Boy wizard getting an Xbox 360 motion-controlled adventure from WBIE; players to scan in their faces for created characters.
The Harry Potter novels and films may be done with, but there's at least one more game on the way featuring the coming-of-age mage. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced Harry Potter for Kinect, an Xbox 360 game set for release in the fall.
As the name states, Harry Potter for Kinect will rely on the Xbox 360's motion-sensing camera peripheral, letting players cast spells using gestures and magic words. Would-be wizards will also be able to use the camera to scan in their faces for use on created characters.
The game will follow the story of the films, letting players re-create key scenes in control of Harry, Hermione, and Ron, or their created characters. Before the final showdown with Voldemort, players can choose a house to join at Hogwarts, partake in quidditch matches, and take a break with a few minigames. Harry Potter for Kinect will also feature competitive and cooperative multiplayer action.
Although Electronic Arts held the primary license to make games based on the Harry Potter movies, WBIE previously produced a pair of Lego Harry Potter games recapping the complete story.
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Great. And with Kinect implementing the 'seated recognition' into the mechanics (not requiring players to stand while playing)....Wizard Wannabes can sit on their fat asses and flick their spells with simple gestures....be more Harry Plopper than Potter.
Oooo another on-rails game.
Gaming revolution!! Ha. Hilarious. I do like the idea of scanning hilarious faces in though. Like my dog's rear end.
The only new Harry Potter game that needs to be made is Quidditch World Cup 2. And no, not for the Kinect.
2 Like Well this is another reason to throw a Kinect into a volcano, if you unfortunately, are in possession of one
@NoLifeGamin Maybe you should build one and charge people to use it? I'm sure they'd happily pay money to get space back in front of their TV.. and to make the kids stop being crazy with all that jumping around nonsense.
1 Like Somehow everything made for the kinect, short of those dancing /workout games, seems terribly forced. A lightsaber is an object a Jedi would hold, a wand is an object a wizard would hold, and here they are grinning as they boast their games don't even use controllers.
I've become wary of games whose budget outweighs the common sense used to make it.
1 Like Remember how well this worked with the last HP games? I didn't play them, but I heard it was a huge success. And by success I mean failure. Please stop.
My son and I are already laughing about taking shots of uhmmm strange crap and putting it in the game as our face. LOL
Uh huh, is this like that movie tie in where they made a big deal out of the Kinect controls only for it to turn out to be garbage, with at least one reviewer labelling the Kinect features "embarassingly pointless"?
Here's hoping Hermione has worked out how to take less than 5 minutes to cast alohomora in this one...
2 Like Will it have Kinect voice controls, too? So I can look like even more of an idiot shouting "Avada Kedava" (or however the hell it's spelled) at my friends and family?
Pfft...after showing them this, I might not have any friends or family...
2 Like It would be fun if it's done right, but developers haven't been taking Kinect projects seriously. Kinect Star Wars could have turned out great, but they screwed it up hard thinking that simply because it's a Star Wars game with motion controls it'll sell.
Didn't they try to make Harry Potter and Kinect work last year with the movie tie-in? Didn't it suck? Yeah, thought so.
EA never put a lot of effort into the Potter license, so there is hope that WBIE might succeed where they failed. They did give the project to a company with motion control experience.
As long as it doesn't have Voldemort in a Dance Central knock-off, it might be worth it for the younger set.
oh great so we can have another game people buy just for the name *starwars kinect
because we all know that works so well :roll:
Kinect Star Wars was far from the worst SW cash-in.
Dancing Han is still > The Phantom Menace + Attack of the Killer Klones
@deathstream i know but i was referring to the name of it making people buy it even though kinect is trash
1 Like Hope they do a better job than last time with Kinect. In all honesty Harry Potter is one of the best places to look for for ideas to make a game. They need to do what they did with Batman and instead of making a strait up tie in make something based on the universe. Their is a lot of shit that went on outside of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter Universe, and the game doesn't have to just be about the kids. The fight between Dumbledor and Grindelwad was said to be the most legendary duel of all time... shit I want to fight in that! Well, that's just my 2 cents.
This has the possibility of being an amazing game, as long as they don't screw it up like Star Wars. And putting your face on The Chosen One is a little awkward.
7 Like I misread the headline as "Harry Potter for Kinect conjured up for fail," and I get the impression that's still accurate.
Harry Potter for Kinect is coming in Autumn 2012.
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
United States Vice President Joe Biden believes there is no legal restriction on ability to tax violent media. Full Story
Avalanche Studios co-founder says developer's ambition is for action, not moments that make players cry; steampunk-style game on hold. Full Story
Developer confirms image suggesting version of upcoming shared-world shooter in development for Sony's latest portable is a fake. Full Story
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher says its network of 26 studios and over 7,000 developers will allow company to ship major franchises more regularly. Full Story
4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov thanks Jason Rubin for telling the studio's story, but says, "We deserve the ratings we get." Full Story
DICE head would also like to poach top talent from rivals Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Full Story
Future EA games won't require Online Passes; the service is being scrapped after tepid player response. Full Story
Call of Duty: Ghosts teaser video revealed
Official Twitter channel for upcoming first-person shooter hyping May 21 reveal with new teaser video.
