AUG. 3, 2007 • Towards the end of July, Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) stock was trading around $20. The stock slowly started dropping during the last week of the month until the news officially hit on August 2. Take-Two shares dropped more than 13% – down $2.17 to $14.74 – in trading the morning after Grand Theft Auto IV was pushed from its fall 2007 release into 2008. The reason given for the delay of the Rockstar Games title was “technological challenges.” As a result of moving the game from fiscal Q3 2007 to fiscal Q2 2008, Take-Two lowered its fiscal 2007 guidance. The earliest Grand Theft Auto IV could release under this scenario is February 2008.
Impact: Video game stocks still seem to resemble many penny stocks in that they are heavily traded on speculation about short-term sales. Try as it might Take-Two has been unable to break away from its dependence on the GTA series. Two weeks later, Take-Two shares got a boost based on positive news about its Xbox 360 BioShock title.