Sony will make its last MiniDisc hi-fi system in March, bringing an end to the format which it launched in 1992. It ceased production of MiniDisc Walkmans in 2011.
The Japanese firm had hoped at the time that MiniDisc would become the digital recording format of choice to replace analogue cassette, but it faced a format war with Philips's rival Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) system, and neither ever really took off.
MiniDiscs initially offered 74 minutes recording time, and this was later increased to 80 minutes. Data was stored on re-writable magneto-optical disks 2.5in (64mm) in diameter, and housed in a square plastic shell.
In other news from Sony, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the successor to the PlayStation 3 games console will be revealed at a New York press conference on February 20th.
A teaser video has been released by the firm promoting a PlayStation event with the slogan "Be the first to know".
