It is the end of an era as the last Japanese VCR manufacturer will finally close its doors at the end of the month. The videocassette recorder was once the preferred medium of distribution for home-video technology, but with the advent of digital distribution platforms, it has slowly become irrelevant.

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Japanese company Funai Electric cited a steep decline in sales and problems acquiring necessary parts for manufacturing as the reasons behind its decision to cease operations in its production facility based in China.

Most of Funai Electric's products are sold in the North American region, these include products sold under the Sanyo brand. The company reported that during the height of its demands, it has an annual sales output of around 15 million units. In 2015, the company reported its sales output went down to a mere 750,000 units, according to Tech Node.

In a statement acquired by Japan Today, a Funai Electric spokesperson said, "A company that was making parts for us said it was too tough to keep making them with sales at this level, so they stopped, which led to our decision - we can't make them without that part."

Following the heartbreaking decision, the spokesperson said that the company was flooded with consumer requests to continue its operations. Most of these requests came from VCR tape owners who have not been able to transfer their recordings into other formats.

TagsVCR, video cassette recorder, VCR company, VCR manufacturer, Funai Electric