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Report: EA shuts down Bright Light after consultation process
EA's Bright Light Studio in the UK has been officially shuttered, Develop reports. In October Bright Light was in the midst of a formal consultation process, a period of time required by UK law before a company can shut down completely, dependent on how many employees it has. Bright Light, responsible for three of the most recent Harry Potter games, closed late in 2010, Develop says. EA said previously that it would consider Bright Light employees for positions at other EA Studios, and Develop reports some have indeed moved to EA's Criterion and Playfish, while others have joined nearby studios Jagex and Supermassive Games. We have contacted EA for confirmation on the closure.
Amazon offers its own PS3 holiday bundle
Whether you're looking to jump into the Sony waters or, like, the most generous gift-giver in existence, you may want to check out Amazon's hefty PS3 bundle. Along with a 160GB PS3 console and copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2 on Blu-ray (you know, Sony's latest console bundle), there's also a copy of Resistance 3 included, plus a media remote and a PS3 New Owner's Kit, which includes an additional controller, USB charge cable and a HDMI cable for the high-defs. All of this will set you (or somebody who likes you a whole lot) back a sum of $370. To get the bundle, you'll have to head on over to Amazon and manually add the additional items to the PS3 system bundle pictured above. A bundle within a bundle! What will they think of next?
Say 'Hallow' to the new Harry Potter PS3 bundle
The "wizards" of Harry Potter would rather speak to one another by turning themselves into fireplace embers than using a phone, and they invented newspapers with moving pictures in them instead of learning how a TV works. We're pretty sure that Voldemort would run shrieking from a PlayStation 3. But you know how to wield a PS3's magic, so you can take advantage of this powerful Muggle artifact. Starting this week, you'll be able to buy a special PS3 bundle containing a 160GB PS3, a Blu-Ray of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in both 2D and 3D, and download vouchers for the first two Harry Potter movies. You'll also get 30 days of PlayStation Plus, meaning that some of the items in the PlayStation Store will suddenly be cheaper for you, as if by magic.
EA Bright Light in process of closure
The body count for established British studios keeps rising, with EA Bright Light the latest in the crosshairs. EA confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that a "formal consultation process" has begun at the studio. That's a fancy term for the time required under UK law (dependent on number of employees) before the publisher can shut down the studio. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the latest project from the studio, a title we couldn't be bothered to review after the previous installment. Apparently we didn't miss anything. "Employees that are impacted will be considered for positions at other EA Studios including those in the UK," EA said in a statement. "The UK is a vital centre of game development for EA and we intend to maintain a strong presence here." You know, with the one studio EA officially has left on the island.
Zumba Fitness shakes it atop UK charts for six weeks straight
Zumba Fitness. Six weeks straight. #1. Not only that, but as Chart-Track points out, Zumba Fitness has spent 17 straight weeks atop the Wii Full Price Chart. It currently holds the bronze for unbroken weeks at the top, with Wii Fit so close at 19 weeks and Just Dance 2 not far off at 23 weeks. Ubisoft's Call of Juarez: The Cartel premiered in second, with Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 casting "stupefy" to climb four spots into third. The only real surprise in the top ten was Dungeon Siege 3's sixth place ascension from just outside the top ten, but that was thanks to a price promotion. Also, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon debuted at number 15. Check out the top of the UK charts after the break.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 preview: COGwarts
Last November, our review called the first Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows game a "failure on many, many levels." It ran down the various ways that the game didn't deliver: as a representation of the franchise, as a game, as a demonstration of Kinect and, finally, as an overall product. EA's proprietary engine, used to build DH Part 2, has been beefed up a bit, giving Harry and co. a bit more sheen than before, and the spell-switching has been streamlined to rely on face buttons to swap spells. Otherwise, it's still a pedestrian third-person shooter with a Harry Potter wrapper, with few meaningful ties to J.K. Rowling's series. (And the Kinect part is just gone).%Gallery-126846%
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 cuts Kinect, launches on July 12
When The Boy Who Lived makes his big return to Hogwarts for the finale of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he'll be doing it without the aid of motion peripherals on the Xbox 360. EA producer Gary Napper confirmed to Joystiq that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 won't have any Kinect functionality (unlike its predecessor), as the development team at EA Bright Light made a decision "early on to focus on the core of the experience, get as close to the atmosphere of the movie and make the flow of the combat feel right." The first Deathly Hallows game arrived last November to negative reviews. The sequel will touch down on July 12, just three days before the final movie launches in US theaters. Unfortunately, its short development time -- it's been approximately eight months since the first game launched -- raises questions about how much the sequel can really improve beyond Potter's previous outing. According to Napper, "We didn't want to dilute any of our efforts on other things that would require a lot of the team's time to perfect." We were told that EA Bright Light currently has two unannounced projects in development.
