Microsoft has had trouble getting the kids market that Nintendo so effectively courts to buy kid-friendly Xbox 360 games, such as “Viva Pinata.” The DS is popular with kids. Rare just announced this month that a version of “Viva Pinata” for the DS has just been completed. The “VP” game on the DS seems like the perfect agent to sell the series to those Nintendo kids. And now, with this camera feature in the 360 sequel, Microsoft has a way to connect DS “Pinata” gamers to Xbox 360s, for actual gameplay incentives.

So, thinking I’d figured it all out, I asked Cook: Is “Viva Pinata DS” going to connect to the new “Viva Pinata” on the Xbox 360?

“We got it to work, but it was too late in the development cycle,” Cook said, presumably talking about the cycle of the DS game. If only they’d thought of it sooner, he laughed. “It’s one of those things where you just kick yourself.”