The epic struggle between Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive has finally drawn to a close. You might think that the hard part's over - but for both companies, it just might be the start of a grueling climb back up. The Nasdaq Stock Market reports that, following the failed acquisition of Take-Two, stock shares for both companies have dropped. I guess misery loves company, eh?

Electronic Arts has complied with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements and has submitted necessary information to allow the government probe against possible antitrust law violations. The company has also promised to take no actions in its takeover quest of rival Take-Two until late August, ensuring that the competition is safe for now. Full details after the jump.

Well, it looks as if the merger between Activision and Vivendi has finally reached its end. We've just received a press release that lets us fully make use of our Activision-Blizzard tag. Learn more about the merger after the jump!

Atari has been sufficiently warned by NASDAQ as early as March to raise its stock value. Atari didn't, even with the completed merger with Infogrames. Thus, Atari is now delisted. What are its implication? Details over at the full article.

Under threat of delisting from NASDAQ yet again, Atari is still determined to keep its pulse beating by hiring a new CEO to guide their way. Jim Wilson, formerly of Sony BMG and Vivendi, is now at the pilot seat of the once-legendary brand of gaming. More details after the jump.

Ever wondered just what happened to the March 20, 2008 deadline that NASDAQ gave Atari about its stock value? Wonder no more as we give you the rather disconcerting news: The company hailed as the progenitor of videogaming did not make the cut, and is now facing imminent delisting. All the details in the full article.

Atari just received a warning from NASDAQ stating it may be delisted for low stock market value. Even after patching things up with FUNimation, it seems the video game company is in the red once more. Find the details at the full article.

Atari has reported a loss of US$ 11.9 million in it Q1 financial report. These losses are up by more than 50 percent compared to the company's financial reports for the year-earlier period. With Atari in danger of losing the license to one of its key franchises, things are looking bleak for the Infogrames-owned company. A recovery plan is in the works, though, which started last month with a restructuring of the company's board of directors.

Microtransaction advocate and worldwide publisher Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) reported a net revenue of US$ 395 million for the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2007, which dipped 4% than last year's US$ 413 million. But after EA's recent announcement to 'pull the plug' on servers for older boxed games, the publisher announced via press wire than it will now recognize revenue derived from those services. Such earnings will be reflected in future financial reports.

 

The gross profit for Q1 dropped 7% to US$ 229 million compared to last year, while the company's quarter net losses reached US$ 132 million as opposed to the prior year's US$ 81 million. And for concerned investors who couldn't make it to the company's conference call, diluted loss per share was claimed at US$ 0.42 (US$ 0.26 last year). Non-GAAP diluted loss per share dipped by US$ 0.22 (US$ 0.12 last year).

Surprisingly, EA's operating cash flow was noticeably slimmer this year, as its twelve-month flow was tallied at US$ 243 million, compared to a deeper US$ 589 million pocket last year. EA claimed to have ended the quarter with cash and short term investments amounting to US$ 2.2 billion.

Biggest highlights of the quarter for the publishing giant were the two million units sold in a single week for the company's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, while closer to corporate news was the arrival of Peter Moore, former Microsoft corporate vice president, and Kathy Vrabeck, former Activision president, to the executive ranks of the company.

In addition, the company has reorganized itself into four labels which is expected to come into effect this current quarter, while expanding further into Asia with equity investments in The9 Limited, China and Neowiz Corporation, Korea. An agreement with The9 was also signed to bring EA SPORTS FIFA Online to China.

 

Yet another title won't be hitting the shelves on time: Grand Theft Auto 4 (PS3, Xbox 360) expected to see an October release, but now it won't be out until the fiscal second quarter of 2008 (February to April). Along Take-two's major announcement are expected figures of financial losses this year, reports Reuters Canada.

Take-two chairman Strauss Zelnick was quoted saying "certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected." The big man didn't reveal any details, but we'd figure that a game of such scale would run into trouble prior to release.

The company expects some damage on their pockets due to the delay. Revenue was expected to reach US$ 950 million to US$ 1 billion for this fiscal year that ended October 31. These numbers may sound big enough, but June forecasts hoped for US$ 1.2 billion to US$ 1.25 billion. Take-Two's shares suffered, dropping 8% from US$ 16.91 to US$ 15.55 on NASDAQ.