While the new screens don't, in any fashion, illustrate any variety in the NanaOn-Sha developed Wii title, they show that creators Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Alan Greenblat of PaRappa the Rapper fame haven't lost their touch, stylistically.

But variety Major Minor's Majestic March has, according to publisher Majesco, who promises 7 fantastical locations, 30 new band members and 20 different instruments. That's 57 things! Coincidence?! I think not.

MAJESCO ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES 'MAJOR MINOR'S MAJESTIC MARCH'

Legendary Designer Masaya Matsuura and Artist Rodney Alan Greenblat Bring First Marching Band Game Exclusively to the WiiTM System

(BRISTOL, U.K., January 31, 2008) - March to the beat of your own drum as Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Major Minor's Majestic March for the Wii™ home video game console. Developed by NanaOn-Sha, Major Minor's Majestic March marks the return of the creative team behind the renowned PaRappa the Rapper franchise-legendary game designer and multimedia musician Masaya Matsuura and famed New York artist Rodney Alan Greenblat.

"There's something magical about marching bands that truly captures the imagination. The concept of leading a virtual band that's reliant on your musicianship is a perfect fit for the interactive capabilities of Wii," said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. "The combined musical and artistic superiority of Matsuura and Greenblat make them a natural choice to deliver this innovative title exclusively to the Wii audience."

Major Minor's Majestic March turns the Wii Remote™ into a "special" baton that the bandleader, Major Minor, uses to keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items. While marching through eight whimsical locations that contain various hair-raising events, Major Minor strives to create the most impressive parade ever. Players can add up to 15 different instruments to their dynamic procession—including brass, woodwinds, and percussion—to alter its composition and resulting performance. Players are scored on how well their band maintains its rhythm and manages obstacles that could otherwise throw the procession into disarray. The band keeps tempo to more than 25 popular marching band songs from around the world, composed into original medleys for each stage.

"We are incredibly excited to be working with talent of this caliber and believe our game shares the same broad mass market appeal as successful music-based products like Activision's Guitar Hero and MTV's Rock Band."

Majesco Entertainment, Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Alan Greenblat Partner to Create New Game Exclusively for the Wii(TM) System

- The Creators of 'PaRappa the Rapper' Return With Music-Based Video Game

Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced a partnership with legendary multimedia musician and game designer, Masaya Matsuura, and famed New York artist Rodney Alan Greenblat, to develop and publish an original music-based video game scheduled for release in late 2008. Creators of the highly acclaimed, best-selling PaRappa the Rapper series, Matsuura and Greenblat will bring their engaging gameplay and distinctive art style to the Wii(TM) home video game system for the first time.

"Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Alan Greenblat are industry visionaries whose legacy was built on crafting groundbreaking, genre-defining entertainment experiences that everyone can enjoy," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. "We are incredibly excited to be working with talent of this caliber and believe our game shares the same broad mass market appeal as successful music-based products like Activision's Guitar Hero and MTV's Rock Band."

Adds Masaya Matsuura: "Majesco's publishing know-how and retail relationships allow us to stay focused on creating a game that is conceptually unique and, above all else, fun. Working with Rodney is a true creative collaboration."

"Matsuura-san and I share similar artistic perspectives so I welcomed the opportunity to re-team with him and NanaOn-Sha to produce a one-of-a-kind music game designed from the ground up for the Wii system," said Rodney Alan Greenblat.

While developer NaNaOn-Sha is hard at work on Tamagotchi games and bringing their casual music game Rhythmica to, well, everything under the sun, Matsuura drops hints about another Vib-Ribbon release, this time for the PlayStation Network.

Rhythmica is a very similar idea to Vib Ribbon — it's about analyzing audio and creating a game from that data, but it uses MP3 audio instead of CDs. We are discussing the possibility of making a downloadable version of Vib Ribbon for Sony. But, I don't know yet - Sony only recently launched their downloadable service in Japan, so maybe we need to wait a while before releasing a title with that kind of appeal.

Um, who do I have to kill, bribe or sleep with to get this on the PlayStation Store? I'd love to play some lo-fi Vib-Ribbon with the tracks I've ripped to my PS3. Make it happen, Sony! Michael McWhertor

Q&A: NanaOn-Sha's Matsuura (Parappa) On The State Of Music Games [Gamasutra]

We're also working on the next in the series of our hit game for all the family! Yeh, that one!!

As NanaOn-Sha's most famous "hit game" is PaRappa the Rapper, a sequel seems likely. Sony Computer Entertainment just re-filed the PaRappa trademark a few weeks ago which expired last October.

The most interesting addition? A new service, beyond the "computer game software" stuff, "OPERATING A REAL-TIME GAME FOR OTHERS OVER GLOBAL AND LOCAL AREA COMPUTER NETWORKS". Whatever new PaRappa we'll get, it'll probably be online and use the PlayStation Network for multiplayer. Can I get a "Hell, yeh!"? Kim Phu

NanaOn-Sha Website