Matsushita Plays Peekaboo

M2 console maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. said on Tuesday that its 64-bit game console is not only ready for the retail market but has ten titles readied as well. A Matsushita spokesman said, however, that the company has not decided when to start selling the game system, Reuters reports.

"We started development of the 64-bit game system last year and we have already finished development of the hardware. Also we have already finished developing more than ten software titles, but the commercialization of the system, originally scheduled for the end of 1996, has been delayed," the Matsushita spokesman said.

Interestingly enough, on the same day, Japanese daily Nihon Kogyo Shimbun reportedly said that Matsushita would stop developing the 64-bit game machine and withdraw from the console market entirely. The paper said Matsushita would liquidate the unit set up for its game business because of stiff competition from Sony, Nintendo, and Sega.