!!!
I had forgotten about this. Yes, the CA law was to focus on power consumption of larger televisions and plasma wasn't in the ballpark when it came to power consumption vs. LCD. This was well known and well documented. It really hurt Panasonic who didn't have any backup plans at all at that time. Even though they have quite a few LCD displays on the market, you don't see Panasonic in the US consumer marketplace like we used to. Especially with their highly valued plasmas.
But, yes, that really was the final death knell for plasma. When you can't sell your TVs in the most populous state in the USA, you aren't likely to keep selling your TVs at all.
Thanks for this awesome reminder. I'm not sure it really was the only reason, but it certainly was much discussed when the law was announced and many people who were seeing a decline in plasma were readily aware of the end of days for the technology.
I would still love a Kuro in my home, but not sure where I'd put it. I'm pretty displayed up at this point.