and for the PlayStation console. He believed that PaRappa's music, energy and cool factor made him "the perfect face" and that the character had the potential to be Sony's long term answer to Nintendo's Mario. With regards to PaRappa's short-lived prominence in the video game industry, Greenblat attributed the character's gradual loss of popularity to a series of decisions made by company executives which did not capitalize on the character's potential. He was frustrated with the creative direction of PaRappa the Rapper anime television series in particular: he was asked to work as the show's character designer, but was not allowed to write or be part of the show's production. Greenblat believed that the show undermined the character's appeal with the video game series' core audience, which were predominantly teenagers, as Sony wanted to pursue a marketing strategy that prioritized merchandising opportunities for young children. Greenblat noted that the show never caught on with its target audience, and that when it was cancelled by January 2002, all the involved companies decided to move on from the character and associated intellectual property altogether. Matsuura told Engadget during a pre-Tokyo Game Show meeting in 2011 that the "possibility of remaking or rebuilding or making sequels" starring PaRappa has always been a topic of discussion. He believed that a handheld platform like the then-upcoming PlayStation Vita represented an incentive to revisit a video game featuring PaRappa with regards to both content and business issues. Matsuura explained that to only do handheld platforms could provide a better experience with regards to risk of latency compared to home consoles, but also a new business model could be attempted with regards to developing a new rhythm game starring PaRappa. Greenblat expressed a hope that Sony would realize PaRappa's "golden true potential" in the rhythm game genre, and that he would given further opportunities to design some new games. In 2013, Foxx led a social media campaign to persuade Sony into commissioning a new game in the rhythm action series. Appearances Video games The plot of 1996's PaRappa the Rapper follows PaRappa's attempts to impress his love interest, an anthropomorphic sunflower named Sunny Funny. Each of the game's stages opens with a cutscene establishing a humorous and upbeat scenario that PaRappa needs to resolve, such as learning karate from Chop Chop Master Onion in order to defend Sunny from local bullies, or learning how to drive so