Of course, as the saying goes, close only counts in horseshoes and things that go boom. Regardless, Wedbush Morgan's most outspoken soothsayer predicts that troubled publisher Majesco is "close to returning to profitability." Good for them, we say, though in the face of waning share prices and delisting threats, the company needs more than encouraging analyst comments to help push it to the top of Money Mountain.

Pachter bases his expectations for the publisher on tweaks made to the company's sales and cost management, as well as growth that, according to the analyst, has been managed "prudently." We'll see if the company can meet the firm's expectations of $10 million in revenue for the quarter when Majesco reports its Q3 2008 earnings on Thursday.

Michael Pachter, analyst extraordinaire at Wedbush Morgan, recently shaved his Predict-o-Matic Monkey® as punishment for inaccurately guessing the industry's software sales growth this year. Turns out that instead of a mere 19% jump in US sales for 2008, the monkey's dart should have hit the index card marked with "32%" against the wall.

Pachter also tweaked his numbers for Europe, increasing the expectation from 20% to 40% growth. Wedbush Morgan now has a combined expectation of software sales growth in Europe and the US of 36% over 2007's record-breaking figures. Pachter is currently reviewing Predict-o-Matic's return policy.

Wedbush Morgan's infamous fortune teller Michael Pachter is at it again, this time predicting that a successor to Nintendo's money-printing DS could arrive as early as this year (via Edge Online). In investor notes, Pachter said, "DS sales are solid worldwide, but are weak in Japan, leading us to expect an introduction of a new device in Japan before the end of the calendar year." Looking at the Japanese hardware sales, the PSP has overtaken the DS almost every week this year with few exceptions.

The logic falls in line with recent comments from Nintendo's Satoru Iwata, who said a Wii successor would come only when the Wii itself begins to slow in sales (read: unlikely for some time). If a new Nintendo portable is to be announced, our best guess would be an announcement at October's Tokyo Game Show. That's assuming Nintendo can swim their way out of that kingdom-sized pool of cash.

Not everyone stumbled away from Nintendo's E3 presser feeling lightheaded and sick to their stomach. Some, like Wedbush Morgan soothsayer Michael Pachter, felt that the presentation was on point, offering an "even more positive view" of the company, while adding belief that Nintendo has not yet turned its back on the 'critically important' hardcore crowd.

"We think that Nintendo focused upon building upon its formidable lead with the mass market," notes Pachter, "and do not consider the lack of major hard core game announcements to be an abandonment of its core." Granted, this is a man who has the ear of investors and not necessarily gamers, and given that the analyst anticipates Nintendo to report revenue of more than $3.9 billion for 2009's fiscal first quarter, with an estimated $17.7 billion expected for the year, try to at least look surprised when his world views don't align perfectly with your own.

Even though NPD is set to release its monthly drip of "official" North American console and game sales data later this week, some impatient people just can't sit on their hands and wait. Those people include game industry analysts, many of whom are predicting a large year-over-year jump in software revenues for the month of May.

The exact size of the predicted jump ranges from a 30% increase from Lazard Capital Market's Colin Sebastian to a 43% bump from Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. Medbush Morgan's prolific prognosticator Michael Pachter splits the difference, predicting a 39% increase in sales. Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero III and Rock Band are expected to continue their sustained strong sales, along with relative newcomers Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Speaking of GTA4, Pachter doesn't think the game will lead to a significant bump in system sales for either the PS3 or Xbox 360. He forecasts the Wii will again dominate monthly console sales with 750,000 units sold, compared to 250,000 Xbox 360s and 225,000 PS3s. In other news, we predict the sun will rise in the east tomorrow.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects EA will own Take-Two when this buyout saga comes to an end, but before that, there's a few more chapters to write. GameDaily reprints the analyst extraordinaire's latest commentary where he envisions EA will increase its bid by a "modest amount" and attempt a "friendly deal." Pachter surmises Take-Two will reject the offer, especially after it recently talked about working the Wall Street corner for other opportunities.

Pachter expects EA wants this deal done before this holiday, but that Take-Two management has an incentive to wait until after April 1, 2009, due to some stock finagling (remember, in the end, this is all about money). When all is said and done, though, Pachter believes EA will acquire Take-Two. He expects once EA walks away from the table after the next rejection, and it proves there are no other bidders salivating for Take-Two, that all parties will meet again and work something out.

Americans have been buffeted with news of our nation's pending recession and the devaluation of our dollar for months now, but in a market with such standardized prices, the American video game industry and game consumers haven't really felt the effect of our economic instability. However, according to industry analyst and prognosticator extraordinaire Michael Pachter, our pecuniary puniness is the cause for the current American Wii Fit shortage -- nearly four times as many copies of the title made their way to Europe, where the Euro, unlike the dollar, is gaining strength.

In Pachter's own words, "We're seeing companies ignore their largest market simply because they can make a greater profit elsewhere." You don't need to be a revered industry analyst to notice that -- the title, which sells for $90 in the U.S., is speedily selling for the equivalent of $140 in Europe. Pachter also remarks that Americans can afford to wait for future shipments of the title, as Nintendo knows "that Americans will be just as fat a few months from now." Words hurt, Pachter. Words hurt.

Analyst Michael Pachter is sticking to his prediction that Grand Theft Auto IV provided more of a bump to the PS3 than 360 in April, predicting 290,000 in sales for Sony vs. 275,000 for Microsoft's box. It's worth noting though that Pachter also predicted PS3 would top 360 in March, days before the NPD reported an Xbox 360 win.

Now, does any of this mean that either of those systems (or the sales of those systems combined) beat the Wii? No, of course not, don't be ridiculous. Pachter predicts that 600,000 Wiis flew off of shelves in April, likely aided by the release of Mario Kart Wii and the unslakable waggle thirst the general populace seems to have discovered.

In the wake of yesterday's Q1 earnings announcement from Midway, financial prognosticator Michael Pachter has come forth with his predictions for the company, stating that despite suffering considerable losses during the quarter, the analyst expects the company to perform "significantly better" over the course of year compared to 2007.

According to Pachter, his firm, Wedbush Morgan, continues to advise investors to hold onto any shares of Midway stock that they may have collecting dust in their portfolios, adding belief that Midway "can generate sustainable profits if it can deliver revenues above the $300 million annual level." While possible, Pachter himself lowered his 2008 revenue estimates for the company to $265 million from $300 million based on what he called Midway's "weak first half results," as well as lowered his expectations for 2009. The analyst noted belief that Midway hit rock bottom "quite a while ago," and thus it seems like there is nowhere to go but up. We're just not sure that you can get to the top by clinging to Batman's cape.

[Via press release]

In advance of this Thursday's release of Activision's Q4 financial results, Wedbush Morgan analyst extraordinaire Michael Pachter expects Activision's sales were up 88% this quarter over last year, based on NPD data. GameDaily reports Activision's guidance expected revenues of about $350 million this quarter, but Pachter believes it's more like $425 million.

Pachter further notes that Activision may see revenues decline this fiscal year as sales from Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4 wane, though the big thing for investors remains the approaching merger with Vivendi Games. Activision Blizzard should be a reality in the next few weeks and Pachter maintains a "Buy" rating on the company.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pacter states that after attending a recent Nintendo event that he now believes in the sales power of Wii Fit. He thinks Nintendo's fun for the fatties system could "cause a new boom in demand for the Wii." Adding that Nintendo's marketing campaign will aim directly at casual players and make the already scarce system even more difficult to find.

Pachter retains a "Buy" rating for Nintendo's stock and maintains the company's profit guidance is conservative. He believes Nintendo's momentum isn't stopping anytime soon. Wii Fit is available in North America beginning May 19 for $90.

With the NPD numbers expected this week, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter blessed the plebs with his predictions for the March retail numbers. GameDaily transcribed the word of Pachter, in which he fortells of sales being up 47% from $579 million to $850 million. He expects software sales were driven by some game called Super Smash Bros. Brawl, along with Army of Two, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and MLB 2008.

Pachter believes the Wii and DS each sold 700K units in March and that Nintendo had diverted for a while a significant portion of its Wii supply to Europe -- due to the weakening dollar making sales less profitable -- but believes supply has hit demand in Europe and the US can expect more units soon. He also predicts sales of around 365K for the PS3 and 310K for the Xbox 360. He also notes given the US' current economic situation that the game industry appears to be "recession-resistant" so far.

Mr. Michael Pachter – everyone's favorite clairvoyant video game analyst – has a knack for making headlines. Whether it's "Pachter snubs pal Lohan in Viper Club debacle" or "EA could delay GTA IV's April 29 release" we tend to take notice. On the latest episode of Bonus Round, Pachter told host Geoff Keighley, "I think if EA takes over Take-Two, they have an economic incentive to delay [Grand Theft Auto IV]." What economic incentive might that be? Why, to hold the release until the far more lucrative fourth quarter. As for why Take-Two isn't simply doing that itself, the Pach explains, "Take-Two, financially, has to get that game out ... they need the money. They need to get it out."

That's all well and good but, you see, it's just that we've had April 29th circled on our Strauss Zelnick pinup calendar (in permanent marker no less) for over two months and, since Peter Moore really dropped the ball, we also went ahead and got that date tattooed on our far less impressive biceps. So, to recap, if EA manages to merge their giant family with Take-Two's impressive roster, your plans for May are shot and we're going to have a funny tattoo story to tell the grandkids.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter jumped right on Take-Two's dismissal of EA's buyout offer and says it was "ill advised." GameDaily reprints Pachter's analysis in which he goes point by point over how, in his opinion, Take-Two's board screwed up. He believes the company was positioned to get even more money out of EA if it had offered a "friendly transaction" instead of continuing its "adversarial posture."

Pachter believes that if Take-Two is holding out for more money following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the tactic is "naive at best, and disingenuous at worst." He states that GTA IV's sales will not ultimately impact the value of the company and that EA's $26 per share offer was done even with GTA IV sales in mind. Pachter goes on to say that if EA doesn't get controlling interesting of Take-Two with its tender offer, it will withdraw the offer and Take-Two's stock will take a 20% hit. He surmises the drop will be even worse if the market doesn't presume EA to be taking a walk around the block before picking up Take-Two later.

Amidst EA's hostile takeover of Take-Two, EA Chief Exec. John Riccitiello told the New York Times last week that his company would "represent a white knight" to a developer like Rockstar (GTA, Bully) and bring its games to a wider audience than Take-Two could. GameDaily spoke with a couple of the industry's leading analysts, like Janco Partners' analyst Mike Hickey, who called the "white knight" statement -- wait for it -- "total bullsh*t, and disrespectful" to Take-Two's new management team.

DFC Intelligence's David Cole says that Rockstar doesn't need EA's help to bring its games to a wide audience. Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter thinks Riccitiello doesn't really understand the definition of a "white knight." He points out that Rockstar is no "damsel in distress" and could become independent, even though it wouldn't own GTA -- Take-Two owns the GTA IP and that belongs to whichever company owns it.

Read -- Analyst: EA's Riccitiello 'Disrespectful' Towards Rockstar, Take-Two
Read -- New Shareholders to Weigh Take-Two Bid