Gamings got the blues

Folks, we've already been through some bad news lately with the economy. During the weekend, the United States lost its AAA rating, putting it behind the United Kingdom, Canada, and even the Isle of Man. It seems a small isle full of men is a better investment than America. One industry that is hit hard: Video Games

"We continue to believe that sustained software sales growth will remain elusive until hardware sales rebound for an extended period of time. In our view, given the 3DS's weak debut and the limited impact from May's Wii and June's DS Lite price cuts, a rebound is unlikely to happen until Microsoft and Sony cut the price of their consoles." - Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter

Exactly. Nintendo's failure in keeping Wii, DS and 3DS sales high combined with Sony and Microsoft not cutting the price on the 360 and PS3. It's rather obvious. All 3 are really secret member's of Obama's cabinet. Satoru Iwata, Kaz Hirai, Steve Balmer. I bet the Tea Party is gonna be furious over this. But that's not the only thing that went down. Even the Stock Market isn't being kind to Video Games

Video game stocks were not immune to the downturn, and Sega Sammy Holdings, the parent company of Sega, was among the hardest hit. Its stock on the domestic pink sheets closed down 37 cents, or just about 6.75% on the day, to $5.12 a share. Before today, the stock was climbing toward its 52 week high of $5.82.

Nintendo was also impacted, down nearly 5 percent. News of Sony affirming the PS Vita launch in 2012 domestically probably helped shares of that company plunge over six and a half percent during the trading day, and another nearly quarter of a percentage point after hours. Microsoft fared slightly better, down over three and a half percent at the close of the trading day but up a penny after hours.

Other gaming companies, including Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts, also sustained losses today.

It's as if the Wall Street Gods are angry and they're punishing Video Games because they're too liberal. Folks, we need to put Conservative values back into video games before it gets worst, like Jobs being lost

THQ Inc., (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced a strategic realignment of its internal studio development teams to better align resources with the company's future portfolio of interactive entertainment. THQ is in the process of transitioning its portfolio away from licensed kids titles and movie-based entertainment properties for consoles and has also decided not to actively pursue further development of the MX vs. ATV franchise at this time. As a result, the company announced the closure of two studios in Australia, and the elimination of a development team at the company's Phoenix location. The company is maintaining its Quality Assurance team in Phoenix.


THQ's five internal development studios are focused on key initiatives and franchises: THQ Montreal, creating an unannounced new IP with a team led by industry veteran, Patrice Désilets; Volition, Inc., developing the highly anticipated upcoming game Saints Row(R): The Third,(TM) and inSANE(TM) in collaboration with renowned film director Guillermo del Toro; Relic Entertainment, creators of Company of Heroesand the upcoming Warhammer 40,000(R): Space Marine(TM) for PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system; Vigil Games, developing Darksiders(R) II and next year's MMO Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online(TM); and THQ San Diego, developers of WWE All Stars and creating best-in-class fighting games.

Today's actions will result in a personnel reduction of approximately 200 people. All affected employees are eligible to apply for open positions within the company globally.

....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The damage has been done.

However, there is some good news going on. It seems Duke Nukem Forever, a game that was panned by critics, has done well in sales.

Though flagged by critics as a major letdown, the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever was able to maintain its near mythological status to win the hearts of more gamers than you might think. Perhaps vindicating statements from Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford, the game was certainly a success in the eyes of Take-Two. While many complained about shoddy work, the game was able to put in a black figure for Take-Two’s ledgers, enough to ensure a success.

Take-Two noted in their quarterly review today that “despite its disappointing reviews, Duke Nukem Forever was profitable for Take-Two.” No actual sales figures were given for the game at this time, however.

Hey like Duke says, "Hail to the King, Baby" even if the king was way past his prime.

Works Cited
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THQ Investor
Industry Gamers