Investor snapshot: Game stocks stuck in slump

Game companies suffered Wednesday as, overall, Wall Street fell sharply. Electronic Arts (ERTS) shares declined $1.22, closing at $65.93. Electronics Boutique (ELBO), whose shares gained nearly four dollars yesterday, backtracked 69 cents to $41.52. Meanwhile, shares in Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) lost 60 cents to close at $39.75, while GameStop Corp. (GME) shares closed 39 cents lower at $20.80.

Shares in THQ Inc. (THQI) fell 31 cents to $28.95, and Vivendi Universal (V) traded 31 cents lower at $30.71 Wednesday. Activision (ATVI) shares declined 11 cents, closing at $22.89. Shares in Konami (KNM) and Midway (MWY) were down by less than a dime, and Eidos (EIDSY) shares, hanging on by a thread, lost 2 cents today to close at 69 cents.

Just two game publishers came out ahead on Wednesday. Shares in Jamdat Mobile (JMDT) rose 14 cents, closing at $17.33, while Atari (ATAR) shares climbed 5 cents to $3.24 in the day's trading.

In the overseas markets, Nintendo's Japanese shares fared especially well, gaining 280 yen ($2.69) to close at 11,600 yen. Recently, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Business Week that the game giant has supplied some game developers with software development kits for its next-generation console, Revolution. In Paris, Ubisoft shares fell .71 euros (95 cents) to 30.57 euros ($41.02).

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped by 112.03 points, closing at 10,633.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 19.23 points, capping the day at 2,015.75, and the S&P 500 was 9.68 points lower at 1,188.07. Investor pessimism was fueled in part by lower earnings forecasts from General Motors, coupled with the ever-increasing price of crude oil, according to Marketwatch.