PS4, Xbox One sales help EA, Take Two stocks hit 52-week highs

It’s a golden era for game publishers and their bottom lines, and it’s thanks to a monstrous start for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One generation.

Madden maker Electronic Arts’s stock price surpassed $50 today for the first time since 2008. Yesterday, Grand Theft Auto V publisher Take-Two’s stock price hit an all-time high of $29.92. Even Activision, which had a rocky 2014 thanks to one underperforming game, is already starting to bounce back. Earnings for these companies are on the rise, and 2015 has even more potential. The console gaming business is worth nearly $50 billion worldwide, and EA, Take-Two, and Activision are three of the top companies best positioned to capture that cash.