Viva Pinata Bonds Gaming and TV Shows

Rare Ltd. is apparently now ready to bring its products beyond the console and into TVs. After its acquisition by Microsoft, Rare, for the first time, is now set to have an associated TV show with 4Kids, via Viva Piñata. This provides for the company a perfect opportunity to better their position in the market through cross-promotions. Not only will the television show cater to those fans already familiar with Viva Piñata as a game, but more importantly will aid in the game’s recognition by those who have yet to know what it is about.

Since this is the first time for Rare to venture into this kind of promotional strategy, it is important for them to be involved in the creative process of the TV series to ensure consistency. Supplying heaps and heaps of information, they then leave it up to the scriptwriters to fill in the story that will be fit for the series. Then, the script goes back to them for review and critique.

The animation is being handled by Bardel in Canada, and so far, they are happy with the work being delivered. The models are pretty much the same as those in the game, although for the TV series, they obviously have to speak.

What sets this cross-promotions endeavour apart from Pokemon’s or Animal Crossing’s? For one, it supposedly has more AI and animal behavior. Other than that, the Pinatas live in real-time in your gardens. Then again, while Viva Piñata took on the same promotional tactics of Pokemon and Animal Crossing, it certainly is not modelling the show on either of the two.

Rare is fully prepared for the mixed reactions that gamers would have on Viva Piñata. They are confident that it will be received well, since they stuck it out with the original concept as much as possible, and refrained from being swayed by opinions since the release of the game was announced.

While it may seem that Viva Piñata may be at risk of being tagged as “for kids only”, especially now that there will be a TV Series about it, Rare Ltd. shrugs it off. The company knows full well the importance of the young market. These same kids, after all, will be the future gamers. What is important is that they tried something different, and hopefully, the market out there will appreciate it for the game that it is, despite its childish appeal.

Via Daily Game

Rare Ltd. is apparently now ready to bring its products beyond the console and into TVs. After its acquisition by Microsoft, Rare, for the first time, is now set to have an associated TV show with 4Kids, via Viva Piñata. This provides for the company a perfect opportunity to better their position in the market through cross-promotions. Not only will the television show cater to those fans already familiar with Viva Piñata as a game, but more importantly will aid in the game’s recognition by those who have yet to know what it is about.

Since this is the first time for Rare to venture into this kind of promotional strategy, it is important for them to be involved in the creative process of the TV series to ensure consistency. Supplying heaps and heaps of information, they then leave it up to the scriptwriters to fill in the story that will be fit for the series. Then, the script goes back to them for review and critique.

The animation is being handled by Bardel in Canada, and so far, they are happy with the work being delivered. The models are pretty much the same as those in the game, although for the TV series, they obviously have to speak.

What sets this cross-promotions endeavour apart from Pokemon’s or Animal Crossing’s? For one, it supposedly has more AI and animal behavior. Other than that, the Pinatas live in real-time in your gardens. Then again, while Viva Piñata took on the same promotional tactics of Pokemon and Animal Crossing, it certainly is not modelling the show on either of the two.

Rare is fully prepared for the mixed reactions that gamers would have on Viva Piñata. They are confident that it will be received well, since they stuck it out with the original concept as much as possible, and refrained from being swayed by opinions since the release of the game was announced.

While it may seem that Viva Piñata may be at risk of being tagged as “for kids only”, especially now that there will be a TV Series about it, Rare Ltd. shrugs it off. The company knows full well the importance of the young market. These same kids, after all, will be the future gamers. What is important is that they tried something different, and hopefully, the market out there will appreciate it for the game that it is, despite its childish appeal.

Via Daily Game