Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO) and Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) are moving in different directions, and I promise that this has nothing to do with Grand Theft Auto.
Shares of Take-Two fell nearly 6% yesterday after the renegade video game publisher announced that the release date of BioShock Infinite -- the third installment of Take-Two's sleeper 2007 hit BioShock -- is being delayed.
The futuristic shooter was supposed to come out in October, with ample time to make a presence ahead of this holiday shopping season. Now the game is coming out in February.
"We've uncovered opportunities to make Infinite into something even more extraordinary," reads yesterday's Take-Two press release.
That's just the kind way of saying that the game either stinks now or is just too buggy.
Take-Two isn't the only software company slamming the brakes. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: EA) also took a hit earlier this week on a bad quarterly report that also warned of an important -- yet unnamed -- title that was also being bumped out.
This happens a lot. Take-Two was delaying the release of Max Payne 3 just a few months ago, and the scheduled releases that it puts out every quarter are becoming revisable jokes.
Poor diehard gamers. Coding epic games isn't easy, but you'd think that a video game industry that has suffered three years of declines would try even harder at making sure its marquee titles come out on time. If we go by the logic of dwindling hardware and software sales, a delay may very well reach a smaller audience in the future.
Now let's compare the drops at Take-Two -- and to a lesser extent EA -- to Tesla. The American maker of electric cars saw its stock trade as much as 15% higher today after posting its quarterly report.
The numbers were terrible. Revenue clocked in lower than analysts were projecting, and Tesla posted a larger deficit than the pros were forecasting. The stock is moving higher because the automaker is on track to begin delivering its ballyhooed Model S sedan next month, ahead of its original July projection.
Now, there's a big difference between electric cars and video games. Tesla only plans to deliver 5,000 Model S cars to the 10,000 people on its waiting list this year. However, the market always appreciates companies that under-promise and over-deliver.
Why can't the video game companies get that right?
Infinite possibilities
A special report singles out three winners in the iPhone, iPad, and Android revolution. It's something that Take-Two investors should be watching given the publisher's recent gains in downloadable content. The report is free, but it won't be around forever so check it out now.
