EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Announce Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Pri…

The EA Play Label of EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince^TM videogame will be available in stores across the globe this week. Available on multiple platforms, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince videogame allows players to experience all the magic, adventure and fun of the Warner Bros. Pictures' film based on J.K. Rowling's sixth book in the Harry Potter^TM series.

In the game of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players return to Hogwarts^TM - reproduced from movie blueprints in exacting detail - to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. Players will be able to master gesture-based spell-casting as they explore the Hogwarts school grounds, from the heights of the Astronomy Tower to Professor Slughorn's Potions classroom in the depths of the dungeons and iconic locations in between such as the Gryffindor^TM common room and the Great Hall.

For the first time players can move and cast spells simultaneously, creating intense and fast-paced wizard duels as the champions from each house line up to challenge the Boy Who Lived.  Players can also chase down the Golden Snitch^TM as they take to the air as the Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch^TM team. In addition to spell-casting and flying, players can put their potion-mixing skills to the test when they learn how to mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class. Players may even get sidetracked by Ron's romantic entanglements as they journey towards the dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince.

"We are very excited by the fact that fans will be able to use Nintendo's Wii Remote^TM controller as their wands," said Harvey Elliott, VP and GM Casual Studios, EA Play Label. "Casting charms and jinxes - Stupefy, Wingardium Leviosa, Accio and Petrificus Totalis among others - has never been easier or more realistic. This is definitely the most authentic translation from the movies and fiction that we have ever produced; the fans are going to love it!"

Developed by EA Bright Light, the team behind the worldwide success of the Harry Potter library of videogames, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince videogame shipped to retailers nationwide today for the Wii, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Nintendo DS^TM, Windows PC, Mac, and mobile devices. The Wii, PLAYSTATION 3 system, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PC, and Mac versions are rated 'E10+' and the handheld versions are rated 'E' for Everyone by the ESRB.

More information about the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince videogame is available at the official Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game site.