If you haven't looked out your window today, you might have missed stocks that are falling faster than Chicken Little can blink. Game publishers were not immune, as the NASDAQ (where most publishers are listed) Composite Index fell 199.61 points, or 9.14 percent. As for the individual publishers, Gamespot points out that Electronic Arts saw a 9.16 percent drop to $36 a share. Activision Blizzard was hit hard with a 13.8 percent drop to $14.12 a share. As for the console makers, Sony and Microsoft saw a 5.09 and 8.72 respective percent drop. Overseas, Ubisoft's stock dropped a whopping 21.5% to €45.50 (US $65.37) on the Euronext market.

Despite these stock drops, analysts speaking to Gamasutra remain optimistic, with Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter expecting none of the companies to be affected by the lending crisis. Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian predicts a "cocooning" effect where people flock to games as a cost-efficient form of escapism. In what is surely the most "no duh" prediction, Sebastian expects World of Warcraft to continue serving as an unwavering money stream for Activision Blizzard.

[Image Source: Digg]

We hope you can smell what's cooking, Mama. 'Cause it ain't the sizzlin' aroma of seasoned ground beef. Nasdaq today gave notice to Majesco Entertainment, warning the publisher that its single share value had dipped below the minimum required for continued inclusion on the market. In other words, you're better off carrying a pocketful of pennies than owning a share of Majesco stock.

The company is being given 180 days to gets its recipe in order or else the kitchen's closed.

As of today Atari has been delisted by the Nasdaq stock exchange, but the company states it will appeal. The company was first threatened with delisting last July after it failed to submitits year-end financials, then again in December because its market value was too low, and one final time in March for not fixing its issues from the previous year. The publisher will have its stock quoted on Pink Sheets and OTC Bulletin Board until the decision is reversed.

The delisting of Atari won't stop the $11 million buyout by Infogrames or the master plan of CEO David Gardner, Directeur Général Délégué Phil Harrsion and rest of the new Atari/Infogrames crew. Bargain hunters looking for a good deal might want to see if Gardner would be willing to trade some Atari stock for a casserole or some landscaping work.

With all its fancy new executives, everything appears to be sunshine at the moment for Infogrames/Atari; but for the third time in less than a year Atari has been threatened with delisting by the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company admits it received a letter from Nasdaq's Listing Qualifications Department stating that it had not gained compliance with the last warning requiring the company obtain $15 million in market capitalization for 10 consecutive days before March 20.

Atari has asked Nasdaq for a hearing which will put a stay on the stock's execution. Meanwhile, Infogrames is looking to buy the "outstanding common stock" of the company, which may put this whole issue to rest. If Infogrames does not succeed, Atari admits there's no assurance it won't be delisted.

For the second time this year, Atari has received a warning from Nasdaq that its stock could be delisted. This time, the violation doesn't concern a tardy financial report, rather the market value of the ailing video game publisher's stock, which is below $15 million. If that number stays below $15m for thirty consecutive days, the stock will be delisted (and we can't imagine that's going to go over well with investors).

That isn't the end of the line for Atari though; they'll have until March 20th to get their ship in order and, barring that, they'll be able to appeal the decision. Really, it pains us to watch this once proud video gaming brand dragged slowly to its death. Let's hope Midway's Hollywood plan saves that company from a similarly grim fate.

[Thanks, Vytenis]

If Atari's financial woes weren't already a beacon that the legendary game company has fallen far, their notice of potential delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange should pretty much seal the deal. Atari received the notice from Nasdaq because they did not file their financial report for their fiscal year ending March 31.

Atari says they haven't filed yet because they're still trying to figure out what accounting entries they need to make. With any luck The Witcher and Alone in the Dark will help the company out this fiscal year. Heck, for all we know, My Horse & Me could be Atari's killer application which will help them ride into the land of fiscal fortitude.