Kidzworld's Official Blog

When Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight knocked Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince out of it’s November 2008 release slot, it was a devastating blow. But I must admit, the film was worth the wait. Harry Potter 6 was unlike all the other movies…in a very good way. It didn’t feel rushed, squeeze, condensed or compounded. It was pure perfection. The teenage-turned-20-something cast has evolved, especially the terrific trio. And best of all, love is in the air.

DS version

So, the latest Harry Potter movie is out today. As is customary, it was accompanied with a video game adaptation for every platform. Games based off of movies or other sources are known as “Licensed Game” and, with the exception of Goldeneye on the N64, they tend to be terrible.

This is true for the DS version of the game that I reviewed recently, but it is not that much of a surprise. One must think about the buying audience and, for this particular licensed game, the only people who would be buying it would be hardcore HP fans. As such, I don’t think they would be too disappointed with the product that they got. It could be much worse.

Licensed games make money for a few reasons: 1. They are a guarantee sell to kids and families who are fans and 2. They are relatively cheap and easy to make. If developers put the time and effort that they do for mega-blockbuster games like The Legend of Zelda, the game might not sell enough copies for them to turn a profit.

Truthfully, though most reviewer complain about it, we know that there really is no way out of it. This way, everyone ends up happy since the developers and license holders get money, fans get a game they can play and forget and core gamers don’t have a reason to touch subject matters that they normally wouldn’t care about. As long as the game is not totally unplayable, I’m happy. Heck, even the UP game was pretty fun for the first half hour.