Read it and weep, Pioneer is done making plasma panels:
However, we have judged that maintaining the cost competitiveness of plasma display panels at projected sales volumes will be difficult going forward. Accordingly, we have decided to terminate in-house plasma display panel production and to procure these panels externally, after panel production for our next series of models is complete...Pioneer is currently in discussions on the feasibility of procuring panel modules that may incorporate the Company's proprietary technologies.
Translation: Kuro's not going anywhere.
Someone else—probably Panny—will have access to the magic Kuro dust. Will their combined strengths—the best panels in the world, cheaper manufacturing—be able to hold off the LCD onslaught and the pressures of the market? Better than on their own, but even LCD-makers are buddying up en masse to stay strong. [Pioneer]