Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) is scheduled to report its financial results for the third quarter ended July 31, 2009 on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 after the market close. Analysts currently expect the company to report net loss of 68 cents a share on revenue of $125.28 million. In the year ago period, the company reported net income of 67 cents per share on revenue of $433.8 million.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™ and Nintendo DS™. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K, which publishes its titles under 2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play.

The company posted second quarter net loss of $10.1 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with earnings of $98.2 million, or $1.29 per share, for the same period the previous year. Excluding charges related to stock-option expenses and some one-time items, the company said it would have lost $2.9 million, or 4 cents a share, in the recent quarter. Revenue plunged 57% to $229.7 million. Analysts on average expected the company to report a loss of 13 cents a share on revenue of $218.3 million.

Last month, the company slashed its forecast for the fiscal third and fourth quarter and said that it was delaying the release of its most highly anticipated game title into the next fiscal year. The company expects to report fiscal third quarter revenue in the range of $120 million and $130 million, with a non-GAAP loss of 65 cents to 75 cents a share. For the fourth quarter ending Oct. 31, the company expects revenue of $350 million to $400 million with earnings of 30 cents to 40 cents per share.  Take-Two now plans to release "BioShock 2" in the first half of calendar 2010, though no specific date was given. The game is the first sequel to the popular game "BioShock," which came out in late 2007.  The company said it was pushing back "BioShock 2" in order "to provide additional development time" for the title.

The company relies heavily on the Grand Theft Auto series to turn in a profit. The game series has gone on to sell more than 80 million units over its life to date, making it one of the top-selling games in history. The franchise represented more than 46% of the company's total net revenue in its most recent fiscal year. The latest in the series- "Grand Theft Auto IV", a huge commercial and critical success, was released in April of 2008. The company has announced October 29 release for the new Grand Theft Auto IV video game expansion pack, “GTAIV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

The video game industry has been adversely affected by the sharp slump in consumer spending amid a severe recession. According to data from the NPD Group, sales of video game software in the U.S. fell 26% in July compared to the same month last year. Analysts on average were expecting a drop of around 20%. Take-Two Interactive did not have any titles in the top-10 list for July. Video game software makers are now hoping that recent price cuts by gaming hardware makers Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will boost game sales ahead of the crucial holiday season.

Shares of the company are currently trading at roughly 16 times 2010 EPS estimates. In terms of stock performance, Take Two shares are up 33.5% since the beginning of the year. On Thursday, shares climbed 2 cents or 0.19% to $10.62 in afternoon trade.

Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks discussed here.