SC - Harry Potter News

[Michael F. Gunter]

Video Quiddich, anyone?

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Electronic Arts Bringing Own Magic to Harry Potter
August 10, 2000 8:55 am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - UK-based computer games firm Electronic Arts said
Thursday
it had won the worldwide rights to develop games based on the wildly
popular
"Harry Potter" series of children's books.
The company, based in Chertsey and listed on Nasdaq, said it had also
secured
the rights to develop and publish Harry Potter games for the Internet.
The
terms of the deal with Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc, were not
disclosed.
"We are extremely excited to become part of the Harry Potter phenomenon
by
bringing our own brand of interactive magic to this fantastic series,"
Don
Mattrick, president of Electronic Art's studios said in a statement.
The "Harry Potter" series, penned by Scottish author J.K. Rowling, has
become
a worldwide publishing phenomenon.
The first three Harry Potter books sold 30 million copies and the fourth

in
Rowling's tales of wizardry, "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire"',
which
was released only last month, has also generated a frenzy of interest.
The latest book has become the biggest seller in the history of online
book
sales, according to online retailer Amazon.co.uk and a blockbuster Harry

Potter movie is also being planned by Warner Bros. Pictures.
British actors Richard Harris and Alan Rickman are in talks to star in
the
film, while the search for a young Harry Potter continues, the Hollywood

Reporter said Wednesday.
EA will publish games on each of the books, the upcoming feature film
and
any
subsequent Harry Potter movies.
Electronic Arts said it would work closely with Rowling, and the makers
of
the film, to ensure the "interactive entertainment experience" remained
true
to the book.
The company's shares closed Wednesday at $85-1/4.