Matsushita cancelled the project in mid-1997, unwilling to compete against fellow Japanese electronics giant Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's N64, both of which had recently had several top-selling games released for them. Word of this leaked in late May, but it was not until late July that the console's cancellation was made public, via an announcement by Matsushita president Yoichi Morishita. The M2 was cancelled so close to release, marketing had already taken place in the form of flyers, and several of its prospected launch titles had gameplay screens in circulation.