Kotaku: Harry Potter

Next Lego Game? Try Harry Potter

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:30:00 MST

Having heard from "sources", CVG are reporting that the next franchise to be given the Lego game treatment will be...well, whaddya know, Harry Potter.

And that's all they know. No further info given. Then again, being a Lego game, do you really need further info? They're all, largely, the same game. Running, jumping, shooting/punching, collecting Lego bits.

Just replace the IP, add a new theme song, then wonder aloud how long Traveller's Tales can get away with it before the buying public catches on.

To anyone and everyone hoping for Lego Blade Runner, Lego Kindergarten Cop or Lego The Italian Job, sorry. You'll have to maintain your silent vigils for a little while longer.

Lego Harry Potter in development? [CVG]

Delaying Harry Potter Has Cost Electronic Arts THIS Much

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:00:00 MDT

Just like the movie, the latest Harry Potter game has been pushed back. How many tears that'll cost the youth of the world, sadly, we'll never know. What we do know is how much the delay cost EA in missed revenue for the year. While it's ultimately pointless trivia - they'll just make the money next year instead - it's still interesting to see the kinds of bets the company put on their games prior to release. Seems EA were counting on the Half-Blood Prince to do around $120 million worth of business across the 117 platforms it'll be shipping on, a figure so great it represents around 2.5% of the entire company's revenue for the year. Those wizards. They big business.

Form 8-K for ELECTRONIC ARTS INC. [Yahoo, via Variety]

Something Wicked This Way Comes, A New Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince Trailer

Adam Barenblat — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:40:00 MDT

I am sure I will get a lot of flak for this, but I like the Harry Potter movies. It's my guilty pleasure. Hell, I even have a playlist in my iTunes called "guilty pleasures" filled with 80's hits and the Harry Potter soundtrack. With the film recently delayed to 2009, we don't know when the game will come out. However, in the meantime we have this trailer to keep you guys busy.

I Beat Harry Potter's Executive Producer In A Wand Duel

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:20:00 MDT

Okay, so I like Harry Potter. I checked out the Wii version of EA's upcoming Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, slated to drop alongside the film, mainly because I was interested in seeing what kind of magic wand a Wii remote made.

I had it demoed for me by executive producer Jonathan Bunney and producer Justin Manning, and it came down to a fight.

Actually, the first part of the demo let me try out the potion-mixing minigame; you've got a bubbling cauldron and a desk full of ingredients like little vials, bottles, leeches and caterpillars, and symbol-based instructions for each step of the potion-making scroll up in a little wheel to the screen's right. A potion-making sim was a first for me, and I exploded the thing a few times, but it was mostly pretty fun, especially when you can tilt the Wii remote to spill a beaker's contents into the cauldron and then make a stirring motion to whirl it up until the color changes. It's all timed and ranks your precision, which was pretty fun.

Then, Bunney and I went at it with a Wii remote wand duel. He was playing Draco Malfoy and I was Harry. We faced off at either end of a long room, and you hold up the Wii remote to charge your wand for a powerful attack (leaving you undefended), or simply shake the remote in your opponent's direction to fire off a series of quick bursts.

You use the Nunchuk to move side to side, and swinging both Wii remote and Nunchuk across your body causes you to produce a deflection shield that can send your opponent's projectiles right back at him. Shaking both produces a special attack that can knock your opponent down or stun him.

I refuse to believe that Mr. Bunney politely allowed me to win, and instead, I'll tell anyone who will listen that I beat the game's EP in a wand duel.

The Unlicensed Harry Potter Shoot 'Em Up

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:00:17 MDT

Pirates have brought gaming some good things. Make that, some interesting things. Take this unlicensed Famicom Harry Potter... shmup? Yep! Young Harry rides about on his broom, shooting floating dog heads and bats. According to game site Siliconera:

Harry Potter is playable and there are some decent enemy patterns to fly through. At the start of the game Harry is sluggish. Slower than the Vic Viper without any speed power ups slow... If you shoot an entire formation you might get a weapon power-up, a speed boost or an extra life represented a by flickering Harry Potter head.

Brilliant. Bosses include a dragon and a robot. A robot? Sure! Why not? Hit the jump for a screenshot.

Harry Potter Shooter [Siliconera]

Harry Potter OOTP Website Apparates

fdemarco — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:00:00 MDT

Unlike some of my journalistic brethren, I have no problem completely mortifying myself in the face of the internet as evidence by some of my past posts. So I will go on record as being a Harry Potter fan. I loved the books, generally enjoyed the films and am anxiously awaiting the final book in the series as well as the new movie.

Of course, a new movie means a new game, and EA has recently opened the doors on the website for the newest HP game, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. You can check out some trailers and download the requisite desktop wallpapers and chat icons with some other features coming soon. I'm really looking forward to this new HP game, especially the Wii version due to a control scheme where you get to wave your Wii remote around like a magic wand. Yeah, I like waving around a magic wand. Wanna make something of it? Flynn De Marco

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Game Website [EA]
[via Joystiq]

Clip: Harry Potter and The Xbox 360

Mike Fahey — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:20:56 MDT

The new Harry Potter game of the movie of the book is due out in a month, and another trailer has been released, this time for the 360 version of The Order of the Phoenix. Prepare to see the most awesome getting hit in the head with a bench scene ever in a videogame.

I seriously shot Vault out of my nose watching that. I'm amazed 'bench to the face' made it into the trailer. It is inordinately beautiful.

Pretty steamy scene between Cho Chang and Harry in there as well, though I'm sure it's nowhere as hot as in the fanfics. Engorgio! Michael Fahey

Clip: Harry Potter Game Trailer

Kim Phu — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:40:00 MDT

The kids are all grown up and but they're always up to same old shit, aren't they? This year's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix looks even darker than the last one (which is why I want to see it) both in the film as well as in the video game version. Of course, I couldn't post the game trailer up there and then miss out on the opportunity to also post a 'compare and contrast' with the actual movie trailer since it too was just released:

Both products will be released in the same week as each other in mid-July and so save up your pennies and your popsicles, because it's going to be a great summer. Kim Phu

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Trailer [Gamer Tag Radio]

Gallery: Harry Potter and The Large Order of Screenshots

Mike Fahey — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:13:38 MDT

With the latest installment in the saga of Harry Potter and the Awkwardly Aging Child Actors set to hit screens in July, EA has games coming out for every system you can imagine, and has screens for the DS, PSP, 360, and GBA to prove it. I'd say the DS version looks the most entertaining, while the 360 version is ahead in the making Ron Weasley look slightly less unappealing that Rupert Grint actually is category.

Just two more movies to go and Grint can go back into his formative cocoon, Watson can pose in lingerie for Maxim, and Radcliffe can open that horse farm he's always wanted. Michael Fahey

Harry Potter Creeping Us Out Next-Gen Style In '07

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 23:40:23 MST

This might surprise you about as much as the sun rising from the east tomorrow, but EA is bringing another licensed sequel to every single platform on earth, summer of 2007. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will mark Harry and pal's first next-gen outing.

Anyone with a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance or PC will be able to enjoy another rousing video game adaptation of the film adaptation of the book with varying degrees of quality. Exclusive to the PS3 and Xbox 360 version are perfect examples of the "uncanny valley". Watch for it! Michael McWhertor

Threadless: Half-Blood Prince of All Cosmos

brownlee — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 14:40:02 MDT

Here's another Threadless design you all should vote for: a strange Katamari Damacy meets Harry Potter mash-up, "The Half Blood Prince of All Cosmos". Here's hoping the Prince is planning on rolling them all into a pit filled with glass and honey. Florian Eckhardt

The Half-Blood Prince of All Cosmos [Threadless] (Thanks, Aaron!)