It has been a good decade since a cute dog gave us lessons in rythm. The game is still very dear to our hearts. Masaya Matsuura, head of NanaOn-Sha and Rodney Alan Greenblat are back with Major Minor’s Majestic March (M4). Matsuura san talked about the feelings of a genre father, his thought on violent games and the responsibility of gamemakers, and there is a message to gamers in Europe too. One piece of advice: you should not ask him about that cute dog, there has been enough talk of the past.

: Let us start with M4. How did the idea of a marching game come? What was first: the idea then you picked Wii as the most suitable platform for the game? Or did the “baton-like” controller inspire you?

MM: A strong request from the publisher to make a Wii title was the main drive behind the idea. After considering several game ideas, we finally decided on a marching band theme. Of course, we assumed that the Wii Remote would be used as a baton, but besides this we deeply researched more substantial areas of the game both small or large in order to discover the game’s personality.

: You are often referred to as the “father of rhythm games”. How did you feel when making M4 pressure-wise?

MM: I see it as my mission to broaden the horizons of music games beyond the currently accepted dimensions that mostly consist of rhythm games. This comprises most of my life work, but I’ve never felt pressure from it. I always enjoy my job. What gives me pressure is the occasional production management issue and wondering whether the title will appeal to the fans’ expectations… but I guess that these are natural things to feel when you are the father of a creation.

: In another interview to MTV Multiplayer you said: “PaRappa” was released about 12 or 13 years ago, and being a hardcore gamer the entire time since then must be kind of tiring.” Does it imply that Major Minor’s Majestic March is targeted at – using the popular term – casual and “retired hardcore” gamers?

MM: What I wanted to say is that the people who were boyfriends and girlfriends at the time, who played PaRappa back then have now become parents. It would be fantastic if they could play Major Minor with their kids!

: Did Rodney (Alan Greenblat) come up with suggestions other than the visual style?

MM: He gave some opinions for the story setting and we talked about package design many times.

: The game is on the US market and will be released here in Japan next week. What about Europe?

MM: I think it’s not too far away. Hang on in there a little longer, people of Europe!

: Let us take a look at the bigger picture. What uncharted territory of the music game genre do you think is still out there?

MM: As mentioned above, rhythm games are just part of the music games genre. For example, a theme of M4 is to “togetherness” – to facilitate a fun musical performance by skillfully keep the scouted band members happy, who all have their own unique tastes. One example would be that the player has to show leadership to ensure that all the members step in time.

: Moving on to the game industry, what future prospects are you excited about?

MM: I don’t think that all is roses, but it’s very interesting how the market has globalized recently. I don’t think there is any other media out there whose voluntary and cultural activities are as borderless as the game industry right now. I strongly hope this will soon spark off a chain of events that will take us to higher places.

: We hope so, too. And what are you not pleased with?

MM: That is there are comparatively so many violent games.  It’s not just the games themselves, but also the creators who make them – I would really like them to think about that the long term influence that their products will pervade long after their release. I’ve been asked about PaRappa The Rapper so many times over the last 10 years that at times I get tired of answering, but without doubt I’m very grateful that even now families, individuals and even me can recall happy memories of time spent with the game and talk about them with smiles on our faces.

: Thank you very much. Best wishes!