It's hard to get the news headlines to be informative when the game titles are so long. EA Play and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that an exclusive Kinect experience will be available in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. It's coming out this fall on 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC and mobile devices, but added features will make the Kinect experience unique. Players will be able to cast magic and defeat enemies (even in co-op) with physical gestures.
Expect more details on the game as we approach the release date. Also, expect more "exclusive Kinect experience" press releases as studios start to take advantage of that hardware.
EA WIELDS ITS MAGIC ADDING KINECT MODE TO ITS UPCOMING HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 1 VIDEOGAME
COLOGNE, Germany – August 17, 2010 – The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™- Part 1 videogame will have an exclusive KinectTM for Xbox 360® experience with unique challenges that puts more power into players’ hands.
With all of the action taking place outside of Hogwarts for the first time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 sees Harry on the run with a horde of merciless enemies on his tail. Players will find themselves in unknown territory, far from the safety of the school grounds, fighting for survival at every turn. The new game engine, built specifically to leverage the technology of HD consoles, ensures high definition graphics and intense action gameplay on all platforms while the Kinect experience on Xbox 360 offers exclusive challenges, for either single player or two player co-op, playing as Harry, Ron or Hermione.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is non-stop action with Harry defending himself against a host of menacing enemies,” said Jonathan Bunney, Vice President and Head of Production at EA Bright Light Studios. “Our Kinect challenges allow players to literally cast magic from the palm of their hand, completely controller free, to enhance and deepen the overall play experience; and, even better, we have enabled a special co-op mode with Kinect allowing two people to fight Death Eaters side-by-side for the first time in any Harry Potter game.”
The Kinect experience in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 gives players the ability to get closer to the action than ever before, using physical gestures to cast magic through the screen and defeat their deadly opponents. In co-op mode, the fluid targeting system and leaderboard scoring add a competitive edge to the excitement.
Under development by EA Bright Light Studio, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 will be available this autumn on Kinect for Xbox 360™, PlayStation®3, Wii™, Nintendo DS™, PC, and mobile devices.
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About the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 film
Part 1 begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality and destruction—the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart.
Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort’s Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter. The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort…alive.
Harry’s only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale—the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks.
Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became “the Boy Who Lived.” No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.
HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR.
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HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Software © 2010 Electronic Arts Inc.
Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. “PlayStation” and “PSP” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo.
About Kinect for Xbox 360
Offering so much more than just games, Kinect for Xbox 360 takes your entertainment to the next level. Beginning this holiday, the Kinect Hub puts your favorite movies, TV programs, music and live sports all in one place — completely controller-free. Jump right into a movie in instant-on HD in 1080p or your favorite college bowl game by simply saying “Xbox, play,” or browse your entire song library with a wave of a hand. Kinect also creates new ways for friends and family to have fun together. With Video Kinect2, share a smile with distant friends and family as you open a window into living rooms around the world. Providing entertainment for everyone, with the power of Kinect, the Xbox LIVE experience is more intuitive, social and interactive than ever before.
