Game shares drop after 360 shipment cuts

Four of the big videogame publishers saw shares drop on Friday, following Microsoft's announcement that it was to cut shipments of the Xbox 360 from between 13 and 15 million, to 12 million units.

Major third-party publishers Electronic Arts, Activision, THQ and Take Two have all supported the Xbox 360 with a range of high-profile titles, some of which are exclusive to the console.

Saint's Row publisher THQ was the worst hit, with shares falling four per cent, or US $1.25, to US $30.48. Take Two, the company behind Prey and Rockstar's Table Tennis, saw shares drop 2.3 per cent, or 40 cents, to US $16.84.

Shares in Electronic Arts were down 1.7 per cent, to US $48.04, while Activision's stock fell 2.3 per cent to US $16.71 on Nasdaq.

In a note to clients, American Technology Research analyst PJ McNealy highlighted concern over revised results from hardware manufacturers, and the pressure it puts on the supporting publishers.

"Videogame publishers will be under pressure today after Microsoft cut its life-to-date shipment," he said on Friday.

"There is investor concern about a re-set of expectations around both the Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3," he revealed.

via gibiz