Viva Pinata DS Arrives This Fall

A portable version of Rare's pinata-breeding, garden-tending franchise Viva Pinata will arrive on Nintendo DS this fall, publisher THQ has announced.

Titled Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, the game is being developed by series creator and Microsoft subsidiary Rare. While it made seem odd for THQ to publish a Microsoft title, the companies have paired in the past to distribute portable renditions of other Microsoft-owned properties.

Along with a new Playground mode that is said to let players "create a lush garden full of exciting and exotic pinatas in a very short amount of time," the game will include rare pinatas that are only accessible by trading items to another local player through the portable's wireless connection.

"Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for the Viva Pinata franchise because players can have direct interaction with the environment and their pinatas using the stylus," said THq marketing VP Bob Aniello.