Rare's underperforming oddball animal mating sim, and transformation adventure, could be heading to the DS.

Although Rare and Nintendo set sail in opposite ships a few years ago, it hasn't stopped the famed British publisher from supporting Nintendo's handheld platforms. The GBA has seen Mr. Pants, Banjo Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge and more titles, while their DS debut, a port of the oft-overlooked Diddy Kong Racing has just seen release on the DS. And, according to an interview with Shane Kim, Microsoft's Corporate VP of the Games Studio Division, more may be coming.

Speaking about Pinata's disappointing sales performance, Kim said "A Kameo or a Viva Pinata on a DS makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways from a franchise perspective. I think it's fair to say that we're going to continue to invest in that property. Whether that is in the form of a sequel, a product line extension or through merchandising, whatever the case may be, that's something that we're going to stick with. Whether you're talking about [publishing games on] mobile or the DS." Furthermore, a PSP release was deemed unlikely.

With the astonishing global success of the DS, pursuing Kameo or Viva Pinata on the format could present a tempting opportunity to recoup lost sales. Pinata, with its emphasis on trading and interacting with other players a la Pokemon, could be especially well suited to the WiFi-enabled handheld. Any development, as ever, will be reported.