Street does double-take over Take-Two stock

The sharks of the financial district were out in droves today, circling the depressed stock of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive, Inc. (NASDQ: TTWO). The company's stock closed at $19.30, up $1.31--7.28 percent--over yesterday's close of $17.64, a two-year low for the once sought-after stock. Volume today was more than double the three-month average of 1.5 million shares, with 4.07 million shares changing hands. In after hours, the stock was giving back pennies, trading at $19.27 at press time.

Today's stock spike might have been a simple case of investors snatching up a bargain, given Take-Two's future earning potential. There is much interest in Take-Two's strong launch lineup for the Xbox 360. According to a recent Reuters report, the company will have six games available when the console goes on sale on November 22, including NBA 2K6, NHL 2K6, Top Spin 2, Amped 3, and the anticipated role-playing game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Another factor was likely anticipation of the retail success of The Warriors, released this week for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The title got a publicity boost over the weekend, courtesy of a New York Times interview with Sam Houser (subscription required), creative director of Take-Two subdivision Rockstar Games, which publishes The Warriors and the controversy-wracked Grand Theft Auto series.

There are also high hopes for Civilization IV, the latest entry into the very popular historical sim-strategy series for the PC, which went gold this week. Previous installments in the series, which had been published by Atari, have sold millions of copies. The game is due out October 25.

Check back later today for GameSpot's full review of The Warriors, or consult our previous coverage of the game in the meantime.