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EA's Harry Potter delay zaps $120M

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Sep 9, 2008 11:06 am PT

Following Half-Blood Prince's bump to summer 2009, publisher says it will have multimillion-dollar hole in its current fiscal year earnings expectations.

Yesterday, EA confirmed what many had suspected, saying that the game tie-in for Warner Bros.'s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would join its celluloid cousin in summer 2009. Previously, the sixth film based off of J.K. Rowlings' boy-wizard novels had been expected in November, firmly rooted in EA's third fiscal quarter.

As expected, Harry Potter's truancy won't be without consequence. The gamemaker reported today that it had expected Half-Blood Prince to contribute $120 million in revenue during the company's current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2009. While significant, the revenue is only a fraction of the $4.9 billion to $5.15 billion total earnings the publisher has forecast for its full fiscal year.

EA did not reveal whether the new summer release window would impact its earnings expectations for the game. However, once considered anathema for high-profile releases, the summer window was turned on its ear this year after a number of top-tier titles were abruptly transplanted out of the holiday 2007 lineup. Titles once a lock for last year's holiday quarter that went on to multimillion unit sales this year include Metal Gear Solid 4, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Developed at EA's Guildford, UK-based Bright Light Studio, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac, and mobile devices next year. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

72 Comments

  • Raice

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 9:08 pm PT

    So... err... why did they push the game back? It's not like they can spoil the movie.

  • Lisandro_v22

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 3:42 pm PT

    @ darkslider99: I don't think it's because it's unfinished these kind of movies are finished long before the release date, they are just pushing the date to summer because they'll get more profit

  • rachkovsky

    Posted Sep 19, 2008 5:33 am PT

    They will have troubl whith this stuff

  • rachkovsky

    Posted Sep 19, 2008 5:33 am PT

    They will have troubl whith this stuff

  • neonblueshadow

    Posted Sep 18, 2008 11:28 am PT

    whatever, if they get pissed enough, they can charge WB with the 120 million, although 120 million is chump change for the corporation.

  • nintendoboy16

    Posted Sep 17, 2008 8:01 pm PT

    I saw this coming. With the sixth film coming in summer 2009.

  • tawagivercetti

    Posted Sep 14, 2008 1:57 am PT

    poor poor EA, lol

  • Paulf001

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 8:06 pm PT

    EA must be pissed having to release this game in the Summer 2009. Since they won't get to cash in on the holiday shopping season. Parents that buy their kids these type of games won't do so as much in the summer so it won't sell as well.

  • azafirster

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 6:11 pm PT

    Harry potter went out.... good for you .... eat that ea... didn't expect that coming

  • TXMostWanted

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 3:35 pm PT

    Ha. Ha. That's all

  • JWRask

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 3:34 pm PT

    I understand that the game has weight in its name, but are people actually playing the Harry Potter games? Enough people to generate $120million?

    If only Psychonauts had sold as well...

  • lostboy85

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 1:35 pm PT

    Watch out EA people wearing Halloween capes will soon be after you. Personally its a 130m well lost, maybe it will show publishers to kill the movie tie-in game. (probably not, i can dream)

  • Sacred-Snow

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 11:49 am PT

    Good these games suck!

  • snake3rules

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 11:18 am PT

    you think this is bad, read the recent reviews of the movie just put online at aint it cool news -- it sounds like they completely RUINED the sixth movie, with the reviewers sounding almost dumbfounded at the film they just saw... they changed the whole ending, and for much worse, not to mention completely short shrifting the half-blood prince and his story.

  • Koal_Jadian

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 11:14 am PT

    Has anyone actually played any of these movie tie-in games? How does it possibly make $120 million?

  • -Beatz-

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 9:08 am PT

    The more time it takes, the better it's going to be. These guys have chance to make history on many Top 10 best movie-films lists.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 4:49 am PT

    Maybe EA can use this time productively to actually make a decent game. Come on you lazy yankees, release the best damned HP game you can now that you have the time to do so.

  • raverrozza

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 3:45 am PT

    Couldn't care less. In fact I hope the movie/game never come out.

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Sep 10, 2008 1:02 am PT

    just like tripwolf said, the movie is finished and may be shown this november. moving it to next summer is only about the film makers greed. i'm down about boycotting the film and i hope karma befalls WB and a bootleg copy comes out before theatre release. this kinda seem like square-enix screwing all ps fans and release 360-exclusive games ... result? piece of crap infinite undiscovery.

  • Dungeoncrawler1

    Posted Sep 9, 2008 11:35 pm PT

    I hear allot of the movie fans are VERY upset and are planning to retaliate. Floating around the websites of boycotting the release by buying a ticket to another movie and sneaking into the HP showing(s). Also heard that everyone will only see the pic once. Hell, he's doing full frontal nudity from what I hear anyways...funny if you ask me.

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