Sony to stop manufacturing Floppy discs after 30 years

Remember Floppy discs? In case you haven’t noticed (like I didn’t), Sony is actually still making and selling those discs. But soon it’s time to say goodbye, as the company now said [JP] it will stop production in March next year. Sony rolled out the world’s first 3.5-inch floppy disc back in 1981. And believe it or not, even in 2008, the company could still sell 8.5 million units in Japan alone.

Not too surprisingly, Sony cites rapidly plunging demand as the reason (demand apparently peaked in 1995 and has shrunk more than 90% since). Hitachi Maxell and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media, two other major makers, withdrew from floppy disc sales as early as in the spring of last year.

Quietly, Sony wrapped up international sales of floppy discs last month, with the exception of India and a few other parts of the world. The company already stopped producing floppy disc drives last September.