Sony has ceased sales of its iconic cassette tape Walkman in Japan, as digital music and MP3 players have finally killed off demand for the bulky portable device.
Sony stopped Japanese production of the Walkman in April and sales will end once the last batch disappears from stores, company spokeswoman Hiroko Nakamura has said.
Sony has sold 220 million cassette Walkman players globally since the product’s July 1979 debut that changed lifestyles by popularising music on the go.
But since the inception of digital music and MP£ players that can store thousands of tracks without moving parts, demand for cassette players in Japan is now largely limited to elderly users.
However, Sony will continue production of the cassette Walkman in China to accommodate users abroad, including in the US, Europe and some Asian countries, Nakamura said.
