EA planning Harry Potter RPG?

[08.16.00] » Our Marauder's Map says "yes!"

   Don Mattrick, president of worldwide studios at Electronic Arts, recently spoke with Newsweek about EA's acquisition of the Harry Potter license. Of particular interest to GIA readers are Mattrick's comments regarding the possibility of a Harry Potter RPG. EA is very keen to develop a "persistent state world" set in the Harry Potter universe. Mattrick suggests that if "you’re interested in Hogwarts, and you want to go deeper into learning a certain set of spells than what’s outlined in the book, you could." Could this be a potential spell system? He goes on to add that J.K. Rowling will be directly involved with the game projects, implying a genre with a degree of depth and literacy that requires the author's assistance.

   Further suggesting the possibility of a Harry Potter massively multiplayer online RPG is Mattrick's perception of the player's role: "to make characters that grow and get to do some of the fabulous experiences that are already in the book, like Quidditch, like learning about magic, like solving the mysteries that exist in that universe."

   And if EA has their way, you'll be playing Harry Potter games on every console under the sun. The PC is a given, as are next-generation consoles like the PlayStation 2 (and perhaps the Xbox). EA is also investigating "browser-based [games] where you can download and develop a character," next-generation handhelds like the Game Boy Advance, and even PDAs with wireless Internet capability. Whatever the final destination of this "persistent state world," it's clear that EA has big plans for the Harry Potter franchise.