Holy Horstacios!  The brand new entry to the grossly under appreciated Viva Pinata series has a release date, and it's September 5th, 2008.  The game will feature over 30 brand new creatures along with all of your old favorites, as well as new gameplay modes, new weather effects and of course co-op.  That's right you and your buddy or kids can sit down and enjoy the virtual pinata gardening experience together. 

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise will also feature brand new weather effects and object plus a new camera mode which allows you to create virtual cards of your pinatas and send them to friends to import via their Xbox Live Vision camera.  These cards can be bought in the store, sent via email, and scanned in from just about any device with a screen.    Very cool!

 

LONDON – 3rd July 2008

- Roarios and Tigermisus and Fizzlybears, OH MY! Microsoft today announced that “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” will be released and on store shelves by 5th September.

 

With more than 30 additional new piñata species, expanded co-op options and multiple gameplay modes, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” offers limitless fun for every animal-lover in the family.

 

Piñata Island has gotten bigger too! Now players can explore wild areas outside of the garden where they will need to bait and retrieve exotic piñata species who won’t venture into the garden on their own.

 

Put on your mittens and snow shoes as you brave the cold of the Pinartic where you’ll find piñatas that prefer cooler temperatures and the occasional blizzard, like Pengums and Polollybears. Or you can shed the layers and head to the sands of the Dessert Desert, where Camellos and Jameleons bask in the arid sun.

 

All of these new exotic piñatas will not venture into your garden willingly, so you’ll need to bait and retrieve them yourself. But you can make them feel at home right away by adding patches of snow or sand to your garden, similar to how you add grass and water.

 

Available exclusively on Xbox 360, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” reinvigorates a colourful and engaging gaming experience. Now with full cooperative gameplay modes and various approachable difficulty settings, the “Viva Piñata” franchise opens its doors even wider with a new game that provides hours of fun for gamers of all ages, fans of the animated series and animal lovers alike.

I read about this, and got all of the details in the xbox forum. There's actually an official producer called BIGsheep on there. He answers some of our questions.