Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) was down in the after-hours session by over 9% on the heels of the gaming publisher's Q3 report. Non-GAAP sales were off by over 20%. Adjusted income came in at 33 cents per share. This was two cents higher than expectations according to my earnings preview, but a lot less than the 56 cents per share earned in the comparable frame.

The press release mentions the lower quantity of titles released during the holiday season as being a driver of the decline in revenue (a tough European market was also cited). That may be, but it doesn't absolve EA of its fundamental challenges.

We all knew News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar would cede the top spot to some film someday. To be honest, I didn't think Sony's (SNE) Dear John would be the one to do it.

According to Box Office Mojo, John grossed roughly $32 million at domestic theaters. That was more than enough to put the sci-fi flick in second place. However, no one should feel sad for News Corp.; Avatar's worldwide haul now stands at over $2.2 billion.

Electronic Arts (ERTS), a software maker whose colleagues include Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Microsoft (MSFT), Nintendo (NTDOY) and Sony (SNE), will be reporting third-quarter numbers on Monday, Feb. 8, after the market closes up shop. This is going to be an interesting one.

I doubt there are many market watchers out there who aren't aware of the problems in the video game industry; 2009 was not the best of years for the sector, and investors are hoping that 2010 will execute a rebound. However, EA has specific fundamental problems. The declines seen in its share price cannot be solely sourced to the macro conditions of the current console cycle.

Nintendo (NTDOY), the power behind the Wii console and the DS handheld, and a feared competitor in the corporate eyes of both Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT), released earnings to the market this week. According to Bloomberg, the gaming giant experienced a better than 20% contraction in operating profit in the last quarter.

However, net profit rose over 80% because of currency issues. This was pretty cool, since the effect of the yen had been a previous concern. Also cool was the fact that Nintendo came in ahead of estimates.

Well, Eastman Kodak (EK) is having one picture-perfect trading session. At the time of this writing, shares of the photography concern, whose colleagues include Canon (CAJ) and Sony (SNE), were up over 16% on high volume. Yes, it's Kodak I'm talking about, the low-priced equity that many have written off as an investment idea. The reason for all the buying action? Fourth-quarter numbers. Were they that good?

Sales increased 6%. On a GAAP basis, Kodak made $1.36 per share from continuing operations. This compares to a loss of $3.40 per share booked in the year-ago period. According to Reuters, the non-GAAP number was $1.08 per share, beating the estimate of 18 cents by what is obviously a very wide margin.

About an hour ago, Apple (AAPL) finally unveiled its much anticipated and rumored tablet computer -- the iPad. For the past couple of years, many wondered why Apple never got into the netbook market. Steve Jobs, Apple's founder, CEO and visionary explained that netbooks simply are not better than laptops. The iPad, however, according to Jobs is.

Specs, from Engadget: The Apple iPad weighs just 1.5 pounds, and has a 9.7-inch touchscreen LCD display. It's running Apple's own 1GHz "A4" chip, with a 10-hour battery life and a month of standby. It'll come in three sizes and prices points: 16GB -- sold for $499, 32GB -- sold for $599, and 64GB -- $699.

Here's an interesting article over at ICv2.com. As you may have heard, the Spider-Man franchise is about to undergo a mutation. Sony (SNE) apparently had creative differences with director Sam Raimi over the script for the fourth iteration in the series featuring Tobey Maguire as the titular character. This unfortunately led to a parting of the ways, and the need for a reboot, as they say in Hollywood.

There's an interesting business aspect to the deal that makes it imperative for Sony to come out with a new Spider-Man on a pretty regular basis. The rights will revert back to Marvel if Sony does nothing with them. Guess it's a use-it-or-lose-it deal.

IMAX Corporation (IMAX) is doing pretty darn good in today's session. At the time of this writing, shares were up over 8% to $14.43, good for a new 52-week high. Headlines on Tuesday proclaimed the intention of Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA), Sony Corporation (SNE), and IMAX to join forces for purposes of launching a 3-D television asset. I'm sure that must have intrigued not a few in the market.

In addition to that, though, I think there is a general bullish feeling forming on IMAX. I was surprised to read over at Benzinga.com that CNBC's Fast Money analyst Guy Adami highlighted the company as a potential pick for the entire decade! Now that's bullish.

Time Warner (TWX), whose colleagues include The Walt Disney Company (DIS), General Electric Corporation's (GE) Universal, and Sony Corporation (SNE), did an incredible job at the box office in 2009. It could even end up being the top studio, although there is currently some ambiguity on that count. This article over at Variety says that News Corp. (NWS) might come out ahead once all is said and done.

Nevertheless, according to Moviefone, Time Warner's movie operations captured an estimated $3.99 billion at multiplexes around the globe. Yes, it's an impressive feat, and it was done with the help of a major franchise. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed well over $900 million on a worldwide basis. Even more amazing was the performance of surprise comedy hit The Hangover. And to think, that one had an R rating, something that tends to limit the potential for big success.

It was the weekend that everyone was waiting for. The debut of James Cameron's Avatar was an event approaching mythic dimension: Don't tell me you didn't know it was coming, because I wouldn't believe you for a nanosecond. The hype was out there, and it became a self-replicating, viral zeitgeist able to cross multiple mediums with ease. Its marketing message dominated the collective cinematic discussion, and even though it didn't possess the brand access of Time Warner's (TWX) The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Which is why I found the domestic opening of the project quite puzzling. I thought Avatar, distributed by News Corp. (NWS), was worth a heck of a lot more than $77 million, which is what the film grossed, according to Box Office Mojo.

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), a video game publisher whose competitors include Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (ERTS), actually held up well Thursday after the company issued its Q4 report. I was honestly expecting a sell-off after the news. Why? The video game industry just isn't popular these days, so I figured the market would have found some excuse to send the shares packing. To my surprise, Take-Two gained over 1.8% in the regular session and then another 3% in the after-hours following the release.

Revenues increased 6%, but the action was in the per-share profit line. On an adjusted basis, Take-Two brought home 9 cents per share versus 2 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2008. But I don't think the market cared too much about the data. After all, guidance for Q4 had already been announced near the beginning of the month. At that time, the stock was punished for the bad outlook and the upcoming GAAP loss. And I mean really punished. It lost 30% of its value at one point.

It wouldn't reveal the number, but Amazon (AMZN) did announce that it realized record sales for its Kindle e-reader this month. And, there's still the rest of the month to go, including the run-up to Christmas. Just as the battle for e-reader market share began to flare up, it already seems to be over.

This year, Sony (SNE) released a new e-reader, and Barnes & Noble (BKS) entered the market with its Nook device. Both posted early successes, which quickly became problems. The two companies sold out of inventory and won't be able to ship new orders until the new year.

Want that brand-new Stephen King or Anita Shreve novel beamed to your Amazon (AMZN) Kindle? Well, you may be waiting a few months. In a preemptive strike against e-reader technology, publishers Simon & Schuster - part of CBS Corp. (CBS) and Hachette plan to delay the electronic-book editions of about 35 popular titles by four months. The supposed strategy is that desperate readers will pay the full retail price for these volumes, rather than the discounted $9.95 for the electronic version.

E-readers are a hot gift item this holiday season, and products like the Kindle and the soon-to-be-released Nook from Barnes & Noble (BKS) don't seem to be a flash in the pan. E-book retail sales are expected to hit $201 million in 2010, up from $150 million this year. While this is still a fraction of actual, tangible book sales, the growth rate cannot be ignored.

Five of the largest companies in the print business are testing the digital waters together. Rather than yield their content to alien formats, Time Inc. (TWX), News Corp. (NWS), Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith Corp. have announced plans to develop a digital content format of their own. This new product would compete with the newly released Nook from Barnes & Noble (BKS), as well as one from Sony (SNE) and the industry-leading Kindle from Amazon (AMZN). The new e-reader content will come in color and in a format that would work across several devices.

The five media companies are equal partners in this joint venture, which will allow publishers to set their own prices for their content -- an obvious response to what they see as unfavorable revenue share deals offered by Amazon earlier this year. Rupert Murdoch has been particularly vocal on this issue, particularly about the fact that News Corp. only receives a little more than a third of the $14.99 a month it costs to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal on a Kindle. He says of the device that it's "a fantastic invention for reading books. It is not much of an experience for newspapers."

Black Friday's online sales were up 35% year over year, and early reports for Cyber Monday put the gain at 19.6%. Amazon (AMZN), as an online pure-play, has felt a lift from both these factors, but its execution in the e-reader category can't be ignored. While Sony (SNE) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) have already sold out of their respective devices, effectively taking them out of the game until early next year, Amazon's Kindle continues to fly off the shelves.

So, what's the prize for effective forecasting and a supply chain that can delivery on it? A new record!

Amazon had its best Kindle month yet in 2009, though it wouldn't reveal how many of the devices it has moved or the revenue it's pulled in from these sales. All it would say is that some buyers were buying more than one Kindle at a time, and businesses and organizations were picking them up in volume for employees or clients.