Games Shares drop

The industry began to feel the pinch of the SEC investigation in the USA today as shares in several major publishers dropped; investors no doubt deterred by the industry-wide inquiry into accounting practices which is coursing jitters stateside.

Reuters are reporting that shares in THQ fell 7.2%, Activision 9.4% and Acclaim 4.4%. Shares in Midway and Atari also dropped by 4.1% and 5.1% respectively, despite no official word from either that the SEC had taken an interest in their finances.

GTA publishers Take Two, whose accounting practices are already under investigation, saw shares fall a further 4.6% as the enquiry bites. The inquiry is expected to lead to more conservative ways of accounting in the industry, analysts predict, such as writing-off software development costs in one-hit, rather than spreading the cost as is the current norm.

More on this as we get it.