EA shares drop in response to layoffs, other publishers down too

Electronic Arts took a major hit in the stock market yesterday, finishing with a closing price of $22.99 per share -- a one-day decrease of 17.1 percent. This downturn followed news of the company's plans to let go of 6 percent of its workforce, as well as the $310 million in losses the company had incurred in the second quarter. Despite the decrease, EA spoke optimistically in a conference call with investors, stating their confidence in the selling power of their holiday lineup.

Other gaming companies suffered losses as well, though none as significant as EA's. Activision Blizzard saw their shares drop 2.8 percent Friday, while THQ saw a decrease of 1.5 percent. In what may be the most compelling evidence of the pending apocalypse to date, Midway's shares actually increased 4 cents amidst the havoc. We know, we know -- our brains hurt too. Try not to think about it.