M2, We Hardly Knew You

Early Friday morning in Japan, Matsushita President Yoichi Morishita told the press that his company was ceasing further development of the M2 console system, Kyodo news service reported.

"The market has matured and it is difficult to make a fresh entry," Morishita reportedly said.

This is the first comment from the electronics giant confirming numerous rumors about the demise of the powerful, twin PowerPC game system.

Matsushita released the first of the 32-bit systems to the market in the form of the 3DO back in 1994. But buyers never seemed to catch on to the limited game support and high console price.

Morishita told the press that "we will continue research and development," and indicated that the technology may be used for information equipment or multimedia devices.