What if Microsoft brought back games like Viva Pinata, Fusion Frenzy, and Crimson Skies for $30?

What do you think about Microsoft hiring smaller dev teams to make $30 games based on their older franchises? Could be single-player games or ones with simple multiplayer features. Would you buy them?

Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

Honestly, I’d pay way more than $30 for a new Viva Pinata.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

Would Slime Rancher be a decent substitute?

Dakota said:

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

Would Slime Rancher be a decent substitute?

Slime Rancher gets close in the cozy vibe department, but Viva Pinata had such a unique balance with its food chain mechanics. Feeding pinatas to other pinatas made you think differently about your ranch’s layout and what you valued more—your lower pinatas or the ones higher up. Slime Rancher doesn’t really capture that same moral dilemma.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

If Viva Pinata came out today, half the pinatas would probably be locked behind paid loot crates.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

My wife and I still replay Viva Pinata every few years. We’re due for another round soon.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

Loved Viva Pinata, but it was so slow! Can’t believe I had the patience for it as a kid. Still, the art style and gameplay were so rewarding.

@Emil
I wouldn’t call it slow—it’s chilled out.

Valen said:
@Emil
I wouldn’t call it slow—it’s chilled out.

If they remade it with no loading screens, it’d be perfect.

Emil said:

Valen said:
@Emil
I wouldn’t call it slow—it’s chilled out.

If they remade it with no loading screens, it’d be perfect.

That might actually convince me to buy an Xbox again.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

There’s been a rumor that Rare’s Everwild might be a spiritual successor to Viva Pinata.

Weston said:
Viva Pinata was such a gem. I’d love to see it come back. There’s really nothing else like it.

I broke the game by farming and selling thistle flowers. They replanted themselves, grew fast, and sold for a ton of money. Made it hard to play normally after figuring that out.

I’d love to see more $30-40 games from developers. Smaller budgets might encourage more risk-taking.

Logan said:
I’d love to see more $30-40 games from developers. Smaller budgets might encourage more risk-taking.

Sounds like what happened with Tango Gameworks. Microsoft bought them, and their games didn’t sell as expected.

@Briar
I actually bought Hi-Fi Rush at full price. Loved it.

@Briar
Microsoft tried budget games before, like Ori and the Blind Forest or D4, but people didn’t buy them. I’m still mad D4 never got a sequel.

@Briar
Tango Gameworks had some hits, but many of their devs left around the time of Hi-Fi Rush’s release.

Logan said:
I’d love to see more $30-40 games from developers. Smaller budgets might encourage more risk-taking.

Remember Xbox Live Arcade games like Splosion Man or Castle Crashers? Smaller teams made some of the best games during that era.

Crimson Skies deserves a modern remake.