Viva Piñata fans hoping to get an extra dose of paper animal wrangling after VP: Trouble In Paradise will be disappointed, according to a recent web chat with the developers.

"We don't have any plans for DLC. 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"

But what could this new game be? I spoke to Rare's Community Manager George Kelion, who said that the team were keen on a fresh challenge after spending so long cooped up with just sentient Piñatas for company.

"With VP2 out the door and Banjo in its vinegar strokes, we're focusing on getting the Avatars all finished and done for the New Xbox Experience", said Kelion, "After that, it'll most likely be a mix of new projects and hopefully a Banjo sequel.. maybe? Fingers crossed, anyway!"

Chatting in Paradise [Mondo Rare]

Rare has released the first official Viva Piñata Vision Card for use in Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise.

As we covered back in May, Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise for the Xbox 360 can be used with the Xbox Live Vision Camera and a selection of special cards. Players can wave the cards in front of the camera to invoke certain game effects.

Players will be able to download free cards, which can then be printed out — or just displayed on a PDA or mobile phone screen held in front of the camera. Players can also create their own cards for online trading.

It looks like it will work a bit like the PS3 game Eye Of Judgement although Rare say that the game will be fully playable without the card/camera combo.

"The Vision Camera just adds a new dimension to Piñata and how you can interact with the game. Vision cards are really versatile, by showing one of the cards to the Vision Camera you can affect the weather, the time, garden items, piñatas, you can do just about anything" - Ryan Stevenson, Rare

The first Piñata Vision Card goes online! [MundoRare]

Hang tough, Rare fans. If Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts aren't quite scratching your Rare itch, the developer has more in store. Nick Burton, a senior software engineer at Rare, tells Videogamer that the developer's officially announced titles are being tackled by "about half" of the current staff, hinting that much more is on the way. Dreams of Killer Instinct 3 may be dancing in our heads, but we'll try not to get too excited.

When will we find out? According to Burton, "soon enough". If that means Leipzig Games Convention, we'll be surprised, and expect that we'll hear real details after the release of Rare's already in development Xbox 360 titles.

Rare: Half the studio working on secret projects [Videogamer]

Oh, so here's a release date for the Xbox 360 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise! September 5th is when the follow-up in the candy-filled franchise hits — and it strikes me, you know, what an odd idea! Who'd have ever thought that reviving fandom for piñatas, that semi-relic toy we used to bash as candy-crazed youngsters (you don't really see 'em anymore, huh?) would make such a decent idea for a gardening/breeding/life sim?

Anyway, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise adds 30 new piñata species, more co-op and gameplay modes, and the official announcement promises that Piñata Island has gotten even bigger. Crecente had a look at it recently and found that it seems to tone up what could've been seen as problem zones in the original.

Full details after the jump!

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Courtesy of Rare, here's four new screens for the upcoming Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise. Things are looking lovely, there's no doubt of that. But the first one looked (and played!) lovely, too. And still, nobody really paid any attention. Will genie huts and birds with gas masks change that? Probably not, but there's always hope!

Microsoft does not have a handheld device, which, you know, probably is a good thing! Why? It can put games on the Nintendo DS and get its brands out to people who may not or may never own an Xbox 360. Take Viva Piñata, which is getting DS title Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise. Microsoft-owned developer Rare has been working on the title as well as other DS games like Diddy Kong Racing DS. Says Rare's Joe Humfrey:

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By now you know Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise is coming to DS, and I couldn't wait to have an early look at it during THQ's spring preview event today.

Judging by what I saw, THQ's aiming to take what fans of the original Viva Pinata liked best and put it front-and-centre, while also making it portable and by tying it in to the TV series in the hopes of opening frilly neon pinata guts and raining candy down on a whole new audience of fans.

So how's it look?

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If you've ever wanted to snag one of those cute widdle Viva Piñata animals to carry along with you, now you can. Kinda. THQ and Rare announced Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise for the Nintendo DS, releasing this Spring alongside the console sequel.

Originally announced at the New York Comic Con, the DS version will share themes with the original Viva Piñata, tasking players with nursing a neglected garden into a piñata paradise. Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise will also introduce seven new piñata species, in addition to tutorial full motion videos from the Fox 4Kids TV series.

Full release follows the jump.

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Blueberry Garden is a forthcoming indie release from Erik Svedäng that looks like ... well, I'm not entirely sure. A surreal, super-minimalist Viva Piñata, perhaps? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm totally mystified, and I kinda like it. There's a bit more information over at the creator's blog (plus info on his other games), including a short story from Blueberry Garden involving party hats, birds, blueberries, and starving party hats. Poor little party hats. My interest is piqued and I'm waiting to find out more.

Blueberry Garden (sneak peek trailer) [Blip]

The Into The Pixel art showcase at DICE featured plenty of wonderful artwork from beloved games like God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life 2 and Rayman's Raving Rabbids, each up for auction. The piece that looked to grab the biggest bucks was the Viva PInata digital painting seen above, which closed at $US 1400. The winner? None other than Epic Games' Mark Rein, who hovered near the bidding sheet like a hungry wolf until the auction closed, growling at anyone who attempted to outbid him. My choice? It would've been the Team Fortress 2 piece seen after the jump.

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