TORONTO, ON – September 2, 2008 – Microsoft Game Studios and Rare Ltd. invite you to return to the vibrant Pinata Island as “Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise” lands at North American retailers today. Rated “E” for Everyone and retailing for $39.99, this Xbox 360 exclusive transforms players’ living rooms into a tropical utopia filled with bright, exotic piñata animals that you attract and nurture as you create your own colourful garden paradise.

In “Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise” players of all ages and abilities use their greenest thumbs to create and grow a garden paradise that provides a desirable home for more than 100 diverse pinata animal species.  In a dual role that’s part conservationist, part wildlife biologist, your task is to attract various piñata animals to your garden as well as explore the Island’s nether regions retrieving some it’s most rare species for the purposes of cataloguing each of them in the Island’s central database.  On your adventure you’ll encounter 30 newly discovered species as you explore the Dessert Desert in search of such exotic creatures as the S’morepion (aka scorpion) and Pinarctic where you’ll find equally captivating inhabitants such as the Jeli (aka Yeti or Abominable Snowman).  But you’ll have to use your instincts and wit knowing full well that Professor Pester and his Ruffians will do anything to thwart your efforts to nurture these animals prior to sending them off to entertain at pinata parties around the world.  

For the first time, players can experience the charm of Piñata Island together with cooperative gameplay modes that allow up to four people to work on a single garden over Xbox LIVE and by sharing photos of their garden inhabitants via Piñata Vision cards and the community Web site. With new areas to explore, more gameplay modes to enjoy and more ways to customize your garden, “Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise” presents a world where players will love getting lost in the endless charms of Piñata Island.

More information on “Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise” is available at http://www.xbox.com/en-ca/games/splash/v/vptip/.