The Oslo headquaters of MMO developer Funcom found itself under siege this morning, as Norwegian economic crime unit Økokrim launched an investigation into suspected infringement of the provisions of the Securities Trading Act revolving the 2012 launch of The Secret World. Update — Funcom says game development and…

GameStop's stock price closed lower by $1.30—a five percent loss overall—after word this morning that Sony had applied for a patent on technology that could restrict how used games are played on its next console.

Done with that Zynga story? Thought that was all the economics you were getting today? Nope. While he's not recommending investor action, writer Paul Manwaring did some number crunching and conservatively valued Team Fortress 2's unique items economy at, oh, about $50 million.

Hey, did you hear the one about Zynga's IPO? Initial investors had to invite 10 friends or wait 10 minutes to buy additional shares.

As rumored two days ago, it is now confirmed that Zynga will hold an initial public offering of its stock on the NASDAQ tomorrow.

Those trying to deduce just how much they can pay for a piece of FarmVille giant Zynga will only have a little while longer to wait.

If you ever wanted to control where your tax dollars go, now's your chance. American Public Media, known mostly for their expansive public radio work, recently updated Budget Hero, a free web-based game where the player has the future of the nation's budget in their hands.

Zynga, the Facebook games company and creator of Farmville, is reportedly about to file for an initial public offering of stock. There is no better investment for cynics looking to bet on the exploitation of America's dumbest, most vulnerable consumers.

Goldman Sachs' analysts punked Microsoft's stock rating and archly suggested that the company spin off the Xbox 360 division, saying such a sale could unlock hidden value within the unit and free it from the company's more sluggish performance.

Majesco's share price has again wandered south of Wall Street's Mendoza line, prompting NASDAQ to tell the maker of Cooking Mama to get it back north of $1 or face delisting from the exchange.

I'm just a simple caveman lawyer, and your world of finance frightens and confuses me. However, it sounds like Viacom wants a refund on a substantial bonus it paid to Harmonix's founders.

Carl Icahn, whose 11 percent ownership of Take-Two Interactive was by itself enough to restart buyout chatter, has grabbed another one million shares of the publisher according to a securities filing last week.

The notorious investor Carl Icahn disclosed late this week he owns more than 11 percent of Take-Two's shares, a stake large enough to restart talk that the publisher faces a buyout.

Walmart's move to cut prices on the Wii and two dozen of the year's top releases was enough to dent GameStop's stock early Wednesday, dropping it nearly 9 percent - the biggest plunge of any stock in the S&P 500.

Dow Jones cornered Best Buy's CFO at an investor conference and asked if he'd comment on speculation the retailer might buy GameStop. Ryan Robinson declined to do so, but said some things that still keep the subject alive.

Atari found its new chief financial officer from TheLadders.com. Not that they went literally advertising on the service, which promises careers paying more than $100,000 annually. They got the guy who was its veep for finance.

The March NPD results indicated a year over year decline in game sales, and retailer GameStop felt it in their stock prices, despite a statement issued today reaffirming its 2009 financial guidance.

GameDaily BIZ cites an unnamed industry source that Brighter Minds Media, publisher of the acclaimed World of Goo, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Major League Gaming got another $7.5 million from one of its venture capital firms, which called the pro video gaming league "a cultural phenomenon."

In these difficult economic times we all need to take control of our finances. Trouble is, saving and budgeting is DULL DULL DULL. How best to motivate an easily-bored gamer?