Take-Two Interactive (NSDQ: TTWO), which is under heavy pressure to turn-around its flagging performance, is cutting 15 percent of its corporate staff. (A spokesman wouldn’t say how many jobs were cut but said no positions were eliminated at Take-Two’s studios). The company described the job cuts as part of a…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q0109	Net Inc. vs Q0109
Take-Two Interactive	Release		9%	38%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Former MySpace (NYSE: NWS) CEO Chris DeWolfe—who left MySpace last April—is back in the social media space via the acquisition of social games portal MindJolt. DeWolfe is partnering with fellow MySpace co-founders Colin Digiaro and Aber Whitcomb, along with VC firm Austin Ventures, to buy the company. He’ll also join…

Playdom, which said it would use some of its recent $43 million funding round for acquisitions, is following through on that pledge. The social gaming company is buying up Offbeat Creations, the developer of several Facebook titles, including dice game Super Farkle, which has more than one million users. Super…

THQ (NSDQ: THQI) has confirmed that its mobile game studio in Finland has entered into liquidation, putting an end to a decision made a year ago to make the Universomo office the hub of its smartphone game development. In January 2009, THQ conducted a significant restructuring that included focusing on…

Sony (NYSE: SNE) is buying up the developer of LittleBigPlanet, a top seller on its PlayStation3 and PSP. Sony says in a blog post that the deal to acquire parent Media Molecule will “enhance (its) talent pool, protect past and current investment and ensure a solid base for future investment.”…

Video games are shining brighter as the jewel in Vivendi’s crown. The French conglomerate is expecting Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard to contribute a boat-load more to this year’s group profit, when two key titles trickle farther down. Its 2009 earnings, out today, show… —Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shifted…

Random House has set up a small unit to create books tied to new and existing video game titles in an attempt to compensate for the weakness in other parts of the book business, the WSJ reports. The publisher is already shopping around two original storylines, though the company is…

Social network hi5—which is increasingly emphasizing social gaming on its site (and now refers to itself as “the largest social entertainment site focused on gaming”)—has bought up social game firm Big Six. hi5 says the deal brings “significant new technology and software platforms in the areas of payment processing, fraud…

Already an investor in TT Games, Snowblind Studios and Midway Games assets, Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) Home Entertainment is buying further in to the video games market by acquiring a majority of London-based Rocksteady Studios, the developer that made the Batman: Arkham Asylum game starring WB’s superhero. Group president Kevin…

When you look at the booming popularity of online games - from World Of Warcraft to FarmVille - it’s hard not to say “let’s have a bit of that”. That’s what CEO David Levin’s B2B publisher United Business Media (LSE: UBM) (UBM) is saying - it’s buying Game Advertising Online…

Ty Ahmad-Taylor is the founder and CEO of FanFeedr, a real-time personalized sports feed. Previously, he was SVP of Strategy and Product Development at Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and, before that, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA). He tweets at @tyahma If you are a consumer-facing startup pitching to VCs, the conversation is very…

Viacom (NYSE: VIA), which has seen sales of its Rock Band franchise slow amid the gaming slump, is asking for a refund on its 2007 earnout payment to the Harmonix founders, according to a company 10-K filed earlier today. In October 2006, Harmonix, developer of the Rock Band franchise, was…

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) seems intent on making a big entry into the social games space. The company announced a week ago that it would bring titles from social game giant Zynga to its online properties, including MSN and Windows Live Messenger, and now Bloomberg reports that Microsoft is in talks…

Break Media, which recently opened up a social gaming studio, has made its first acquisition in the space: It has acquired FileFront, one of the older online gaming news/download sites. The financial details were not disclosed, but Break CEO Keith Richman told me it is in the “seven figures”. FileFront…

Zynga, the current social gaming behemoth, is using some of its money to do acquisitions: it has bought Serious Business, creators of social games on Facebook.  SB, based in San Francisco, and backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners ($4 million in funding), was founded in early 2008 by two former Powerset…

Viacom’s profits rose significantly in Q4, as the company posted modest revenue and advertising declines, beating analysts’ expectations. Global ad revenues fell 3 percent, while U.S. ad dollars slipped 4 percent, held down by slight weakness in the Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment segments. The Media Networks’ operating income grew…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Viacom	Release		3%	301%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

So Gamefly finally does file for an IPO, after flirting for years with a possible sale: The Los Angeles-based videogame rental-by-mail subscription service has filed its S-1, and intends to raise a smallish up-to-$50 million through it. It plans to list on Nasdaq under the symbol “GFLY”, and underwritten by…

Bob Iger wasn’t on stage for the iPad launch last month, but the Disney CEO just gave a demo spiel Steve Jobs, the company’s largest shareholder, would applaud about a “really compelling” device that could be a game changer. Volunteering and replying to analyst questions about how Disney plans to…

		EPS*	Rev. vs QQ408	Net Inc. vs QQ408
Disney	Release		Flat	Flat

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS)—which continues to try to move its business “beyond the console”—is bringing Madden NFL to Facebook. It isn’t exactly clear what EA has in mind for the Facebook version of its blockbuster video game; EA Sports President Peter Moore tells Bloomberg vaguely that it will be a…