Viva Pi�ata gets parents' approval

by Dustin Burg { May 1st 2007 at 12:30PM }

Everyone's favorite piñata growing simulator Viva Piñata has received top honors from a collective group we call "parents". The Parents' Choice Foundation awarded Viva Piñata with the Parents' Choice Award in gaming for its "excellent production values, universal human values, appeal to children, and age appropriateness". We're sure it's an honor, but we wonder if such an award will deter older gamers from picking up the game. We know how sensitive some fanboys can be when it comes to their gamercard and playing "children's games", so does the new Parents' Choice Award further embarrass/deter those who are uneasy about trying Viva Piñata?

Tags: award, pinata, rare, viva pinata, VivaPinata

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

DjDATZ @ May 1st 2007 12:40PM

not me...im still planning on getting it...

Scott @ May 1st 2007 12:51PM

Got it for my son for his birthday and we've been playing it. Being able to use two controllers was a stroke of genius.

MrKniceGuy @ May 1st 2007 12:55PM

I am playing through F.E.A.R. right now. I would consider myself a hardcore gamer... and yes, I've played Viva Piñata. It's a great game for all! just check out my gamertag if you don't believe me.. mrkniceguy

Synapse49 @ May 1st 2007 12:55PM

I still don't understand how this is a kids game. It's so flipping difficult. I guess I can't micro manage like kids can.

xenocidic @ May 1st 2007 1:13PM

i agree with #4... the game can be quite difficult at times! definately not something a 6 year old could handle. unless they're making new and improved youngin's these days, who knows.

lots of fun tho.

nerdron @ May 1st 2007 1:53PM

My wife and I both have 40+ hours each into our gardens, more than all three kids put together. A fantastic game, and I hope Rare does some additional content for the game.

Insomnious @ May 1st 2007 2:02PM

If I had had the time, I would have put a lot of effort into Viva Piñata, but alas, I traded it in for a more quick-paced game (Call of Duty 3).

It was a bloody good game, and it had a very relaxing and pleasant tone to it, so it always put you into a calmer state of mind. It's what I'd call a 'nice' game - a genuinely pleasant theme with no subtle sleazy undertones.

Tony @ May 1st 2007 2:25PM

I think people really underestimate how smart kids are. If a kid is given the chance to play something like Viva Pinata. My eight year old brother managed to beat Knights of the Old Republic. Sure, he took forever doing it, but no one helped him.

There's a lot of things to manage in the game, but how you play determines a lot of it. If you take your time and don't worry about having 10 animals out at once, you're not going to bury yourself. There's almost nothing in the title that's forcing you to do much of anything... Pester himself doesn't appear for quite a while and by then most would have a very good grasp of the game.

At this point the game's been out long enough that fanboys that would dislike it don't even have it in their brains anymore.

For those that care, Target has the game for $20 now.

JS Beckerist @ May 2nd 2007 7:54AM

Did you seriously just call CoD3 "quicker paced?" That game took me literally more than 40 hours of gameplay to beat...on NORMAL!

Their save system sucks...you have to choreograph the checkpoint if you get a crappy save...
Turn left, duck, shoot the guy over the hill, turn right, throw a grenade to distract the group ahead of you and run to the left. Hide momentarily behind this rock until 3 dudes run by, quick run over to the building and chuck another grenade inside before moving in. Of course there's no checkpoint in this, so if you die you go back to square 1.

BluesmanTLU @ May 1st 2007 3:19PM

I'd love to pick it up since it's so cheap now. If I finish the back catalog of games I have sitting around now before Bioshock and Mass Effect hit in September, I'll be playing this a bit this summer.

praiznhim @ May 1st 2007 3:27PM

Are you kidding me? A kids game? Parents choice award? Yes finally a game that teaches children about sex, so I don't have to!! and so i ask, to what kind of parenting has america stooped?

This game is all fun and games, until someone gets romanced!

Take You Down With A Steamhammer @ May 1st 2007 3:34PM

praiznhim, my 5 year old plays it and he has only gotten 2 girls preggers.

Mr Khan @ May 1st 2007 5:18PM

Exposure like this is what will help break down the "theme barriers" that plagued Xbox (and Nintendo) last generation, and this gen, at least for now

that was the only thing that put PS2 ahead of both Xbox and GC, the fact that the other 2 were locked in theme barriers, Xbox with "realistic mature" and GC with "fantastic kiddie"

Hopefully its success is a sign of more variety to come

Jeramy @ May 1st 2007 9:14PM

i love this game. my half-brother has it and every time i go to my dad's i always stay up incredibly late just trying to do random ass crap. i'm not really good at, umm, accomplishing anything in the game. i usually get distracted by mundane tasks. i need to buy it soon since i'm leaving for college in a few months.

jkdoug @ May 2nd 2007 7:33AM

I kinda agree with #10. They're not "dancing," kids. That's what Mommy and Daddy do when they think you're sleeping, though granted not very often.

I've played up to level 11 or 12, and still the only pinatas that want anything to do with each other are the Whirlms. What's a guy got to do to make those other paper idiots happy?!

Desari @ May 6th 2007 2:14PM

My family is big into games, everything from Halo to Dance Dance Revolution to frogger. EVERY single one of us LOVE Viva Pinata. (for the record, I (mom) am the only female of the group so that makes 3 males ages 31, 15 & 12 that play Viva.)

As for the game teaching about sex, get real..they do a cute little dance and then poof an egg appears, that is NOTHING compared to commercials on basic/local TV.