Pioneer gives up: No more Kuro plasma TVs from May

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

pioneer_kuroWe covered the news that Pioneer shuts down TV production back in February and today Pioneer Japan revealed a number of details about their radical move [JP]. In short: There will be no more Kuro plasma TVs from May this year. Pioneer calls it quits after 12 years of plasma TV production.

The company will roll out two 50-inch Kuro TVs (RP-500A and KRP-500M) and two 60-inch models (KRP-600A and KRP-600M, which is pictured above) starting April 1. But the 2,500 50-inch models and another 500 60-inch TVs will be the last Kuro products.

Pioneer says they will take care of after service in Japan until 2017 (details about other markets aren’t available at this point). After establishing the high-quality Kuro brand in September 2007, the company managed to sell 300,000 Kuro plasma TVs in Japan and 2.8 million units worldwide.

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