Looking forward to Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)? Well, here's more licensed goodness coming your way. It was recently revealed that Activision will be rolling out Guitar Hero: Metallica. If that's not enough, the official name of the the next James Bond video game was also revealed. Head on over to the full article for more information.

Take-Two already has its hands full with Grand Theft Auto 4's quite disappointing delay, but there are more problems to come as the games publisher has received a "Wells" call from US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff.

The notice was aimed to inform Take-Two that it is already well under investigation about the stock options fraud committed by its former management, and that there will be enforcement proceedings to be filed against them in the near future. In light of Take-Two's crisis, analyst Michael Pachter gives his opinion about Take-Two's possible responses to the lawsuit.

Basically, a "Wells" notice informs companies or individuals that an investigation concerning their alleged violation of the law has been completed. The SEC staff is currently seeking SEC's approval to file charges against Take-Two and demand "civil monetary penalty", which roughly translates to a pricey fine. Pachter mentioned only two possible options for Take-Two: to litigate or pay the penalty. He continued that it is possible that Take-Two would choose to cooperate and just pay the penalty, which may amount to US$ 10 million. The analyst also noted that it took Take-Two six days before notifying the investors after receiving the "Wells" notice, which he considered odd.

For those who weren't aware, Take-Two's founder Ryan Brant pleaded guilty to the the civil charges the SEC filed against him, with their former lawyer and accounting officer pleading guilty to falsifying stock-related information as well. The fraud has gravely cost Take-Two in settlements alone, amounting to about U$ 7.3 million last February.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. has revealed that it has received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This according to Reuters.

The Wells notice indicates that charges may be filed against Take-Two by the SEC concerning the stock options debacle that hounded the company in the past. According to Reuters, Take-Two revealed in an SEC filing that the company was informed by SEC staff who planned to get authorization from the Commission to file charges as well as go after a civil monetary penalty.

This is the latest blow against Take-Two. Earlier this month, the company announced that it will be delaying the release of Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360). The release date for Manhunt 2 (Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2) has also been changed. Take-Two still has one final chance to try and convince the SEC not to file charges.

Immersion Corporation has finally responded to Microsoft's new lawsuit concerning the rumble maker's settlement with Sony. If you missed our last report, the whole fiasco involves Microsoft' claiming that Immersion owe them part of the settlement fee the latter got from Sony.

Now Immersion is saying that Microsft has already received its share. It was reported that Sony paid Immersion around US$ 150 million. However, things get tricky if you've read Immersion's official filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A part of that said filing reads,

Our net income was US$ 122.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007... The increase in net income was primarily due to the litigation conclusion and patent license from Sony Computer Entertainment of US$ 119.9 million and the extinguishment of the liability to Microsoft of US$ 15.0 million.

As you've read, the money that was given to Immersion is being classified under "litigation conclusion and patent license." One can easily assume that these words translate to settlement but you all know how litigations go - everything depends on the interpretation of documents.

We are not entirely sure if Microsoft sued immersion because its lawyers interpreted this differently, meaning there's more money behind these. However, the father of rumble technology is keeping firm with its earlier stand saying,

Immersion believes that it is not obligated under the sublicense agreement with Microsoft to make any payment to Microsoft relating to the conclusion of its litigation with Sony Computer Entertainment. Immersion intends to defend this lawsuit vigorously.

As part of their filing of an 8-K form after undergoing management changes recently, Take-Two Interactive disclosed that an informal probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has turned formal. This from Herb Greenberg's market blog on Market Watch.

The informal probe was originally just about stock options and was disclosed by Take-Two last July. According to Greenberg, Take-Two said that it was advised of the formal probe on March 15. The formal order "allows the SEC, among other things, to subpoena witnesses."

Greenberg surmises that the probe extends beyond the stock options issue, as suggested by the "among other things" phrase. Take-Two has already received multiple subpoenas from the New York County Grand Jury regarding accounting issues as well as the stock options issue.

The SEC announced that former CEO of Take-Two Interactive, Ryan Brant, agrees to part with almost US$ 7.3 million in connection to Take-Two's ongoing stock option scandal.

The amount includes the US$ 6.3 million of settlement money for the civil charges that the SEC has filed against Brant, and another US$ 1 million to New York state and local authorities. Gamespot reports that Brant also pleaded guilty to first-degree felony criminal charges of falsifying business records.

The SEC believes that from 1997 to 2003, Brant granted to himself, and other employees, stock option, and then altered records regarding when the option were granted in the intention to make them profitable to the receiver. The SEC's civil complaint says that not only was this done without the approval of the board of directors, but that Brant also directed Take-Two employees to prepare false documents to back up the stock option grants.

The amusing part about this story is that Brant already has a track record with the SEC. The commission says that Brant paid US$ 3.6 million to settle with the SEC for his alleged role in a financial fraud case at Take-Two in 2000-2001.

Brant stepped down as chairman and director of Take-Two in March 2004. He left the company in October 2006.

The SEC says that its investigation of the current Take-Two scandal is ongoing. Take-Two has already released results of its own independent investigation into the scandal, and the blame is pinned squarely on Brant.

Take-Two Interactive owns Rockstar Games (Rockstar North, Rockstar Leeds, etc.), the creator of the Grand Theft Auto series. Other T2 subsidiaries include 2K Games and 2K Sports.

T2 continues to face woes at the hands of NASDAQ (the stock exchange) and the SEC (the US government's Securities and Exchange Commission). And T2's internal investigation into their stock options grants has discovered "significant" backdating.

"Backdating" stock grants means incorrectly dating the stock grants given to company employees so that their values are artificially inflated (the stock values will be based on higher past values).

In the stock investigation case, Take-Two will be forced to look over and restate their earnings reports from April 1997 to August 2003, which will have tax and accounting impacts on their financial statements.

Now Gamasutra reports that NASDAQ warned Take-Two (again) that they will be delisted or removed from the stock exchange for being late for reporting something (again).

The NASDAQ delisting might be worrisome. NASDAQ is complaining that Take-Two did not file its 10K financial report for this fiscal year (that's a big requirement). Take-Two reps have indicated that they "have an understanding" with NASDAQ that the company will continue to be listed in that stock market for the time being, as long as Take-Two make up their delinquencies and other shortcomings to the market by this March.

Yeah, all this economic mumbo-jumbo might seem meaningless to the gaming community - at least the consumer side - but it is rather important to the producer/publisher side of the community. With the price one must pay to make a game these days, especially a next-gen game, it's important to find sources of cash to lavish on one's developers. The stock market is one such source - not to mention one key indicator of the company's performance.

If Take-Two were delisted from NASDAQ, it would be a big blow to Take-Two's reputation in the market. Investors would be less likely to bet on the company, and the publisher would thus have less money to spend on all of their devs and games. Maybe not immediately, maybe only in the long run, but like one important economist said: in the long run, we're all dead.

There are many things that affect one's performance. For game publisher THQ, it's their financial statement woes that's been ongoing for some months now. It would be remembered that back in August of 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC began conducting inquiries about the company's options grants. Last November, NASDAQ threatened to de-list THQ.

When all these happened, THQ officials didn't hide in their HQ's deepest basement and cradled themselves to comfort. Instead, they initiated an independent investigation by a special committee to look into the matter.

The said group finally came up with findings the other day and according to them, there are incorrect measurement dates recording an US$ 11 million non-cash charge but there is no evidence of fraud. Were you able to get that? Well, it was rather dodging the bullet on their part but in simpler terms, THQ is saying that "Oops! We slipped up. Sorry."

It is in this light that the company proposed the following corrections to SEC:

• The $11 million after-tax charge covers the period of January 1, 1996 to March 31, 2006.
  
• The adjustments, after-tax for fiscal 2007, were immaterial and will be reflected in the company's quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2006.
  
• For each of the 2006, 2005 and 2004 fiscal years, the adjustments were about $2 million and will be reflected in the company's amended annual report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.
  
• The information in the reports for the fiscal years 2002 to 2006 and the quarters in fiscal 2006 and 2005 should no longer be relied upon.

After they've ironed out all these jazz, we hope THQ will get back to business and start inking deals with various developers. We certainly do not want to lose games because of financial boo-boos.

"Garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation". Some of you may think that Jack Thompson uttered these words, but no, he isn't the one who said 'em this time around. These were the words of British Parliament member, Boris Johnson, in an opinion piece which got published on The Telegraph last December.
He also mentioned that kids who play games "become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious. These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory." Wait a sec! I certainly don't wanna be called a lizard!

Anyhow, these acerbic comments earned the ire of Paul Jackson, director general of UK's ELSPA (their ESRB). Mr. Jackson, through a statement issued at GamesIndustry.biz, said that he respects Mr. Johnson's opinion but he mentioned this:

The games industry is often a scapegoat for many problems society encounters with youths. But instead of placing blame where it should not lie, we need to educate parents and carers of the 21st Century child.

He shares that point of view with Connecticut Senator, Joe Lieberman. Aside from that, he also noted that games like Brain Training and Myst among many others is a "great source of education in their own right". As for the blinking lizards jab, the ELSPA head said that a large number of games require a huge amount of movement and social interaction - take for instance Wii Sports or Guitar Hero.

Mr. Johnson has gotta keep up with the times, it seems.

After Take Two and Activision, THQ is the third video-game software publisher whose options grants are being scrutinized by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). As for you who don't know, THQ Inc. is the publisher of video games based on assets from Nickelodeon, Pixar, and WWE. It owns several intellectual property rights like Destroy All Humans! and Juiced and also published several Sega titles for portable systems.

The company announced that the SEC has launched an informal inquiry into its options grants dating from January 1996 to the present. The SEC has now requested documents and information relating to the company's grants and options-granting practices.

Just what are option grants, you ask? According to Troy Wolverton, Senior Writer for TheStreet, "Employee stock options typically grant insiders the right to buy their company's stock at a price equal to the market price of the stock on the day the options are granted." The problem kicks in when with backdated options. Wolverton adds, "companies are alleged to have assigned to the options a strike price equal to the market price on a date days or weeks before the grant date, which was known at the time of the grant to be a short-term low in the company's stock."

The company said that they intend to fully cooperate with SEC as they had launched its own internal probe into its historical options grants. SEC has launched probes on over 80 companies in the broader backdating scandal. In this light we would like to know your comments on how this probing activity by SEC could actually affect video game software companies like THQ and its customers.