Microsoft readying an Xbox One Rare collection
UPDATE: Confirmed. Rare Replay to celebrate studio's 30th birthday.
UPDATE #2: Here are the games, list courtesy of IGN.
Viva Piņata News
Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy are top-five finishers in Classic FM Hall of Fame
"Video games triumph", writes Classic FM.
The votes have been counted and the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2013 compiled. Soundtracks from The Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy series are in the top five.
New Microsoft London studio to focus on Windows 8 tablet devices
Headed up by former Rare production director Lee Schuneman.
Microsoft Studios has announced the formation of a new London-based studio headed by Rare's former production director Lee Schuneman.
Rare staff facing possible lay-offs
Studio wants to speed up dev cycles.
Rare plans to restructure and possibly downsize in order to refocus on speedy, more simplified development cycles.
Viva Piñata 2 details sprinkle out
Co-operate in more ways than one.
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise will feature drop-in and drop-out co-op for you and a green-fingered friend, as well as fancy Live Vision support that scans physical cards to add unique content such as custom piñatas, fresh buildings and abilities, or even weather changes.
This is according to the forum posters on NeoGAF reproducing the contents of a Game Informer preview as well as divulging secrets from a separate trip to Rare.
The even cleverer part about this Eye of Judgement-like card-scanning system is that you can create your own codes on the Internet. These can be attached to piñata made by you (somehow - presumably uploading pictures using the in-game photo mode) and then shared on forums. The Live Vision camera is even said to be able to scan codes on iPod, Zune or LCD screens.
Prepare your hearts.
Following on from yesterday's exciting news about Viva Piņata: Party Animals squaring up to roundly smash the hanging casket of our dreams over the fires of despair, Microsoft has announced that Viva Piņata will be released on PC on 16th November as well!
Rare questions Piñata marketing
Says MS favoured Gears of War.
Rare has questioned owner Microsoft and its decision to pour more money into marketing Gears of War rather than Viva Piñata, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
New features for upcoming games.
Microsoft has said that version 1.2 of its Games for Windows Live service will be spouted out across the Internet in November, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
It will let you obtain Achievements while playing offline and give you the ability to see if you can join friends in their games, along with some other user interface bits and pieces yet to be specified.
So far five games have been announced as supporting the updated service, including The Club and Universe at War from SEGA; Kane & Lynch from Eidos; and Gears of War and Viva Piñata from Microsoft.
Rare busy doing other stuff.
Rare has confirmed that it will not produce any further downloadable content for Xbox 360 title Viva Piñata, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
But it isn't from Rare.
This morning Microsoft revealed a new Viva Piñata game at it's E3 conference.
Moore defends Rare's Xbox work
PDZ, Kameo, Viva Piņata all good.
Microsoft's Peter Moore has paid tribute to Rare's recent product history, defending the Twycross-based developer against claims that its output has struggled to keep touch with the critical and commercial successes of its output prior to its acquisition by the Xbox platform holder.
Shiver me garden demos.
Demos for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Viva Piñata can now be digi-pinched from Xbox Live.
On Live now.
It's taken a while to happen, but Viva Piņata has finally arrived on Xbox Live Marketplace in demo form. Depressingly though, it's only available to US gamers.
Says top exec. On DS, perhaps.
Top men at Microsoft have said the firm aims to support Rare's brilliant Viva Piņata in future, and has even raised the possibility of the British developer's Xbox 360 games appearing on Nintendo DS.
Viva Piņata is for girls - Gates
Behind the shed. 5pm. No blades.
Mincing mega geek Bill Gates has committed the ultimate faux pas - he's told Charlie Rose that Viva Piņata is for girls.
Including a Santa one.
And so we return to one man's excitable quest to get you all to buy Viva Piņata, because it's great and I need someone to send me a crowla because I broke my last one.
HATS!
Rare has popped some more Viva Piņata accessories onto Xbox Live Marketplace, giving you the chance to dress up your piņata with hats borrowed from Mr Pants, or Grabbed by the Ghoulies' Baron von Ghoul or Ma Soupswill.
(And filled with fun.)
"It's horse party time!" is the cry that's going out as we discover that our US copy of Viva Piņata works fine on a PAL Xbox 360. We thought you'd want to know.
Some hats. 90 points.
Viva Piņata may not be out here until 1st December, but the game's launch in the US has prompted the game's first downloadable content.
Microsoft confirms.
Microsoft has confirmed what retail suggestions yesterday led us to conclude: that in light of Viva Piņata's having gone gold, the game will appear on European shelves on 1st December. The US version is out on 9th November.
Rare's latest off to the shops.
Viva Piņata is finished and off to be manufactured, Microsoft announced last night, meaning that those of you in America will be able to buy it on or around 9th November.
Sort of interactive, too.
Want to learn about Viva Piņata? Then read Ellie's preview, which explains how you attract piņatas to come and live in your garden, how to fend off nasty piņatas, and how to make everyone sex like bunnies.