In the latest edition of its snarky fan mail response column, otherwise known as Scribes, Rare confirmed that development on the Nintendo DS iteration of Viva Pinata is essentially complete.

And Viva Piñata DS is complete. We are just waiting for our army of university interns, illegal immigrants and small children from the local schools to assemble the hand-made cartridges that we’ll be selling at all good flea markets this Sunday.

An official release window for the game has yet to be announced, but taking Rare’s statement into account, a release can’t be too far off. Perhaps this summer? We hope their army of cartridge-building elves can get the job done quickly.

Scribes – May 9, 2008 [Rare]

Read more: Viva Pinata Heads To DS, Viva Pinata DS Details, Viva Pinata DS To Xbox 360 Connectivity Considered, But Scrapped, Iwata: DSi Likely To Hit Overseas Regions In Summer 2009, ELSPA: We Never Said 90 Percent Of DS Owners Are Pirates