The latest video games boom is beginning to go bust if the experience of Mediagenic Inc, the former Activision, is any guide: the Menlo Park, California company is forecasting a loss for its fiscal year of $19m on sales of $65m, the loss being down to discontinuing unprofitable product lines in a stagnant US market for games software, and strong competition; on top of that the company must pay $6.4m in damages, interest and lawyers’ fees as a result of a 1986 patent infringement suit brought by Magnavox Co, all of which has persuaded the company to call in PaineWebber Inc to advise it on ways of finding additional finance, or possibly selling off all or a part of the business.
