EA pushes back 'Harry Potter' game release

Electronic Arts is delaying the release of its Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game until next summer so that it will coincide with the release of the film, which has also been postponed.

Shares of the game maker dropped by about 1 percent to $45.94 in after-hours trading on Monday.

Last month, Warner Bros. said that the release date for the sixth film in the series would be put off from November to summer 2009 because of after-effects of the writer's strike. (It said that production of the next two films in the series would not be delayed, however.)

The Rock Band game publisher put a positive spin on the new date in a press release Monday, saying that it will be more immersive than ever, with new Wii gestures. But the delay may change EA's immediate financial picture. The company had said it expected to generate $120 million in revenue and 13 cents a share in profit from the video game in the quarter it was to be released, according to Reuters.

Fans of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling still have something to look forward to this year: the release of children's book The Tales of Beedle the Bard in December.

[thabassman]

cool

[Seanathome]

At least WB ruined EA's profits... ;)

[GabGoldenberg]

Yeah, maybe cuz the version of the game for Wii SUCKED. And the big names in game reviews gave it great ratings cuz EA had a big advertising push - independent reviewers were more honest. I only looked a second time for independents' reviews after finding the game boring garbage.