Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) published third-quarter results on Thursday after the bell. I can't say I was wholly taken with them. I know the best is probably yet to come once the Christmas shopping season really gets under way, but I was a little disappointed that the company saw a decline in adjusted profit.

Excluding items, Activision Blizzard made 4 cents per share this quarter versus the 7 cents per share made in last year's similar period. Well, did I say I was a little disappointed? Make that a lot disappointed. After all, this is supposed to be the publisher with the best pipeline on the block, the one with the Guitar Hero franchise and a great portfolio of licensed intellectual properties.

Viacom (NYSE: VIA), a content player in competition with News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Sony (NYSE: SNE), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, issued Q3 numbers today. If we had a different market on our hands, I think the stock would have reacted better to the news. Revenues were down 3%, but adjusted income rose 25% to 69 cents per share. According to Bloomberg, the bottom line came in well ahead of estimates, which were pegged at 57 cents per share.

Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, the company's A shares are down slightly as I write this by about 0.6%, and the B shares are just about flat. Like I say, if the broader indexes were in an uptrend this afternoon, we probably would have seen a pop in the stock.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) remains confident in its guidance for full-year earnings. According to StreetInsider.com, management is still looking for sales of $4.5 billion on the top line and adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share on the bottom line.

The publisher, which competes with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), should benefit from recent hardware price cuts made by Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). With more units in the field, there most likely will be higher demand for Activision Blizzard's awesome pipeline, which includes Call of Duty.

The news for video games isn't improving, I'm sorry to say. My colleague Mark Fightmaster recently discussed the disappointing industry sales results observed in the month of August. As he pointed out, total revenues for the sector have now dropped six times in a row.

Oh, that doesn't feel nice at all. I own shares of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), and I have to admit, the trend does send an icy chill down my spine. But I'll bet shareholders of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) feel even worse. August, of course, is a big month for them. The latest version of the Madden football franchise is released during the latter part of summer. Unfortunately, this year's game seems to have been a disappointment in terms of units sold.

I've been a faithful Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) shareholder for a while now. Sure, I've thought of booking my profits at times, but so far, I've held tight on my long-term position (note: I did do a quick trade with the stock earlier in the summer).

The Guitar Hero franchise is one of the reasons why I keep holding the stock. I figure a lot of units tied to the brand will be sold this holiday season. However, there is a looming threat. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) are set to release The Beatles: Rock Band. The street date is September 9, and analysts will be watching the early sales very carefully to see how the dynamic shapes up.

Monday, August 31, 2009, will go down as one strange trading day. Disney (NYSE: DIS) buys Marvel (NYSE: MVL). BloggingStocks reported the details of the deal here.

As a long-time shareholder of Disney, I have to ask: Does CEO Bob Iger know what the heck he's doing anymore? I thought the news was quite surreal. I suppose we all knew that Marvel would be a takeover target someday but, honestly, I thought some other media conglomerate, like maybe News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), would do a deal before the Mouse would.

So you've heard the news I'm sure. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is not standing still in the video-game wars. It recently reduced the price of the Xbox 360 Elite system by $100. We now have parity between an Xbox 360 unit and a Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 console.

It's going to be interesting to see how hardware sales perform in the coming months. Intuitively, one would have to expect a bump in the number of units sold for both companies. But which one will win out?

Oh, I am so depressed! I was thinking of buying Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) for an earnings trade, but unfortunately never got around to it. Those who did are pretty happy. The publisher released second-quarter results on Wednesday after the bell, and investors bid the stock over 10% higher today.

Adjusted revenues came in at a little over $800 million. Management's previous guidance called for $775 million to be booked. Adjusted earnings were 8 cents per share, 2 cents ahead of company expectations. According to Reuters, this was a penny better than what the actual analysts were forecasting.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a software publisher which competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and distributes games for consoles from Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY), is a stock I own in a long-term account. I've been thinking about selling at times, but for now, I'm holding on. The long-term prospects still look good for the most part.

But, I had been looking at various trading ideas and wanted to capture a shorter-term gain for a trading account. The market has been so tough this year. When the recent rally in the indexes started, I didn't want to become part of the group that was desperate to get in on the action, only to expose my portfolio to more risk than necessary. Believe me, when you're afraid of missing a rally, you just might end up with some bad timing.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) hasn't been doing as well as its colleague Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). Indeed, when it comes to the numbers, Activision, which is responsible for franchise hits Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, has its competitor beat.

But EA recently released an exercise system for the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii that was highlighted at CNBC.com. The piece mentions the enormous marketing presence that is supporting EA Sports Active. You get a couple accessories with the software: a leg strap that is used like a controller to interact with the screen, and a resistance band to increase the effectiveness of the workout. Oprah Winfrey's trainer apparently assisted EA with the design.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), a video-game publisher that competes with Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), reported some cool first-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 8 cents per share. According to analysts, Activision Blizzard was only supposed to do around 5 cents per share.

Not only was the bottom line solid, but revenues on an adjusted basis also came in ahead of expectations. And you can thank the usual suspects for powering up the quarter. You've got Call of Duty. You've got Guitar Hero. You've got World of Warcraft. These best-of-breed franchises are selling a lot of copies on Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3, Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, and Nintendo's (OTC: NTDOY) Wii.

You seriously have to be kidding me. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is interested in Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS)? I can't believe what I just read.

Well, to be accurate here, I'm not sure if this is a strong rumor or not. Then again, there has been a lot of speculation over the fate of EA since it has been doing so poorly and since its stock has seen a fall in value the last few years (it should be noted, though, that the stock has been strong the last several months).

But Barron's reports that Apple may want to buy the gaming publisher since it has a lot of cash to utilize for investing. Apparently, Guy Adami of the CNBC show Fast Money said there was some buzz equity surrounding this possibility (it was also mentioned that maybe Apple could purchase Twitter . . . but that's another story!).

Whilst perusing various sites this morning, I found a very interesting article about the upcoming incarnation of Electronic Arts Sports' (NASDAQ: ERTS) Madden NFL 10 --- which highlights Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald on the cover (glad they chose a Steeler for the Madden Curse).

There are some interesting developments in the game this year, especially the "fumble pile," which could make the game more fun to play - but will it help the stock? Make sure to browse the article for the five new developments (gang tackling and new formations!) in the latest incarnation of the video game franchise.

GameStop (NYSE: GME) is probably the best friend to gamers who fall somewhere in between the casual and hardcore demographic. That's because CEO Dan DeMatteo has been quoted in reports as being very desirous of a price cut for the Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3. If I read between the lines a bit, I get the feeling as if he almost wants to demand that Sony do something about its high-priced machine.

Thing is, though, he isn't in Sony's corporate shoes. Cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 is an event that I think is sure to come to pass in the next few months, but it's going to be very difficult on the company's bottom line.

Oops! At least that is what some red-faced executives may be saying at Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS). The video-gaming firm decided it would be a great idea to promote its Godfather II knock off of Grand Theft Auto by sending out items associated with the game and the rather famous movie. A cigar? Nice. A silk handkerchief? Nice. Matches? Good to light the cigar with. Brass knuckles? Nice, wait ... what?

Yeah, for some reason, ERTS thought it would be a great idea to send out brass knuckles to promote the video game. The problem? Brass knuckles are illegal in many states - carrying rather large fines with them.