EA shares drop in response to layoffs, other publishers down too
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Nov 1st 2008 at 4:00PM }
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.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Khan @ Nov 1st 2008 4:10PM
Midway's already promised to trim their failing works, perhaps that's why
Lord knows it isn't because of MK vs DC
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Nov 1st 2008 5:37PM
What Midway is thinking is shocking to me. They HAVE franchises they could dig up and bring back to the mainstream but instead they are focusing on titles which cannot possibly be competitive.
I mean, NBA Baller instead of NBA Jam is a prime example of how insanely stupid Midway has become.
I mean, how much sense down it make that Smash TV Remix isn't on XBL and PSN? Why are they not moving on Hydro Thunder sequels? A game that's genuinely loved by gamers. MK9 is still unshown and MK vs. DC is looking great, but This Is Vegas? They are REALLY trying to compete with GTA and Saints Row?
*sigh*
I just hope Midway lives long enough to add Kung Lao to MK vs. DC via DLC.
HitNRun @ Nov 1st 2008 4:12PM
Stocks don't drop in response to layoffs. They rise in response to layoffs. That's why layoffs happen. Sad, but true.
They drop in response to $310 million quarterly losses, however.
CGamble20 @ Nov 1st 2008 4:35PM
I don't want people to lose their jobs but... I want EA to fail with every bone in my body...
iamronaldinho @ Nov 1st 2008 4:51PM
If Ea go out of business, do you really think that activision/blizzard will publish every one of eas IpS? By chance have you ever played skate,dead space,(Rock Band as well as guitar hero),Burnout sequels,Fifa sequels,etc. i do not see it, as activison/blizzard or anyone else with the finances and the know how.I admit activison/blizzard may well be able to puclish games such as spore,the sims as they have knowledge of these types of games but if you were to compare their sports divisions(m aybe you do not like sports games so this does not apply to you), then you would have to admit that EA is superior in every distinction. p.s. i also used to really dislike EA's monopoly but i feel they have been steadily increasing their rep with gamers over the past couple of years.
BIGGEN (LIVE-PSN: BIGGEN1103) @ Nov 1st 2008 10:38PM
i don't want to see any of the game companies fail. hardware, software, or otherwise. look, i still have one of the first game systems in my attic. all it had was two big bumper buttons on the sides, a paddle dial, and two switches ON/OFF and RESET. do you know what you could play on it? PONG, PINBALL, and BREAKOUT. do you know how many publishers there were for those games? one. it's so old i can't even find a pic of it on google. damn, nevermind, i feel like one of those old farts who used to have to walk to school up hill both ways in the snow. sorry bout that {:\
iamronaldinho @ Nov 1st 2008 4:52PM
When i say (rock band as well as gutar hero) i mean do you think activison would publish both?, just wanted to clear that up.
hahnchen @ Nov 1st 2008 5:22PM
EA's stock price is at a similar mark to what it was on Tuesday. The other gaming companies have had their share price drop because EA is seen as a bellweather for the games industry.
You will not see a more accurate reflection of Activision's worth until they report to the street on the 5th.
yoin_choco @ Nov 1st 2008 5:50PM
Sad that this is happening. Before the economic crisis, people thought the gaming industry would have a chance to rise to the top, becoming more popular with various groups. It was a start of another trend.
But when people don't have much money, they must make some sacrifices. I must be careful in choosing which games I really want!!!
Phantom @ Nov 1st 2008 10:59PM
It's funny that the ENTIRE world economy is falling to shit . Really , if these politicians weren't such turds , they would have already come out with and act to give everyone in developed countries about 50k freshly printed dollars . Since the whole world is falling to crap , nobody would care . The people would then go out and spend this money , increasing companies profits significantly , these companies would then want to expand for greater profit , creating even more jobs for people , and within the next week , the economy will be the best it's ever been . (Price gouging laws would stop the plan from failing)
Algernon @ Nov 2nd 2008 2:08AM
The politicians already gave everyone those tax rebates, look how far that got us... The reason why the economy is crap is because every joe schmo thought they could make a quick buck off of the housing market, and so did every idiotic bank. And now the banks have huge debt cause no one is paying their mortgages.
besides where would you think the government is getting its money from?? its called taxes! it would be like paying to get your money back. They might as well just have more tax cuts.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Nov 2nd 2008 9:52AM
Printing all that money would cause inflation to skyrocket, thus defeating the object. Stop blaming politicians; this is the private sector's fault. The free-market ideals of light-touch regulation have come back to bite people in the ass. Who would have thought private companies would be greedy!? Stupid reaganomics...
Genisus @ Nov 2nd 2008 6:40AM
We think this is sorta rough? Just wait till EA has to pay more taxes! More job cuts and higher prices for games! PEOPLE, THE COMPANIES WILL PASS THE TAX INCREASE ON TO THE CUSTOMER UP TO A REASONABLE AMOUNT AND THE REST COMES FROM CUTTING STAFF B/C PERSONNEL IS THE MAIN COST TO A COMPANY.
bigsofty @ Nov 2nd 2008 7:30AM
If EA disappeared off the face of the earth, together with their add filled games and DRMs... the world would be a happier place. The games will still be developed just not under EA's iron curtain...
Levi @ Nov 2nd 2008 9:05AM
advertisement only has one d
Therefore ad is spelled with one d as well
Thank you and good morning.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Nov 2nd 2008 9:53AM
"add filled games" just makes me think of Black Morass in WoW :-)
Gerhard Gschwandtner @ Dec 19th 2008 8:25AM
Dear Mr. McElroy:
I just ran across your article entitled EA Shares Drop in Response to Layoffs, Other Publishers Down Too, posted November 1, 2008, http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/01/ea-shares-drop-in-response-to-layoffs-other-publishers-down-too/, and I would like to raise an issue that is of concern to Selling Power magazine, which is the use of our trademark.
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