Harry Potter
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Accio Harry Potter fans: Pottermore lives on in PlayStation Home
Pottermore, the official online, social universe for Harry Potter lore, is now a part of PlayStation Home. Pottermore in PS Home expands upon features in the browser version – including dueling, collecting trading cards and exploring Diagon Alley – and adds new activities, such as trivia, riding the Hogwarts Express, and a four-player mini-game called Book Herding.Pottermore in Home can link with online Pottermore accounts via the Navigator App, allowing players to trade cards. PS3 players already got a taste of Pottermore in Wonderbook: Book of Spells, which we found to be a moderately thrilling experience, even for someone who isn't techically a "young adult" anymore.
Wonderbook: Book of Spells review: Inter-house unity
I've been unwittingly preparing for this review for eight months, since I joined Pottermore on the day it launched for the public.Pottermore is an official, browser-based supplement to the Harry Potter series, inspired by social networks. Each member has a profile and travels through the Harry Potter books in a series of active illustrations, collecting trinkets, learning more about the characters and events, and earning points for whichever house they are sorted into. There is a set of spell-casting and potion-concocting minigames that eventually lead to the House Cup celebration, where the house with the most points wins. Pottermore now has more than 4 million members worldwide, and yes, even as a woman in my mid-20s I think this whole thing is perfectly normal and necessary.When I learned there was a new badge for finding Miranda Goshawk's Book of Spells in the Restricted Section on Pottermore, I was excited (again, totally normal). My heart pumped half a beat faster, my cheeks flushed and I smiled, for Merlin's sake. I was filled with joy at the prospect of uncovering secrets about a fictional book within the universe of an already fictional book, and I reveled in it. It wasn't until I discovered the tome, which played a quirky promo for Sony's Wonderbook: Book of Spells, that I finally understood how this related to my professional life.If I could be excited for Book of Spells within Pottermore, I should give the actual PlayStation Move game the same chance.%Gallery-172524%
Must See HDTV (September 3rd - 9th)
After college football got its season under way last week, now it's the professional's turn. But the NFL isn't all we have for you, while a light TV schedule is supplemented by a long list of high profile Blu-ray sets arriving this week. Of course, none of them are bigger than the 32-disc Harry Potter collection pictured above, check after the break for some video of what's inside. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Harry Potter Wizard's Collection Fans of the glasses-wearing kid wizard can invest in the massive Harry Potter Wizard's Collection Blu-ray boxed set this weekend, which arrives packing 31 discs in its collector's edition casing. 3D, never before seen bonus clips, and digital copies -- it's all in there, and all your for the low, low price of $350 or so. Whether or not you're willing to shell out that kind of cash for all eight movies, there's a video look at the set after the break as some of the series' stars take turns unboxing it. ($344.99 on Amazon, September 7th) NFL Our fantasy leagues are drafted, our pick 'em leagues are registered for (you're registered for ours, right?) and the beer is getting cold. It's finally time for the NFL to return to us, and it all starts Wednesday night with kickoff festivities leading up to an NFC East grudge match between the Giants and Cowboys. Of course, that's just a teaser for Sunday's action, and finally the first Monday Night Football of the year next week. It doesn't get better than this. (September 5th, NBC, 8:30PM) 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame For basketball, the Hall of Fame covers both pro and collegiate ranks, and for 2012 it's inducting a class with members like Reggie Miller, Don Nelson, Katrina McClain, Phil Knight, Ralph Sampson, Chet Walker and Jamaal Wilkes. NBA TV is also producing a documentary about Reggie Miller that will air Tuesday night before he joins his sister Cheryl in the hall. The presentation airs Friday night, hoops fans can use it as a crutch between the Olympics / summer league festivities and the regular season which is still several weeks away. (September 7th, NBA TV, 7:30PM)
Sony Reader PRS-T2 up for $130 pre-order at J&R
We first caught sight of Sony's latest reader when it mysteriously swung past the FCC, but now the PRS-T2 has arrived to spill the beans at Park Row's most famous resident. J&R's pre-order page reveals that the 6-inch touchscreen WiFi-only device is packing a 800 x 600 E-Ink display, a battery promising two months life and a built-in stylus. Software options include six dictionaries, Evernote Clearly, Facebook for Reader and a free copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The electronics superstore has the device listed as "coming soon," and when it arrives, will set you back $130 -- but, as its write-up notes, that's the price you pay to avoid being bothered with adverts.
PSA: Entire Harry Potter series now available on Amazon's Kindle Owners' Lending Library
Fancy dipping back into the world of Quidditch and Dumbledore? Or maybe you shunned the whole Pottermania thing until now. Either way, if you own a Kindle, you can finally get up to speed without paying a spellbinding price -- thanks to Amazon's Kindle Owners Lending Library. All seven eBook titles are up for grabs in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. To get them, there's no need to wave your magic wand, instead just make sure your Prime membership is all paid up, and you're good to go. Magic.
Harry Potter Wonderbook trailer brings childlike joy to your E3 week
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is contributing to Sony's Wonderbook franchise, an AR system that uses the PS Eye, an oversized book and, at times, Move. The trailer above introduces Book of Spells and the one below has an overview of Wonderbook itself.
Sony's Wonderbook is PS Move-augmented reading, launches with J.K. Rowling's 'Book of Spells'
If you were wondering what Sony planned next for the PS Move, the answer is apparently... books. Just displayed at its pre-E3 press conference, Wonderbooks will let users turn physical books into the best pop-up adventure of all time. As seen in the presentation, it could project images onto the book, letting users peer own dark tunnels, cast spells or even dodge a flying dragon that escaped from the pages. On the downside, the task looked a bit complicated for the target audience, requiring them to manipulate the book, look at their TV to see the effects and wave a wand with their other hand. There was a bit of a demo fail during the presentation, we'll see if things work more smoothly when we get some hands-on time tomorrow. The first PlayStation 3 Wonderbook title available is by none other than Harry Potter writer JK Rowling, who brings the Book of Spells for muggles to try their hands at Hogwart's best-known incantations. One other book was also mentioned, Diggs Nightcrawler. Check out our liveblog for all of the details. Update: Check after the break for two new trailers from the PlayStation.Blog, one for Wonderbook in general and another specifically for Book of Spells.
Sony's 'Wonderbook' makes reading more like TV with PlayStation Eye, includes J.K. Rowling's magic
The Wonderbook uses augmented reality to turn a physical book into a 3D pop-up book, Sony announced today at its E3 presser.Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling has contributed Book of Spells to Sony's Wonderbook endeavor, using the Move controller as a wand. Sony demoed Book of Spells, showing off a few spells and features such as earning house points and unlocking poems about unfortunate Hogwarts students. Wonderbook launches this holiday and is one of many books Sony has planned.Book of Spells will build off of Pottermore, the Harry Potter multimedia social and fan site.Another title for Wonderbook is Diggs Nightcrawler.
WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall
The last time Harry Potter used the magic of Kinect, the results were less than magical. Now, WB and developer Eurocom are bringing the world of Hogwarts to Kinect with a much more "traditional" Kinect experience; minigames. It's called, of course, Harry Potter for Kinect.The game follows the whole Harry Potter saga, with Harry, Ron, Hermione ... and you(r face scanned onto a player-created character!) You'll cast spells with gestures and voice commands, play Quidditch, choose a house, take part in duels, battle against Voldemort, and other Potterly activities.Harry Potter for Kinect will be in stores this fall, where it will sell many, many copies.%Gallery-156178%
Harry Potter e-book loaners coming to your Kindle, if you're Primed
Amazon will never run out of copies of Harry Potter e-books from its Lending Library. Thanks to a new agreement with Pottermore, on June 19th the entire seven-book collection will be among the 140,000 plus you can grab, provided, of course, that you're an Amazon Prime member. If you've forked over the $79 yearly membership fee, you'll have no due date or waiting, and all your highlights and bookmarks will be saved if you need to re-borrow. Unlike your local library, you can only take out one at a time, but at least you won't have to line up behind all the Muggles to get it.
Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 conjures up iOS port
Just in time for Hogwarts summer break, Warner Bros. has released Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 on the iTunes App store. The new universal app for iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch will set eager Expelliarmus users back $4.99.In addition to the base game, the iOS port features a Dueling Club expansion where players can take on famous Harry Potter characters like Professor Snape, Lord Voldemort and more.%Gallery-154590%
PSA: Pottermore is no longer colloportus, open to muggles and magicians alike
It's been a waitus longissimus, but finally Pottermore has raised the portcullis to the rest of us muggles. You can sign up right now, after which you'll be allocated to your respective Hogwarts house, but it might take a few more days before you're fully initiated into the hallowed halls proper. Just don't tell Voldemort.[Thanks Daniel]
Daily Update for March 27, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Harry Potter books now available for iPad, other eReaders
It's been a long time coming, but the Harry Potter books are finally available from the Pottermore store in eBook form. This means you can finally put Potter on your iPad! There are also audiobooks available, but the CD's were out long ago and these are just digital downloads. Still, it's very nice to have these in a digital format at last.
Harry Potter e-books now available to muggles
The Hunger Games may have had a heck of an opening weekend, but let's not forget who the top box office spot belongs to: a certain bespectacled boy wizard. Roughly a decade and half after the publication of the first book in the series -- and after several months of promises -- the ultra-popular series has finally made its way onto e-readers like the Kindle and Nook. A couple of days after announcing the rather pricey Wizard's Collection, J.K. Rowling's books have hit the Pottermore site, priced at $8 to $10. The books are currently available in English, with French, German, Italian and Spanish versions coming soon. "Enhanced" versions are on their way as well. Check our some relevant press info after the break.
Harry Potter Wizard's Collection brings home all eight movies on a ridiculous 31 discs (video)
Now that all of the Harry Potter movies have been released, Warner Bros. has seen fit to slide them together in one truly epic set. Harry Potter Wizard's Collection spans 31 discs including the theatrical version of each movie, extended cuts of the first two flicks, 3D versions of the last two, Ultraviolet digital copies and several bonus discs with ten hours of new to disc bonus content and 5 hours of never before seen extras. Of course, we should also mention the incredibly detailed box it all comes in, seen in the CG video above. Of course, you can't always have everything, and some fans are upset about what this collection doesn't include -- extended versions of the last six movies. Those still interested can preorder the $499 MSRP set (currently selling for $349 on Amazon) for delivery September 7th, and get an early preview of one of the special features embedded after the break.
Pottermore departing beta from platform nine (and three quarters) in April
The digital exploits of Little Whinging's most famous lightning-scarred resident is belatedly exiting beta next month. The six-month delay was prompted because the server platform couldn't handle the load of the million pottermaniacs who had early access. This led to the team behind the site summoning up a whole new backbone without the aid of accio. As well as the audio and e-book versions of the seven novels, the site's general opening will herald a fiery goblet of exclusive content, features and sounds. It'll be open to everyone, unless of course, you've tasted the blood of a unicorn -- then the only thing you can look forward to is being condemned to a half-life, a cursed life.
The Game Archaeologist moves into Lucasfilm's Habitat: Part 2
Last week on the exciting cosmic adventures of the Game Archaeologist, we uncovered the ancient civilization of Lucasfilm's Habitat, one of the early predecessors to graphical MMOs. While we talked about how it came to be and pondered just how much money we'd waste if game companies were still charging by the minute, we didn't have the time or space to cover the community and events that formed around this experimental project. That day has come. Prepare your bladder for imminent release! Giving a bunch of players tools to do every which thing in the game and turning them loose without strict regulation might seem like a recipe for an instant sewage pit of a game today, but our cultured, classy behaviors weren't quite trained into us in 1986. When players first set eyes on Habitat, they weren't thinking of min-maxing, kill-stealing, or raid progression; they were trying to make sense of a virtual world using the only frame of reference they had to date: their own lives. Out of a melting pot of ideas and objects came fascinating stories from one of the earliest MMO proto-ancestors of the modern era. Get your '80s on as we head back... to the future!
The Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part one)
As I've well established both here on Massively and elsewhere, I'm somewhat of a nut for video game music. Whereas others might collect vintage hair metal tracks or the latest Justin Bieber opus, I'm always digging through obscure (and not-so-obscure) official soundtracks to games like Wipeout and Kirby. Video game scores can be right up there with the best that the film industry puts out, and the fact that they tie into personal experiences that we've played through can lend them sentimental weight. So for the next two Perfect Tens, I scoured all the MMO theme songs that I could get ahold of in an attempt to formulate a list of the very best. It was originally slated to be just one list, but after an hour or so of listening to tracks and having friends and fellow staffers weigh in on the subject, I knew it was impossible to keep it there. Two important things to note for this list. First, I wanted to keep to just the title/login screen tracks so that I wouldn't be working on this for the next 2.5 years. Second, unlike most past Perfect Tens where there's no significance to the order of the list, in this case we're going to have a genuine countdown to the best MMO theme song of all time. And I expect to take no flak about it, do you hear me? Good. Let's begin.
Digital downloads bring UltraViolet one step closer to being useful
The dream of being able to buy a movie once and watch it anywhere promised by UltraViolet still seems impossible, but adding digital downloads to Flixster does bring it one step closer. Of course being able to download and watch a handful of movies on a single movie application is far from anyone's dream, but we supposed you have to start somewhere. If you had your hopes a simpler solution, though, you might also keep dreaming as the video after the break seems to show just how complicated one can make watching a movie. We suppose we'd be more excited if we'd just purchased Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and learned that we could now also watch it on our tablet or smartphone -- now even if we aren't connected to the internet -- but perhaps like you, the final Potter installment isn't exactly on the top of our must have movie list.
