N.Y. game maker Take-Two Interactive said it expected to report better-than-expected sales “in excess of $200 million and fully diluted earnings per share of at least 70?” for its first quarter ending Jan. 31 on “strong sellthrough” of its PlayStation 2 (PS2) versions of games Grand Theft Auto 3 and Max Payne. Company also said quarter’s results would be helped by its shifting of revenue and income from 4th quarter.

Enroute spokeswoman told us company was “still looking at” GameCube, Xbox and PC as possible future platforms for its immersive video technology. But she said “nothing official has been announced” yet. Palo Alto company said Mon. it had entered into agreement to license its FirstPerson technology to Calabasas Hills, Cal., game maker THQ (CED Dec 18 p7). THQ is using Enroute’s technology in upcoming Britney Spears PS2 game for 2002. Enroute spokeswoman said title of game, price and ship date were unavailable.

Last financial report before Christmas afforded CE’s top 2 retail chains with opportunity Tues. to accentuate positive in 3rd quarter results. Best Buy and Circuit City each credited strong demand since Nov. for digital products in posting profitable results compared with year earlier. However, same- store sales were lackluster at both chains and were boosted in some measure by favorable calendar that added crucial post- Thanksgiving selling days to end of Nov. reporting period.

Alcatel and Thomson transmitted MPEG-2 compressed video via DSL phoneline transmission in Paris demonstration Tues. Companies said transmission of high-density content through line with 1 MB bandwidth was made possible by their joint venture NextStream encoding. System delivers audio, video and data to decoder in Thomson set-top box. Plans or timetable for commercialization weren’t disclosed.

Encore Software is changing its name to Encore Jan. 1, company announced, and will unveil new Web site in March. New focus for maker of games and other software will include expanded international distribution and “more top brands than ever before” as it continues to boost its presence in videogame arena, company said.

Lack of broadband standards and such things as “plug-and- play” equipment is delaying move toward broadband, according to surveys unveiled Mon. at digital rights management (DRM) conference sponsored by U.S. Commerce Dept. But speakers repeatedly emphasized they didn’t want govt. intervention in DRM. While Bush Administration isn’t yet “frustrated to the point of legislation” about lag in broadband deployment, it’s looking at ways to “generate some heat and maybe a little light” on issue, Commerce Undersecy. Phillip Bond said. Challenge is that despite its availability to 85% of U.S. homes, only about 10% have signed up, Asst. Secy. Bruce Mehlman said.

Immersive video technology developer Enroute said Mon. it signed agreement to license its FirstPerson technology to Calabasas Hills, Cal., game maker THQ. Separately, THQ said it raised additional $16 million in public offering.

Online videogaming will soar in popularity over next 5 years, but online PC titles will continue to account for majority of subscription revenue on Internet until at least 2006, Jupiter Media Metrix said in report Connected Consoles: Preparing for the Next Cycle. Jupiter said it projected subscription revenues from online PC games would total $1.5 billion by 2006, but connected console gaming subscription revenue would hit only $250 million.

Microdisplay makers are shifting focus to single-panel designs in effort to hit $3,000 price and loosen CRTs’ hold on rear-projection TV market. While many early entrants in microdisplay derby, including Thomson with Three-Five Systems and Samsung with Displaytech, opted for 3-panel products, less expensive route is placing red, green and blue colors on single panel, industry experts said. In moving to single-panel layout, microdisplay companies also are targeting sizes in 30-40” range where they presumably would face less competition from CRT-based sets.

Bargain hunting on Internet can save online shoppers 37% to 48%, economic experiment by George Mason U. and U. of Ark. finds. Report said savings were dependent on retailers’ being able to track shoppers online. Professors used 64 undergraduate students to compete as sellers of fictitious goods while computer functioned as 19,200 potential buyers in market. Sellers were given chance to post single price as would traditional retailer in mall or could offer different prices to each customer based on how often they comparison-shopped. Experiment showed that buyers who comparison-shopped online could receive prices lower than a traditional store, and those who didn’t received higher prices online.