The share price of almost all game industry concerns eased lower Thursday, mirroring the Dow, which itself closed down. Only Ubisoft shares (traded on the Paris Stock Exchange) saw significant gains, climbing .61 euros (80 cents) to 33.10 euros ($43.26). But apparently, news that Electronic Arts (ERTS) is examining a Ubisoft buyout has been less lucrative for EA--its shares dropped $1.27 to close at $63.61.

　　Shares in Take-Two Interactive were down 89 cents today, finishing the day at $36.86. THQ Inc. (THQI) was also down, closing 59 cents lower at $27.14. Retailer Electronics Boutique (ELBO) saw its share prices fall 52 cents to $37.10 at the closing bell. Jamdat Mobile shares dropped by 52 cents to $19.43. Shares in Atari (ATAR), Activision (ATVI), Konami (KNM), and Midway (MWY), also dipped. Nintendo finished flat on the Japanese exchange.

　　A few game companies' shares ended higher, but just by pennies, including Eidos (EIDSY), GameStop Corp. (GME), and Vivendi Universal (V).

　　The Dow closed 80.62 points lower at 10,754.26, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 26.09 points to finish at 2,061.34 on Thursday. The S&P 500 Index was also down by 9.59 points to 1,200.75. According to Marketwatch, at least one strategist attributed the US declines to renewed concerns about the volatile political situation in the Middle East.