Take-Two cuts outlook on BioShock 2 delay

SAN FRANCISCO — Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. plunged 13 percent in after-hours trading after the video game maker cut its financial outlook, citing lackluster orders from retailers and the delay of a popular new title.

For the quarter ending July 31, the company now expects to report an adjusted loss of 65 cents to 75 cents per share on revenue of $120 million to $130 million. That’s down from a prior forecast for a smaller loss of 55 cents to 65 cents per share on sales of $145 million to $165 million.

The new forecast is well below expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who had projected a loss of 54 cents per share on sales of $162.2 million, on average.

Take-Two said delaying the release of BioShock 2 until next year hurt the company’s projections, as has lower-than-expected new-release orders from retailers. The company said the retail environment is “proving even more challenging” than initially projected.

For fiscal 2009, the company now predicts a loss of 80 cents to 95 cents per share on revenue of $960 million to $1 billion. The company previously expected to break even or post a profit of up to 20 cents per share, on revenue of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion.

Analysts had projected profit of 7 cents per share on sales of $1.12 billion, on average.

Shares tumbled $1.15, or 12.8 percent, to $7.83 in aftermarket electronic trading, having closed earlier up 14 cents at $8.98.