Video Games 1, California 0

Software publishers can rest easy, now that the Supreme Court has sided in their favor in a case that would have had a pronounced effect on their business.

In a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court stood by an earlier federal appeals court decision to throw out a ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors in California.

Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO  ) , the envelope-pushing publisher behind Grand Theft Auto IV and this month's controversial Duke Nukem Forever, saw its shares climb more than 2% higher on the news yesterday.

Xbox Live parent Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) also surged higher, but the gain there is being attributed to the possibility of an early Windows 8 release. Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI  ) -- the world's largest video game software company and the folks behind the PC-based World of Warcraft and StarCraft franchises -- also closed higher.

The high-fives weren't universal. Retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME  ) would seem like a natural to take off on the news, but the chain's shares actually slipped yesterday. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS  ) and THQ (Nasdaq: THQI  ) closed generally flat on the day. Majesco Entertainment (Nasdaq: COOL  ) -- whose hottest games are family-friendly fare and fitness titles that have no bearing on the court ruling -- took a 10% hit on no material news.

In other words, only Take-Two seemed to truly move on the news. Was the ban nixing that expected? Probably. Investors are simply waiting for new catalysts to move the industry higher, though they surely must be hitting the pause button long enough to issue a sigh of relief.

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