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New Lego Harry Potter trailer has us rowling with laughter
TT Games has been at it for some time now with its Lego-themed games, taking on everything from Star Wars to Rock Band, each entry coupling the same goofy, self-referential comedy with a family friendly low barrier to entry. The new trailer for Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 takes these recurring tropes and adds them to the world of Hogwarts, Muggles, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sprinkling in iconic moments from the first four blockbuster books throughout. Without a release date for the game – and with the first half of the final Harry Potter film not hitting theaters until next November – we worry it might be awhile before we get our hands on this block-breaking version of Harry.
Blu-ray releases on December 8th 2009
It feels like just yesterday that Warner released the a Harry Potter movie as a way to decide which HD format it should abandon and now the whole world is Blu and this week Half-Blood Prince hits the shelves and it sure doesn't feel like two years later. In the TV show category, Disney has the 5th season of Lost and although that's one of our favorite shows, we're waiting on the complete collection. The real interesting one this week is Anchor Bay which really opened up the gates with 10 new Blu-ray titles in one week. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Ultimate Edition (Warner) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Ultimate Edition (Warner) Julie & Julia (Sony) Lost: The Complete Fifth Season (Walt Disney) Public Enemies (Universal) The Alphabet Killer (Anchor Bay) Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (Anchor Bay) Cyclops (Anchor Bay) Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (Anchor Bay) The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon (Anchor Bay) Lower Learning (Anchor Bay) Red Mist (Anchor Bay) Sands Of Oblivion (Anchor Bay) Walled In (Anchor Bay) While She Was Out (Anchor Bay) Knut & Friends (Image) UltraMarathon Man (ChannelSources) World's Greatest Dad (Magnolia)
Windows 7 breaks Amazon UK pre-order volume record, ousts Harry Potter
Take it from us, your London-based sleuths, when anything sells faster than Harry Potter books or DVDs in the UK, it's scorching hot. Case in point is Microsoft's Vista successor, which has sold so well that it has beaten the Amazon UK pre-order record previously held by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In fact, Windows 7 was able to tally up more sales in the first 8 hours of pre-order availability than Vista was able to collect altogether. Now that's what we call an upgrade.
Ubisoft sees Avatar as 'world-changing,' compares to Harry Potter
Having left EA and joined Ubisoft, Murray Pannell is finally getting out and about to promote Ubisoft's upcoming titles. One of its biggest is the tie-in to James Cameron's upcoming movie, Avatar. Pannell recently spoke about the IP to MCV, commenting, "Avatar looks set to be a world-changing kind of cinema given its pedigree and elements like the 3D." Pannell also compared work on the game to his time spent working on the first Harry Potter game for EA, which he described as "an incredible entertainment phenomenon." Obviously, Ubisoft hopes to attain the same success with Avatar as EA did with the Harry Potter games, which have become a staple for the games giant. If that's going to happen, we have one suggestion: don't give James Cameron any monologues.
The Daily Grind: What license would you like to see as an MMO?
The announcement of the Twilight MMO made many book fans rejoice while many others simply grumbled while they slapped their hands against their faces. While we all may not agree with it, it's coming our way whether we like it or not.Out of all of this commotion, however, an interesting breakfast question arises -- what license would you like to see turned into an MMO? What book, film, or TV series do you think could handle the transition from static property to virtual gaming landscape?Harry Potter was one of our guesses, as an MMO set in the first wizarding war would probably work out nicely without getting in the way of the story. But this isn't about us readers, it's about you. Comment away and let us know what you'd like to see hit the gaming store shelves as an MMO.
UK chart get: Tourists flock to Wii Sports Resort
Now that Nintendo has finally started chartering some flights to lovely Wuhu Island, folks have been eager to snap up Wii Sports Resort for their very own ticket. In the UK, Chart Track data shows the follow-up to 2006's console pack-in is quite the popular little piece of software, as the sequel earned the top spot on last week's All Formats chart. Strong start, but will it have the staying power of Wii Fit?Last week's winner, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has thus been bumped down to the second spot, with EA's other darling, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, snagging bronze.%Gallery-27709%
UK chart get: Harry Potter and the EA Games of Popularity
EA has dominated the UK charts once again, as the publisher saw three of its titles grace the top five spots in the All Formats category last week. Chart-Track data shows that the one-two punch of a new Harry Potter movie in cinemas and a new game on store shelves was too potent a potion for UK customers to ignore, with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince shooting to the top spot.Harry and his Gryffindor chums were joined by Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, which dropped from the second spot all the way to third, and Fight Night Round 4, a previous top spotter that has plummeted to fifth place. Rounding out the remainder of the top five were Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which rested comfortably in second, and Wii Fit, which has dropped down to fourth.
Harry Potter briefly resurrects UMD with new boxset
Warner Bros. didn't get the memo about UMD and death, apparently, as Siliconera reports the studio is set to offer the first five Harry Potter films in one UMD package. This five-disc UMD bundle is hopping a broomstick and heading to Europe only, and likely won't see a huge run, because, uh, common sense. If you're a collector or have a Region 2 PSP, have at it, but if you've got the standard Region 1 PSP, know that you wouldn't be able to watch these if you bought 'em.
Three new Harry Potter videos apparate onto the web
Don't worry, Hogwarts devotees, you won't need a Marauder's Map to find these new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince videos. First, direct your gaze to the launch trailer above. Once finished, point your wand to the break and two more videos will magically appear. Said videos are "making of" featurettes that discuss, unsurprisingly, the making of the game, including the new dueling, Quidditch and potion-making features. You'll also get to see Tom "Draco Malfoy" Felton working his best PR / Marketing schtick.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ships for every platform under the sun this week.
Lego Harry Potter magically appearing in 2010
Warner Bros. and Traveller's Tales have finally announced that Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is coming to all major platforms, including 9 3/4. (That's some tragic Hogwarts humor for y'all.) The game will release on "next generation console and handheld" consoles sometime next year.We'd go into more detail, but who hasn't played a Lego [fill in major franchise name here] yet? Seriously, we need a picture of a Lego cow's shriveled and dry teat.
Feigned shock: New Harry Potter game released alongside movie
It surely comes as a shock to us all that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince games will be available beginning June 30 for almost every gaming device in our sad muggle world! The game is releasing as an amuse-bouche (apéritif, for the drinkers) to the movie's staggered global release in July.The games will do what they can with the technology available to their respective systems. This includes wizard duels, taking potion classes, playing Quidditch, getting stud-muffin Ron some nookie and making Harry survive until the next movie tie-in game.
KingsIsle's Todd Coleman on Wizard101: Finding the middle ground
How do you go from the hardcore hacking and slashing impact-PvP of Shadowbane to a turn-based card combat MMO featuring cow samurais named Sam-moorai? How does one create an experience that is more grown up than Club Penguin but more kid-friendly than Barrens chat? What do you get when you take Harry Potter, Yu-Gi-Oh, and early Final Fantasy and then mix them in a blender?The MMO Gamer asks these questions and more in an interview with Wizard101 Director, J. Todd Coleman; the man who conceptualized the original idea for the game on a note pad. The interview sheds light on how Wizard101 came to be, the free-to-play model, and potential directions the game may take in the future (e.g., player housing).Todd also tells us that reports of the game surpassing 1,000,000 players are outdated and that KingsIsle will be making an announcement soon to highlight their exponential growth since releasing six months ago. He claims that Wizard101 wouldn't have had nearly this much success if it was a $50 retail purchase and $15 per month subscription. About subscription-based MMOs he says, "...you're fighting a war of attrition the entire time. FTP is not like that, at least it hasn't been for us."
The Daily Grind: Childhood memory MMOs
The sheer amount of "oh how COOL" and squeeing when we first heard about the LEGO MMO was pretty heavy around the virtual Massively offices. While it wasn't entirely universal, many of us fondly remember playing with Legos for hours in our youth. (Hell, some of us haven't stopped playing with them.) Then we heard that the people behind Pokemon won't consider doing an MMO, which made some of us sad - that was from our youth too. Since then we've dreamed up all manner of childhood MMOs behind the scenes; from ones based on Voltron and Gundam, to trying to recreate worlds from young-adult reading like Harry Potter. This morning we thought we'd toss this question out to you - what childhood memory would you like to see developed into an MMO? From young to old, there must have been something you thought was a fantastic toy to play with, or world to imagine - can you see it developed into an MMO? What childhood memory MMO would you make if you could?
Infringers of Dune: Dune role-players shut down by Herbert Estate. Spice keeps flowing
Among the various business, educational and social uses to which Second Life is put, Role-Playing gamers have quite a number of thriving communities. If you want to role-play in the world of Joss Whedon's Firefly, or Straczynski's Babylon 5, Lucas' Star Wars universe(s), Tolkien's Middle Earth, John Norman's Gor, Frank Herbert's Dune, Roddenberry's Star Trek, or the settings of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica, Harry Potter, Final Fantasy VII or CCP/White Wolf's World of Darkness, Second Life is home to all of these and more. Well, until this week anyway. According to Wagner James Au, Trident Media Group, a literary agent "designed for the twenty first century",which maintains the Herbert Estate sent cease-and-desist notices via Linden Lab requiring one non-profit role-playing community to remove Dune-related names and objects from the virtual environment within two days.
Warner Bros. plans to support CBHD, the format war is back on -- at least in China
It seems appropriate that after striking the fatal blow in the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray, Warner is the first to break rank and ally itself with the China Blue HD team. Ready to enter the ordinary Chinese consumer's family, according to Managing Director Tony Vaughan, the Harry Potter series, Speed Racer and others will launch for 50-70 yuan ($7.30 - $10.22) per disc. Excuse us while we pick our jaws up from the floor, but with at least one Hollywood studio in pocket and 1999 yuan ($292) players on the way the son of HD DVD looks remarkably closer to a real Blu-ray competitor (and less like the destined for the scrap heap reject we predicted) than ever. With DVD sales shrinking and Blu-ray not quite ready to pick up the slack, how long until another studio decides the Chinese market has enough potential to publish movies on CBHD? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Via Format War Central]
The Digital Continuum: Five criminally unused MMO settings
var digg_url = 'digg.com/pc_games/Five_Criminally_Unused_MMO_settings'; Conventionally, an overlooked setting or genre for MMOs is considered science fiction, but that's quickly becoming an invalid argument. Instead, a spotlight on some very specific IPs and settings left to collect dust was in order.The goal I set out with was to pick concepts that were both deserving but also not immediately obvious to every person. So I hope that after checking out what's after the break, you'll find at least one or two setting you may not have considered until today.
Harry Potter star overcame motor control impairment with video games
Throughout his life, actor Daniel Radcliffe has suffered from a "mild" form of dyspraxia, a developmental motor control impairment that affects not only physical coordination, but also learning. Radcliffe's dyspraxia is mostly limited to difficulty with small, precise tasks like writing or tying shoes. He didn't let his handicap stop him from looking enough like Harry Potter to start a successful acting career, and his success in dealing with the dyspraxia may be partially attributable to our old friend video games. "I played a lot of video games as a kid which really helped it," Radcliffe told The Daily Beast. "It basically surfaces as bad coordination." And now Radcliffe's likeness can be seen in Harry Potter games, aiding the coordination of a new generation of kids unlucky enough to be burdened with both dyspraxia and Harry Potter games. [Via GoNintendo]
Get mystical with this Wizard101 combat primer
Maybe the casual friendly, Harry Potter inspired Wizard101 has caught your eye sometime in the past, but you weren't really sure what the game entailed. Well, in that case MMORPG.com has a good combat primer that'll help you get your wands in order, as it were. While the game doesn't demand deep, tactical thinking it isn't exactly a hack 'n slash title either -- so a little bit of help isn't out of the question. Plus, it's got a free-or-pay pricing structure as well.If you're wondering whether or not Wizard101 is a game worth a little investigation, we'll be the first to answer that yes, very much so! We've got both some early hands-on time with the game, as well as an interview we did shortly before it launched last September. And if you're looking for something short and sweet to convince you to take a look: turn-based card battle MMORPG.
Rumor: No Lego Harry Potter in '09
A Eurogamer source claims that Traveller's Tales isn't making a Lego Harry Potter game this year. This follows rumors that a brickitized Potter title was in the works, courtesy of the folks behind Lego Star Wars and Lego Indy. Said rumor has been floating around ever since Warner Bros., which holds the wizard's movie rights, bought TT in 2007.The Eurogamer source also claims a new installment of Lego Indiana Jones is likely to arrive this year. At this point, we're willing to believe almost any franchise can be turned into a TT Lego game. Well, that Lego Rock Band rumor is still a bit weird.
Trophies: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
1 Platinum4 Gold7 Silver32 Bronze Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? No Time to Completion: 15 hoursDLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-27617%
