Sony PS3 Pricecut, Welcome News for Activision, Electronic Arts, Game... -08/18/09 at 12:57 PM CDTby Perry Rod

There is a universal sigh of relief in the interactive entertainment industry today as Sony has just announced at the end of their Gamescon 2009 presentation that the new PlayStation 3 Slim will now be $299 (299 euros, 29980 yen).  That will also be the new price for all PlayStation 3's for sale on the market starting tomorrow, August 19, 2009. Kotak...

Activision Executives Sell Millions of Shares While Company Buys Back... -08/17/09 at 10:41 AM CDTby Mahyar Hashemi

Activision Inc. (ATVI) upped their stock buyback program from 1 to 1.25 billion dollars worth of shares on August 5 as a part of their first quarter earnings report announcement.  At the same time, the company’s CEO Robert Kotick was still busy selling stock, including recent sales disclosed late in the day to the SEC on Friday, August 14.&nbsp...

Electronic Arts CFO Says EA No Longer Interested in Take Two Interactive -08/11/09 at 3:18 PM CDTby Perry Rod

In response to a question at the Pacific Crest Technology Leadership Forum in Vail, Colorado earlier today, Electronic Arts (ERTS) Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown offered EA's most definitive statement yet on a possible deal between Take Two (TTWO) Interactive Inc. and EA. "That's a deal whose timeframe has, you know, come and long gone. And so we're j...

Summer Meltdown For The Video Game Industry -07/30/09 at 8:18 AM CDTby Perry Rod

Sony and Nintendo reported disappointing numbers in Japan overnight. Nintendo Wii sales dropped 57% year over year from 5.17 million to 2.23 million units worldwide.  Sales of PlayStation 3 dropped 31% year over year from 1.6 million to 1.1 million units worldwide.  PS3 software sales were down 35% in that same period.  The PlayStation Port...

THQ Talks Up Darksiders and Red Faction 2, But Talk is Cheap For This... -07/28/09 at 7:15 PM CDTby Perry Rod

THQ announced today that they made .09 non-GAAP earnings from what looked to be a spectacular quarter, which included UFC Undisputed, Red Faction and considerable cost reductions.  Now they are talking about making only around 90 million in revenues in the second quarter and somewhere in the ballpark of -.50 earnings.  That'll make it around -.4...

No Regrets, No Responsibility: Strauss Zelnick, Take Two Interactive'... -07/20/09 at 11:03 AM CDTby Perry Rod

“I don’t engage in regrets,” he said in an interview with CNBC last month. It was a revealing statement by the chairman of Take Two Interactive, Inc. (TTWO). A humble man may have had some regrets, given the dramatic fall of the company’s stock.  But humility is almost certainly not a quality requirement for one who engages in...

As Game Group PLC Struggles, Gamestop Shares Feel The Heat -07/02/09 at 3:20 PM CDTby Mahyar Hashemi

Shares of Game Group fell 13.4% in London trading as preliminary earnings results for the first half of the year failed to meet market expectations. "Our sales performance to date, together with our gross margin increases and continued cost focus, means that we expect to deliver first half profits before tax and non-recurring costs in line with plan at be...

Nerd Investors And Gaming Dorks Join Forces To Proclaim The End of Ga... -06/21/09 at 8:17 PM CDTby Perry Rod

If you're a person who makes a living making money in the finance world, I would think you're probably a totally "cool" guy.  You're the life of a party, amazingly handsome, and with the most seductive personality.  After all, isn't that what makes for a great financial analyst? You're probably a lot like cool video game industry writers who, t...

Digital Downloads Make For Great Stories About GameStop, But Little S... -06/11/09 at 12:34 PM CDTby Mahyar Hashemi

Gamestop Inc. (GME) stock has seen a valuation plunge in recent months.  Strong earnings and consistent growth do not have everybody convinced.  It's due to the most idealized repeated story about the video game industry today.  In ten years, they say, half of all video games will be downloaded. What? Based on what, exactly? The PC download...

THQ Inc. and Take Two Interactive - A Similar Value? -06/10/09 at 11:22 AM CDTby Perry Rod

According to recent trading, video game companies THQ Inc (THQI). and Take Two (TTWO) Interactive Software, Inc. have a nearly identical market capitalization value.  THQ stock has nearly tripled in the last three months on word of solid sales of their new games, UFC Undisputed and Red Faction Guerilla.  But do these companies really deserve sim...

THQ Unloads a Powerful Punch at E3 -06/09/09 at 3:04 PM CDTby Mahyar Hashemi

Since the start of the E3 Expo in Los Angeles just five business days ago, THQ Inc. stock has soared nearly 27% as of midday trading today. Investors must have been impressed.  THQ showed off Darksiders, Homefront and Warhammer, along with current releases Red Faction and UFC Undisputed.  THQ stock had hit a low of $2.23 this year as a...