EA Holds Back Harry Potter For Film Launch In 2009 2

Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment say that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game will release day and date with the film in Summer 2009. While WBIE president Martin Tremblay enthuses on the game as an "excellent interactive extension of the film," the simultaneous release actually represents a significant delay for the game, previously slated for a November 2008 launch. EA's shares dipped about 3 percent in response to the news. Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz says the game's move is no surprise, though; Warner Brothers had itself delayed the film's launch until next summer, and Creutz expected the game would also be moved. The analyst lowered his expectations for EA's fiscal 09 revenue from $5.16 billion to $5.05 billion, in line with EA's own estimates on how the delay would impact its revenues. The title is developed by EA's Bright Light Studio, who also developed the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game, and will launch on Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Windows PC and Mac, and mobile devices. "We are creating an immersive game experience that Potter fans around the world will really enjoy playing as they fly and duel their way through the story of the film," said Robert Nashak, vice president of EA Casual Studios. "The game will feature new Wii gestures and increased gameplay capabilities across all of the platforms."