Viva Piñata is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360 and PC. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series, based on an idea from Tim Stamper.[1] Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was officially announced on March 15, 2006, and first released in November 2006. With a "general audiences" or "everyone" rating, the game provides bright, colorful visuals, intended to appeal to children and more casual gamers. The game received a positive reaction from game critics, eventually selling over 1.5 million copies.
A Windows version of the game was released in November 2007. An Xbox 360 sequel Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise was released in 2008. A graphically degraded Nintendo DS version of the game entitled Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise was also released in 2008.