Someone buy our game please, Viva Pinata marketing returns

7:59 PM on 05.03.2007   |   Nick Chester

25 comments

Microsoft and Rare thought they had it all figured out with Viva Piñata. Here was a game that was not only sickly adorable, but was also supposed to appeal to the same gene that controls a child's frenzied Pokémon collecting addiction. Coupled with its own animated television show and a solid marketing campaign, the game was set to be quite the success. 

Well ... oops! While the game didn't necessarily bomb (Microsoft publicly maintains that the game was a success), it certainly didn't reach the audience Microsoft had intended.

The problem wasn't that the game wasn't good. In fact, the game is pretty terrific, and even Ron Workman (under the influence of Jägermeister, no doubt) dabbled in his own little piñata garden. No, the issue was that the game was just too damned complicated for a child to play. That and they all thought the show was stupid, but that's another story. 

So Microsoft are giving it another go, this time appealing to adults with their "Viva Piñata Confessions" campaign. They've set up their own Windows Live Spaces page dedicated to the cause, with a "hardcore" gamer proudly and publicly saying, "It's okay to want to make two piñata snakes screw their brains out." 

So go on and confess. Remember -- if it's good enough for Ron Workman, it's good enough for you.