One of the more significant announcements coming from the Microsoft E3 07 press conference was that a new Viva Pinata title is coming... but not from Rare. Titled Viva Pinata: Party Animals, it will be developed by Krome Studios and marks the first collaboration between Microsoft and the Australian indie developer.

"I've known the Microsoft people for several years," explained Krome CEO Robert Walsh. "In fact, there's a biz dev person I know who works there that was with us on Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. We're generally pretty strong in the cute, cartoony kid-friendly stuff and I guess our name just came up. We're thrilled with it too; we've wanted to work together [with Microsoft] for years. They're good to work with too, they really understand games. Just look at Gears of War, which has sold 3 million copies."

This announcement raises eyebrows for a few reasons. If Microsoft was really as pleased with Rare's handling of the franchise as they've said in the past, why aren't they working on the sequel? For that matter, why the sudden shift in genres to a more party-style game? While the world wonders about the investment Microsoft made in Rare, Krome is looking forward to this new development challenge with a very notable first-party IP.

"The thing with Viva Pinata: Party Animals is that it's our first party game. That's been a big plus for us. A lot of previous games of ours have had had multiplayer party elements, but this is the first one to focus on it exclusively. The team has really bought into the concept and that just makes for a better product. The game is very easy to pick up and play and that's going to be a very big driver."

When asked if this was an attempt to reach the mainstream with a party title like Wii Sports, Wii Play, Warioware: Smooth Moves or Mario Party 8, Walsh agreed but downplayed the direct correlation with Nintendo's Wii games. "I definitely agree, though I think it's just part of a well balanced library," he responded. "I'm positive Microsoft is looking into the party space seriously, as it's a driver for all consoles long term."

Since the game was Rare's original creation, we asked how much input or support they received from the British developer. "Originally, there was quite a fair bit, because it's like handing your baby off to someone else," detailed Walsh. "They offered assets and advice for keeping things consistent in the Viva Pinata world. They were concerned whether or not we were going to do a quality job. After we proved that we were going to handle it capably, they gave us a bit more freedom, though we're still sending them builds consistently and receiving their feedback."

This move by Microsoft, handing off one of its larger new IPs to an independent developer seems to be indicative of a general change in the industry. Walsh talked about this changing climate: "We work on our own games, but work for hire is a good way to stay in business. There is a bit of a push for publishers to go internal, but often those studios can only do so much and if they still need to make more products, they hire out. And often independent developers might do better than the internal studio. I really think independent studios are always the most innovative. Look at DICE; they created a whole sub-genre with Battlefield, then EA bought them out and made a successful franchise out of it."

"I think [Viva Pinata: Party Animals] itself is going to surprise a lot of people. It has a great, unique look that's really lent itself to the gameplay. Whenever I see a build of this, I'm surprised at how fun it is and I can't wait for the final version," he concluded.