A Plug-in Pinata

Cool News reported this morning that next year we can expect a line of figurines based on Viva Pinata characters. Better yet, these figurines will plug right into the XBOX360 and upload special extras for the game.

"The figurines (which won't go on sale for another year) plug right into that Xbox 360, enabling kids to "download and upload special 'powers' and other attributes that can be spent in the pinata game world," kind of like "an electronic-age equivalent of Pokemon cards." Says Ed Ventura, Microsoft's vp of franchise development: "We're trying to build a world."

A video game peripheral that is also a toy or collectable figure is genius!