Panasonic is to cease production of plasma TVs before the end of the year.
In news that will come as a surprise to precisely no one, the Japanese tech giant has finally thrown in the towel and decided to put the flagging plasma arm of its TV business out of its misery.
Plasma is still considered a premium option for home cinema TV enthusiasts but Panasonic has been making huge losses on PDP production over the last few years and has decided to cut its losses.
Bye bye plasma
"Until now, due to the superiority of the picture, Panasonic's PDPs have received high appraisal and there has been firm demand from customers worldwide," says the Panasonic statement..
"However, due to rapid, drastic changes in the business environment and a declining demand for PDP in the flat panel display market, it was judged that continuing the business would be difficult and a decision was made to stop production."
If you're still keen to get hold of a Panasonic plasma before they disappear forever (we highly recommend the ZT65!) you've still got plenty of time - the 2014 product range is still scheduled to go on sale next year.
Panasonic, of course, is still heavily invested in the LCD TV market and pushing hard to get its 4K OLED TVs on sale as soon as possible, so the brand will remain in the game.
But as when Pioneer killed off its Kuro plasma range in 2009, when they're gone they're gone.
