” is the sequel to one of the highest-rated video games in history (according to Metacritic.com and Gamerankings.com). Promising to revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelievable level of detail, realism and control, “Resident Evil 5” unleashes an unprecedented level of fear for the next generation. New technology developed specifically for the game, as well as incredible changes to both the gameplay and the “Resident Evil” world, will make this a must-have game for gamers across the globe.

• “STAR OCEAN®: The Last Hope™” (Square Enix). “STAR OCEAN: The Last Hope” is the long-awaited continuation of the celebrated science fiction and fantasy role-playing game series. Slated for release on Xbox 360 in spring 2009 and published by Square Enix, this prequel set during the aftermath of World War III combines science fiction and fantasy elements spanning multiple planets and the vastness of space itself to recount the origins of the STAR OCEAN universe. Exhilarating combat expands upon the franchise’s famous real-time battle system, introducing the amazing graphics and visual effects possible only on Xbox 360.

• “Too Human” (Silicon Knights/Microsoft Game Studios). “Too Human” is an epic action game with integrated role-playing game elements, and will be available in North America on Aug. 19 and in Europe on Aug. 29. The game features a rich storyline with deep character development, both hallmarks of Silicon Knights’ legendary tradition of video game development.

About Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is a premier video game and entertainment system. It is home to the best and broadest games plus more standard and high-definition movies and TV shows on demand than any other device connected to the TV. The digital center of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content, including personal pictures and music, with a unified online social network to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

*The functionality of songs played from personal music collections will vary.

**Xbox LIVE Gold Membership required for online play.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

On IGN. If you’re not charmed by Rare’s little monsters you have a heart of stone. Go watch.

In this interview with GameFocus, Rare’s Justin Cook has confirmed that Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will, definitely, have proper online multiplay.

“We have a new two-player mode where you can share a garden with the person sitting next to you on the sofa,” said Cook. “I can confirm that there will be multiplayer over Live this time.”

This will have the faithful squealing with delight. There’s plenty more through the link.

The 360 sequel is to include 30 new piñata species, areas to explore outside gardens, and co-op modes.

Press release after the link.

Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Release Date and New Details Revealed
Green thumbs and animal-loving gamers rejoice with the return of their favourite candy-filled creatures, hits shelves on 5th September
LONDON – 3rd July 2008 – Roarios and Tigermisus and Fizzlybears, OH MY! Microsoft today announced that “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” will be released and on store shelves by 5th September.

With more than 30 additional new piñata species, expanded co-op options and multiple gameplay modes, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” offers limitless fun for every animal-lover in the family.

Piñata Island has gotten bigger too! Now players can explore wild areas outside of the garden where they will need to bait and retrieve exotic piñata species who won’t venture into the garden on their own.

Put on your mittens and snow shoes as you brave the cold of the Pinartic where you’ll find piñatas that prefer cooler temperatures and the occasional blizzard, like Pengums and Polollybears. Or you can shed the layers and head to the sands of the Dessert Desert, where Camellos and Jameleons bask in the arid sun.

All of these new exotic piñatas will not venture into your garden willingly, so you’ll need to bait and retrieve them yourself. But you can make them feel at home right away by adding patches of snow or sand to your garden, similar to how you add grass and water.

Available exclusively on Xbox 360, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” reinvigorates a colourful and engaging gaming experience. Now with full cooperative gameplay modes and various approachable difficulty settings, the “Viva Piñata” franchise opens its doors even wider with a new game that provides hours of fun for gamers of all ages, fans of the animated series and animal lovers alike.

-Ends-

On NeoGaf. Looks lovely, as ever. Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is, obviously, an Xbox 360 exclusive and will be releasing in September.

Microsoft Game Studios released a new trailer of Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, a new game for Xbox 360 featuring full cooperative and online gameplay modes. In Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, Professor Pester along with his gang of Ruffians have wiped out Piñata Central’s computer records, which poses a threat to parties everywhere. To help Piñata Central, players must gradually rebuild the computer database by sending piñatas at full candiosity to parties all around the world. While thwarting Professor Pester’s evil plot, players still build and maintain piñata gardens – using their creativity and imagination to attract, trap, protect, train and manage more than 100 different piñata species.

Astonishing. Watch it now.

After the link. Just one shot of Rare’s Viva sequel, you lucky, lucky people. It shows a lovely camel thing in some kind of desert environment. See for yourself.

You can see all our coverage on the sequel so far here. Take a look at the interview after the break.

“Suddenly I had huge animals such as gorillas, moose and Yeti’s running around the middle of the garden, whilst a very special card gave me infinite amounts of money and unlocked every item in the game,” the article explained.

“With over 100 Pinata’s – mainly because of the fact the you can quickly go to a desert and snowy landscape to catch these animals – I already look forward to sharing the crazy creations – such as the kick-ass chicken Cluck Norriss and a moose that at Christmas time changes into a reindeer – with players all over the world.”

We want it more by the minute. The Rare game will be shown officially to the press in San Francisco today, so keep an eye out at 5pm BST for more. In the meantime, check out details, screens and news of an offline co-op mode.

By Mike Bowden