Round-Up: ATI Shares Rise, Afro Samurai Announced, Gibson in Guitar Hero

Today's round-up sees ATI's stocks rise in spite of low sales, a new vehicle for Samuel L. Jackson to scream through, and perhaps the first-ever guitar manufacturer video game endorsement. - Graphics chip manufacturer ATI's share prices have increased slightly, paradoxically due to the company's forecast of low sales for the fiscal quarter. Following its investor warning that the company was reducing expectations by $100 million for its fourth-quarter forecast, its stock rose by 4 percent to $11.79 per share. The reason for the increased performance was an investor belief that the latest warning will signal the end of ATI's troubles, and that the lower stock prices mean the present moment is a good time to buy company stock. "ATI's survival is not in question, nor, at least to our minds, is its resurgence over the next twelve months in the graphics business," said Fraser Mackenzie analyst Jonathan Hykawy. "But there will be a rocky few months moving forward." - Namco has secured the rights to Afro Samurai, a manga property soon to be turned into an anime miniseries with the unusual distinction of carrying Samuel L. Jackson as co-producer and lead voice actor. Namco intends to produce two games based on the series; whether or not Jackson's voice talent contract would carry over to the interactive tie-ins is currently unknown. "We're all really excited about working together to break new ground - creatively and technologically. I can't wait to play it! We're psyched that it's going to arrive around the same time as our animated series, comics, and then there's the upcoming live-action movie," said Eric Calderon, vice president of animation studio GDH. Jackson will also co-produce and star in the live-action version of the property. - RedOctane has partnered with Gibson Guitar to use the company's classic guitar models in its upcoming Guitar Hero, the peripheral-based music game. The exclusive deal allows the in-game characters to use Gibsons as part of his or her band, which players control using a special guitar controller manufactured by RedOctane. "Gibson guitars are an essential American rock element revered by musical artists worldwide for their incredible style and amazing sound," said Kai Huang, CEO of RedOctane. "This is the first time a guitar manufacturer has been exclusively featured in a video game, and we're excited to be working with such an iconic company." Also updated today, product news including Quantum Dreams' support of Ageia's PhysX Processor, as well as the latest Gamasutra job postings from companies including Datascope Recruitment, Factor 5, Gameloft, Obsidian Entertainment, QA Labs Inc, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and the USC Center for Creative Technologies.