Is it a joke or is there potencial for this?

Why not?

I was wondering if they might eventually make something like a Hasselblad Xpan/Horizon/Widelux/Noblex panoramic camera in digital format.

Would be sweet.

However...if you have Photoshop Elements or Photoshop, there is a built in 'stitcher' function[Photomerge].

You just take a series of photographs with about 20% overlap and the program will stitch and merge it into a decent panoramic image.

Won't work so good for lots of moving people though.

I considered a Horizon Panoramic Camera--but with the cost of film and scanning etc... a digital camera plus Photoshop might be our best bet.