When Panasonic’s flat-screen television sets really started to become whoppers, electronics shop staff in Tokyo began sending round “home viability” men to check that the buyer’s living room was big enough to accommodate the incoming behemoth.

But that passion for pixels has petered out and for Panasonic it could be an almighty headache. Television screen sizes are a useful proxy for overall consumer confidence and ambition – swelling numbers of unsold large-panel TVs are worrying because it proves that consumers are literally thinking small.

The miserable new environment for consumer electronics companies highlights the stark differences in approach between Sony and Panasonic but has not yet shown which model is more resilient.

The Panasonic model is to concentrate on industry-beating production efficiency, monumental scale and aggressive marketing across a range of goods focused quite tightly on the home.

Sony has diversified into a company that makes James Bond films, Il Divo CDs and the PlayStation3. Until yesterday, it looked as though the Sony model was a busted flush – its late October profits warning was horrible and, apart from the stronger yen, seemed to be Sony’s own fault because Panasonic, apparently, was not suffering from the same problems. But now that it is clear Panasonic is facing severe difficulties, the doubts should be focused on whether its own structure is built for resilience. It gave warning yesterday that it would miss its 11 million sales target for large TVs this financial year.

As those huge screens sit unsold, the debate will be what other consumer ambitions will be curtailed. Will it be the new washing machine, air conditioner and hair dryer made by Panasonic, or the Beyonce album, movie ticket or PlayStation Portable made by Sony?

Investors are betting that the household wins over the hedonist.

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