Richard Garriott Files Lawsuit Against NCsoft

If you’d been reading the news and the official messages coming out of NCsoft and Richard Garriott’s camps at the end of his employment there, then you would believed that when Richard Garriott left the company the parting was sweet, sweet sorrow with hugs and kisses all around. But just under the surface there were a number of problems if you believe Richard Garriott’s recollection - now part of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. That recollection of the events leading up to and shortly after he left the company to “peruse other interest” are now in the public record courtesy of a lawsuit filed by the creator of ultima, Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa that alleges fraud and misrepresentation on the part of NCsoft.

The lawsuit alleges that NCsoft deliberately represented that Richard Garriott had left the company, when he had in fact be fired. This is the crux of his lawsuit because if he were to leave of his own free will it would give him a 90 day window to sell the NCsoft holdings he obtained when the company bought his game studio in . If he had been “let go” officially Garriott would have had a ten year window in which to sell those shares. Instead he was forced to sell his holdings in what he alleges was the worst time in history to sell.” The result was a tax liability incurred and a reduced return for his shares. Garriott is seeking some $27, 000,000 in damages from NCsoft. Garriott’s lawsuit alleges that NCsoft engaged in a breach of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.

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Eidos Ripe for Warner Takeover?

It’s no secret these days that video game publisher Eidos is struggling. We’ve already reported on potential buyout talks more than once. Recently, we even reported that Warner Bros. had taken the opportunity to bulk up on its stake in the troubled publisher, increasing its Eidos holdings to a total of about 20 percent. Now, it’s beginning to look more and more like Warner could be positioning itself to take a more active role in the day to day operations at Eidos.

The first sign pointing to a potential Warner takeover of Eidos is actually built on a foundation made of LEGO. Back in 2007, Warner first set things in motion to acquire Traveller’s Tales, the developer behind the hit LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Batman games. Earlier this week, while addressing investors at a conference in Arizona, Warner’s Chief Financial Officer John Martin called the acquisition “wildly successful”.

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Wall Street Chaos

It was a tumultuous day on Wall Street today as a federal bailout plan voted down by Congress (by a margin of 228-205) caused a broad sell off on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ. The Dow plummeted 778 points by the closing bell (the largest one-day decline since the 90’s), while the NASDAQ fell nearly 200 points on the news. Nearly 90 democrats and 130 Republican members in Congress put the bill down for a dirt nap, causing the usual partisan bickering and finger pointing. The American public, which largely did not want the bill, sat on the sidelines as our government proved how ineffective they could be. Good job!

Game related stocks and technology stocks were not immune to the chaos on Wall Street: technology stocks took a savage beating with Apple leading the way in a downturn for the sector. Microsoft was down $2.39, Apple lost 22.98, Intel lost $1.93, and Dell was down by $1.59. Game publishers were not immune to the volatility either: Majesco lost 0.08, EA dipped 3.63, Logitech fell 2.06, Take-Two lost .73, and THQ shaved off .87.

Source: Yahoo

Take Two Stocks Decline on Sour EA Deal

A volatile stock market driven by woes of Lehman Brothers and other major financial institutions may be driving a massive sell-off this morning, but Take Two’s problems today are a direct result of a a long standing offer being taken off the table. On Sunday Electronic Arts announced that it was pulling $2 billion offer to buy out Take-Two. Today that news is taking effect, with Take Two shares losing $5.91 in early morning trading. That is a 26 percent decline in only a few hours and it is fueled by investors doing exactly what EA has done: moving on. The stock as of this writing is at $15.98.

That price is well below $17.36 - what the stock was being traded at in February prior to EA’s offer to buy the company.

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