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Rumours

Harry Potter games were almost Nintendo exclusives in the ’90s

Nintendo reportedly tried to buy the rights to the mega-popular Harry Potter franchise back in the 1990s.

According to Unseen64, the publisher pitched an idea to J.K. Rowling in 1998 that covered games based on the books, as well as future properties such as TV and movies.

Planned titles included one in the Nintendo 64, another on Game Boy Advance and, even later, titles on GameCube that would coincide with future books.

One of the titles was said to be an action-adventure game, while the other based on the wizarding sport of quidditch.

Before ultimately passing on the idea, Rowling was adamant Nintendo’s pitched titles needed to retain their British setting. That said, Nintendo was toying with properties that took a manga approach.

In the end, Rowling went with Warner Bros. in 1999 to produce Harry Potter films, and EA to make Harry Potter tie-in games.


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Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.