There are few games with an aesthetic as immediately recognizable as Parappa the Rapper, so our expectations were understandably high when we first read about Parappa designer Masaya Matsuura and Parappa artist Rodney Greenblat's latest collaboration: Major Minor's Majestic March.

Publisher Majesco (enough with the M's!) has released the first batch of screenshots of the Wii-destined marching game and we're not disappointed. Sure, the screens aren't knocking the collective wind out of us the way Parappa's 2D-slash-3D graphics did back in 1997, but c'mon, look how cute the whole thing is!

Following up on their quest to decide the greatest horse in video game history, the guys and gals of MTV Multiplayer have recently announced the greatest video game dog. And the winner is Parappa, the adorable two-dimensional hip-hop legend, and star of Parappa the Rapper.

Runner-ups include the ubiquitous zombie dogs from the Resident Evil series, the annoying dog that mocks us with his laughter from Duck Hunt, Amaterasu from Okami, and K.K. Slider from Animal Crossing (though presumably the in-game incarnate, and not that creepy real-life version). We're looking forward to seeing which animal MTV sees fit to vote on next. We're hoping for frog, a category clearly dominated by Fred from Blaster Master.

Tired of searching Etsy in vain for fan-made God of War apparel? You're in luck! Sony today announced partnerships with four different clothing and accessory makers to feature the company's biggest franchises on all sorts of shirts and such. IV Gear has a list (shown above) of at least some of the franchises which will be depicted, including God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance: Fall of Man, Heavenly Sword and Little Big Planet. Apparel makers Fortune Fashions, Bioworld and MJC will also put the games' logos and character on everything from hoodies to handbags.

"PlayStation is an extremely strong and well-known brand" Shelly Gayner, Director of Licensing, SCEA, said in a press release "We feel that this is a great opportunity for us to satiate our core fans and extend and capitalize on PlayStation name recognition by creating a new line of apparel in connection with the PlayStation brands and our top franchise titles." Memo to Sony: If you really want to satiate the fanboy audience, you'll put Sofia from Battle Arena Toshinden on a body pillow. We're just saying ...

When we first heard about Major Minor's Majestic March, we, much like you, were confused. We had never asked for a game about a marching band, we hadn't ever really thought about it. But, as the game was developed by Parappa masterminds Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat, we had to, in accordance with federal law, believe. Now, after reading Newsweek's feature on the game, we're officially intrigued for reasons other than its pedigree.

You'll want to read the full piece, but we're interested in the way that, serving as the band's drum major, you'll be able to not only set the pace of the music but dynamically effect it. Other interesting nuggets from the interview include the fact that Matsuura is happy he doesn't know much about Nintendo's upcoming Wii Music, as well as his thoughts on the Guitar Hero series. (Spoiler alert: They need more Insane Clown Posse.)

Yeah, yeah, we're intrigued by the possibilities of Wii Music but, like you, we're disappointed by that game's apparent lack of marching! Someone at Majesco apparently feels the same way, because the company today announced Major Minor's Majestic March for the Wii.

Featuring the talents of Parappa the Rapper designer Masaya Matsuura and artist Rodney Greenblat, the game will ask players to use the Wii remote to "keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items." The release promises eight "whimsical" locations, a "dynamic procession" of up to 15 instruments and 25 "popular marching band songs." We hope they can secure the rights to some of the hits from Sousaphone Hero. The promise of conducting our own version of "Stars and Stripes Forever" by Holiday 2008 is just too delicious to contemplate.

PaRappa the Rapper developer NanaOn-Sha has announced it will be making a new music-centric game for Nintendo Wii due out in late 2008. It will be published by Majesco. The developer is also responsible for UmJammer Lammy and Vib-Ribbon (never released on the US), as well as the non-musical Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop series.

The as-of-yet untitled game reunites the development studio with PaRappa artist Rodney Alan Greenblat. No other details are currently available, but here's hoping for another catchy soundtrack to go alongside our PaRappa- and Katamari-infused playlists. For a refresher on what a collaboration between Greenblat and NanaOn-Sha can produce, check out the visual reminder after the break.

Fresh from the release of musika, Masaya Matsuura was ready to talk a little bit about his most well-known creation, PaRappa the Rapper, hinting that a downloadable sequel on PSN is something he'd be interested in. And, he told 1UP, Sony has expressed interest too.

Before you have your mom drive you to Orange Beanies and Frog Embroidery 'R' Us, know that there's nothing official at this point, not even the discussions are official, limited as they are to "casual e-mails." But, we imagine that fans of the series know what they "gotta do."

As they do just before every new Electronic Gaming Monthly issue hits newsstands, 1UP is teasing us with a few tidbits from their Quartermann rumor section. Most prominent is that PaRappa the Rapper 3 is coming to PlayStation 3, and "none of the that ported PSP nonsense."

Another eye-catcher is that Silent Hill 5 is being developed "by a US team" for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PSP Silent Hill Origins is currently in development by US-based Climax Group. The third teaser from 1UP is more of a no-brainer: "Electronic Arts isn't happy just controlling the NFL -- they want the MLB and NBA, too." We never really thought EA would stop until they had every sport from Football to Segway polo under their belt.

Joystiq's Kyle Orland calculated that Quartermann's rumors "are just as likely to be true as they are false," so flip a coin for Silent Hill 5 and PaRappa 3. Ya gotta believe!

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It's not the only technological powerhouse having trouble finding a home -- the Xbox 360's critical flaw is "not the size of the hardware but of the AC adapter." Matsuura's obsession with size doesn't extend to his Wii though, as he's currently planning a title for Nintendo's comparatively diminutive box. He calls it a "very good piece of hardware," noting that the unique controls pose quite a challenge from the designer's point of view. He confidently asserts that development on the game begins "soon,maybe."

When we heard PaRappa the Rapper was coming to the PSP, we were elated. When we discovered it would simply be a remake of the original title, we were conflicted. While we adore the original PaRappa, we also wouldn't mind a new installment to the franchise, with lessons learned from the underwhelming PaRappa 2.

The PSP demo shown on the floor is the exact same demo Sony used for the PS One PaRappa the Rapper demo, which is also the first level in the game. For those who don't remember, PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm game in the vein of Simon Says. Your opponent will bust a few grooves, and by pressing the displayed button combinations in sync with the tempo you can spit your foe's words back in his or her face. The demo has PaRappa up against Chop Chop Master Onion, a karate teacher with an onion for a head.

The graphics have been cleaned up and the audio is a bit crisper than the original, but our lovable rhymester still stutters his words even when we hit the buttons perfectly. None of the new features have been revealed, including the promised multiplayer mode. We recommend dusting off the original game for now, and wait to see if the extra features / multiplayer warrant a new purchase.

Check out the awesome PaRappa sticker they had on the PSP demo units after the break.