Investor Snapshot: Game stocks relax; winning streak cools

Most game-industry concerns suffered losses in the markets Tuesday as all three major US stock indices slid. Electronics Boutique (ELBO) shares fell 72 cents, finishing the day at $39.10. Electronic Arts (ERTS) shares dipped 40 cents to $68.61 after EA Mobile general manager John Batter asserted EA's commitment to the burgeoning mobile arena.

Shares in Activision (ATVI) closed at $23.16, a loss of 38 cents, while Jamdat Mobile (JMDT) shares declined 36 cents to $18.23. GameStop (GME) shares were down 28 cents to $20.53. Even Take-Two Interactive, whose shares have recently reached all-time highs, slid 21 cents Tuesday, closing at $40.50.

Midway shares closed 10 cents lower at $10.10. Shares in Atari (ATAR), Eidos (EIDSY), and Vivendi Universal (V) lost pennies each. Only two game companies came out ahead today: Konami (KNM) shares climbed 40 cents to $23.68 at the closing bell, and THQ Inc. shares gained 25 cents, closing at $27.98.

Nintendo shares lost 40 yen (38 cents) Tuesday on the Tokyo exchange, closing at 11,800 yen ($112.77). In Paris, shares in Ubisoft declined .20 euros (27 cents) to 32.30 euros ($43.12).

On the broader markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 24.24 points lower at 10,912.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down by 16.66 points to 2,073, while the S&P 500 dropped 5.88 points, closing at 1,219.43. Higher oil prices--the April contract is now up to $54.59 a barrel--may have contributed to today's conservatism.

According to Marketwatch, Texas Instruments lowered its earnings forecasts today, saying that the demand for television-bound chips isn't as high as expected. Shares in the company declined 3.8 percent. Intel also lost share price today after the Japan Fair Trade Commission tinkered with the company's microprocessor sales contracts, removing some potentially troublesome language that offered incentives to buyers. Overall, the PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 1.4 percent.

In the foreign markets...
News of executive shuffling at Sony was followed by massive gains for the company's shares in Japan, where they climbed 4.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Index closed lower Tuesday, however, as did South Korea's Kospi index and Taiwan's Taiex. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both finished higher. In Europe, the markets were generally lower Tuesday, following losses among chemical, chip, and steel shares.