Hopes and Dreams Continue at Take Two Interactive Software -12/28/09 at 10:11 AM CSTby Perry Rod

He said in 1993 it was always his dream to run his own media company.  Strauss Zelnick left a nice job at Fox and took a big risk to work on a start-up video game company, Crystal Dynamics.  That risk turned out to be a failure for him at the time but provided him with a resume entry that would prove to be invaluable. When Carl Icahn bought int...

As All Eyes Focus on Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores, While Apple, Mac... -12/20/09 at 1:49 PM CSTby Reggie Abaca

Unique visitor estimates at Compete.com show that internet traffic in the month of November rose dramatically at several popular websites.  Of the largest United States online retail portals, the biggest winners in the month of November were Apple.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) which rose 39.9% and the Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) website, which rose 38.6%.&n...

The Psychology of GameStop's Management Communication - Are Investors... -12/16/09 at 11:32 AM CSTby Joe Matty

GameStop Corp's (NYSE:GME) management is making every effort to recoup investor trust after earnings missses earlier in the year. Now, there is not one but two clear signals of management communicating confidence in their business. They are practically yelling . . . "Trust us, GameStop is well positioned, we are gaining share. We will come through with re...

Activision Will Beat Analyst NPD Revenue Estimate Today -12/10/09 at 10:27 AM CSTby Perry Rod

ANALYSIS - Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that NPD will show that publisher Activision Blizzard is going to bring in 455 million in U.S. revenue in the month of November.  Pachter also predicts that 6 million units of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be sold. These two predictions do not make sense, considering November 2008 ...

GameStop - The Barbell Company -12/10/09 at 10:07 AM CSTby Joe Matty

Many have observed that NPD data has not necessarily been indicative of GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) performance. I happen to agree based on the Barbell Theory. GameStop has two big earnings drivers going for it that allow it to outperform a weak or relatively weak software sector: 1. Used Games. On the low end they have a very successful and dominant used...

Comparing GameStop Corp. to Game Group PLC -12/09/09 at 11:26 AM CSTby Perry Rod

Many analysts are carefully watching GameStop Corp’s (NYSE:GME) closest overseas equivalent, Game Group PLC (LON:GMG), in order to form an opinion on the future of GameStop.  Game Group’s management has not been able to keep up with GameStop’s management success, as Game Group has failed to corner the British market on small boutiqu...

Gamestop Inc. Has Favorable Trends Based On Available November Sales ... -12/07/09 at 9:55 AM CSTby Joe Matty

As we approach the dissemination of November NPD data, let's look into VGCharts sales number estimates. It may help prepare us for what's coming for GameStop (NASDAQ:GME). Part I - November Numbers (1st 3 weeks of 2009 vs. 1st 3 weeks of 2008) + Analysis Below are my findings in three comparisons (Top 20 games, Top 10, Bottom 10 of top 20). Sum of Top 2...

Strauss Zelnick: No Regrets, No Responsibility, Take Two -12/04/09 at 12:06 AM CSTby Perry Rod

Take Two Interactive's [NASDAQ:TTWO] Strauss Zelnick has done it again.  In July, I profiled Mr. Zelnick, a man who brags about having no regrets and taking no responsibility for his many failures at Take Two. Today, despite being "proud" of sales of titles such as Borderlands and Take Two's NBA title, Mr. Zelnick specifically pointed out that he wa...

Credit Suisse Analyst Raises Outlook on Gamestop Inc. -11/25/09 at 9:30 AM CSTby Perry Rod

Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter, who earlier this year raised alarm about Gamestop Inc. (NYSE:GME) when Amazon Inc (AMZN) announced a move into the used game business, is now raising his outlook for Gamestop's fiscal year ending in January.  Balter raised his 2009 earnings per share estimate from $2.46 to $2.54 and his 2010 estimate from $2.70 to $...

A Tale of Two Company Blockbuster Franchises: Activision Blizzard's C... -11/23/09 at 3:28 PM CSTby Perry Rod

Activision Blizzard’s (NASDAQ: ATVI) Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 recently dethroned Take Two Interactive's (NASDAQ: TTWO) Grand Theft Auto 4 for having the biggest opening week worldwide of any video game in history.  One glaring difference between the business models behind the two franchises is that one comes out with a core sequel each yea...

THQ Inc. Still Looks Overvalued -11/20/09 at 12:46 PM CSTby Perry Rod

Hopes are running high at THQ Inc (NASDAQ:THQI).  That's because hope is all they can count on at this point. MX vs. ATV, a product being released on four consoles is coming next week without significant fanfare, according to Amazon bestseller charts and others.  The racing genre as a whole has been underperforming in the past year, as seen rece...