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Majesco cooks up compliance with Nasdaq

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 3rd 2009 at 4:38PM }

Majesco has regained compliance with the Nasdaq stock exchange after completing a stint of ten consecutive days with a stock price of over $1. When asked for comment, Cooking Mama exclaimed, "RONDERFUL!"

The publisher is known for Cooking Mama and ... um. Anyway, last August, Majesco was informed it had 180 days to get its stock back in compliance with Nasdaq rules or face delisting. Optimistically, buying the stock now at its bargain price would be fantastic if Majesco can find another franchise (A Boy and his Blob?) worth its salt and pepper.

[Via GoNintendo, GamerInvestments]

Midway kicked all the way out of NYSE

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 19th 2009 at 10:45AM }

Midway's stock has succumbed to the Swamps of Sadness and been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. MCV reports that the walking corpse of a company failed to bring its stock to over $1 per share for over 30 days during the last few months, thus prompting the NYSE regulatory commission to show the publisher the door.

So, let's take just the last week of Midway drama into account: The company has alleged corrupt insider dealings going on and probably can't afford its ESA dues nor E3 ... oh yeah, it also likely couldn't afford to publish The Wheelman, so it made a deal with Ubisoft to do so. If Midway were a house, we'd imagine CEO Matt Booty with a gas can, getting ready to burn it down for the insurance money ... you know, if it actually had the money to pay for the insurance.

Midway receives delisting notice from NYSE

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 21st 2008 at 9:45AM }

Industry folks have been joking that Midway is the new Atari; however, while Atari is finding redemption in rebirth, Midway continues to sink deeper into the Swamps of Sadness. The latest bit of bad news comes from the New York Stock Exchange, which has put the publisher on notice for potential delisting.

NYSE states that Midway needs a closing price of at least $1 over 30 consecutive days -- the stock is currently trading at about 25¢. According to NYSE rules, the publisher has six months to save itself from delisting. At this time, the house of Booty has its financial future pinned on the performance of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Wheelman. Do you have the heart to tell Midway how this will end?

Majesco cooking up recipe for delisting

by James Ransom-Wiley { Aug 28th 2008 at 9:30PM }

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.

Microsoft's Scott Austin talks XBLA delistings and delays

by Mike Schramm { Jul 16th 2008 at 6:00PM }

During an E3 appointment today, we confronted Scott Austin, Director of Digitally Distributed Games for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, about two controversial XBLA topics: delistings and delays.

Austin was dodgy, unfortunately. When asked when games might start disappearing from the service, he stayed mum, only saying that Microsoft wanted to "keep evolving and improving [its] content." We also asked for comment on the unofficial list of games that met the criteria for delisting, and he agreed that the list is accurate according to the criteria.

We also talked to Austin about the delays that Microsoft has made in releasing content, and he told us that Microsoft runs a very stringent QA process in addition to any processes the developers run for themselves. The largest part of these delays, he said, is "making sure the games we release are high quality" -- Microsoft runs every game through for bugs, and will then send back to the developers any game that has issues. When pressed for a percentage of games that are sent back for bugs, Austin told he us didn't have that information.

Sony mocks the 360 for its XBLA de-listing and UI

by Dustin Burg { Jul 3rd 2008 at 11:00AM }

Getting in a few jabs heading into E3, Sony's PlayStation Network boss Eric Lempel decided to call out Microsoft on their Xbox Live Arcade de-listing antics and making fun of the Xbox 360 for its use of an inferior user interface.

"We definitely want to make sure that [the PlayStation Store] offers quality titles and games that our consumers are going to enjoy" Lempel told GamesIndustry.biz, saying that "depending on what type of UI you have you can accommodate a lot of titles." Then, Lempel throws in a verbal left hook, saying that "over at the competitors' UI they may have some issues just displaying content, and scrolling up and down lists isn't the easiest way to find things." Ouch. We'll be the first to acknowledge the 360's XBLM may not incorporate the best way to navigate content, but the PSN isn't all peaches and creme either. Maybe Sony is just feeling the need to blow off some steam because, as we all know, releasing a 2.4 update can cause a lot of unwanted stress.

Joystiq Poll: Worst of the XBLA chopping block

by Ross Miller { Jun 5th 2008 at 11:59AM }

Earlier this week we presented our opinions of the best and worst of Xbox Live Arcade's potential delisters, and yesterday we asked you to vote for the best on XBLA's chopping block. Now it's time to find out what you think is the worst. You know, that XBLA game that, if personified, you'd probably gossip about and avoid at parties.

After the break, vote for your Worst of the Worst, and if you're so inclined, tell us why in the comments below. Results will be tallied tomorrow.

Continued →

It's too hard to find stuff on XBLA, says Microsoft

by Jason Dobson { Jun 5th 2008 at 5:00AM }

You know that sweet Ikea bookshelf you've been fawning over? It would go great in the family room, proudly displaying all of your favorite books and even that Precious Moments statue you pretend to like when your girlfriend stops by. It's functional, and makes things easy to find. But put a few thousand items on that same bookshelf and what you'd be left with is a colossal mess, something not unlike Microsoft's great, but equally cluttered Xbox Live Marketplace.

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Xbox Live product management director, owned up to the service's organization ills. "I think that we are not...happy with the ability to find and discover content," he said, adding that Microsoft "built Xbox Live Marketplace for a few hundred items and now we have 17,000 items."

It's something the company is hoping to correct, at least in part with its controversial decision to shelve under-performing Xbox Live Arcade releases, but Greenberg admits that Microsoft is still looking for a solution to make content on Xbox Live easier to track down. We've contacted our Joystiq mentalists, who are at this very moment trying to project two simple words into the minds of XBL devs. Search. Bar.

Joystiq Poll: Best of the XBLA chopping block

by Ross Miller { Jun 4th 2008 at 3:30PM }

Yesterday, we presented our opinions for the best and worst of the Xbox Live Arcade potential delisters. Now, it's time to hear your opinion.

After the break, vote for your Best of the Worst, and if you're so inclined, tell us why in the comments below. Results will be tallied for Friday. Oh, and stay tuned tomorrow where you get to sound off on the absolute worst Xbox Live Arcade title.

Continued →

Potentially delisted XBLA games revisted

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 3rd 2008 at 12:00PM }

We know which Xbox Live Arcade games are potentially on the chopping block, but what makes them tick? Do they really deserve to be condemned to the XBLA graveyard? Joystiq took it upon themselves to play each and every game that has been on the service for more than six months and have a Metacritic average of less than 65%, two of the three criteria a title must meet to be considered for delisting (the third criterion, a conversion rate of less than 6%, isn't known outside the hallowed halls of Microsoft). Press the delete key above to check out the best and worst.

All of Xbox Live Arcade's potential delisters revisited

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 3rd 2008 at 10:55AM }

Although Microsoft has yet to make a formal announcement about any games that fall into the company's new delisting policy for games on Xbox Live Arcade, we do know the criteria for titles in danger (six months old, 65 or less Metacritic score, less than 6% buy the game after trying the demo). There's no way of knowing what games have less than 6% adoption rate, but we do know what games are old and poorly reviewed.

We've revisted every single XBLA title on the chopping block (the demos, at least) to give quick impressions on the rogue's gallery of titles. Find out which games were the best of the worst and, well, worst of the worst. Meet the games who may be evicted from XBLA by hitting that fancy button above. Or don't ... don't press the button!

Vote: Your pick for best of the XBLA chopping block, and also the worst of the XBLA chopping block. (Update: The results are in.)

XBLA delistings will put focus on quality, argues Microsoft

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jun 2nd 2008 at 8:00PM }

Microsoft's controversial decision to bump certain games off its Xbox Live Arcade service has generated plenty of discussion, with most pundits wondering why a shelf with infinite space is suddenly in need of clearing. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Xbox Live product management director, Aaron Greenberg, argued that the move -- which is beginning to sound like a threat aimed at more dubious developers -- would ultimately promote a greater number of quality titles. "What you're going to see [is that] Arcade, in general, is going to focus on quality over quantity," he said. "While you will see [some] titles get delisted, hopefully you won't see many games getting delisted. [You'll see a] higher quality of games that won't fall into that criteria."

Greenberg also sees the cleansing, which "outweighed the cons of expanding the shelf," as a move that will improve the service's appearance to new customers. "They're going to turn on the Xbox and go into Arcade and [see] a much higher quality of selection. You want consumers to get that experience for the first time [and see that] every Arcade game is a high-quality game, so their first purchase is most likely going to be a great game."

We suspect having a clearly marked "rubbish" bin could similarly point new users to the good stuff, but it seems Microsoft would prefer not to have a waste basket standing right in the foyer.

X3F Interview: Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain

by Xav de Matos { May 29th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Coming soon from developer Load Inc. and publisher Southpeak is Things on Wheels, an RC racer for the Xbox Live Arcade that invokes memories of the classic, ReVolt. Hot off the heels of developing and releasing Mad Tracks for the Arcade, Load Inc. has been hard at work on their latest vision of fast-and-fun arcade racing.

In an exclusive interview with business developer Denis Bourdain of Load Inc., we discuss the inspiration and process of creating a new racer for the XBLA, the recent delisting controversy and the problem with retail in international markets.

Jump inside and fasten your seatbelt for the exclusive interview with Load Inc.'s Denis Bourdain.

Gallery: Things on Wheels (XBLA)

Continued →

Load Inc: Delisting was 'news to us,' not a concern

by Xav de Matos { May 29th 2008 at 2:00PM }

In an exclusive interview with X3F since Microsoft announced XBLA delisting, Load Inc. business developer Denis Bourdain told us the Mad Tracks dev team heard about the new initiative the same way we all did -- through the press.

"It was news to us, but doesn't make a lot of difference," Bourdain told X3F as the team finishes their new Xbox Live Arcade title, Things on Wheels.

Mad Tracks, an arcade party car title, received mixed reviews when it was released in May '07 netting it just under the 65% Metacritic rating minimum for delisting, putting its availability on the XBLA platform in jeopardy.

"Our conversion rate is much higher than 6%, but Microsoft remains the only one calling the shots." Bourdain said. "Prior to making XBLA games, we were making retail PC titles. You get taken down without notice after 6 months in most stores ... [after almost a year] We feel already privileged to have lasted this long."

The full interview will be online later this afternoon.

Atari gets delisted by Nasdaq

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 9th 2008 at 10:00AM }

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.