Nintendo tried to secure the rights to Harry Potter in the late ’90s
In a new report, Unseen64 claims that Nintendo Software Technology created a pitch in 1998 to obtain exclusive access to the Harry Potter franchise. Had Nintendo been successful, it would have “secured the rights to produce all adaptations of the book series for the indefinite future in video game form; potentially preventing the eventual movie adaptations from being created altogether”.
Unseen64 says – via a former artist at NST – that two groups planned separate pitches. One group would focus on a third-person adventure title, while the other (including Marvel comic book artist Adi Granov) would concentrate its efforts on a game based on Quidditch.
Nintendo had hoped to create the gaming adaptations internally. New games would be released on the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, and future Nintendo hardware to coincide with the launches of new books.
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling ultimately declined Nintendo’s bid, as there was greater interest in proposals from the likes of Disney and Universal. This was partially because Nintendo could only be involved with the gaming-side of things, whereas other companies had reach in TV and film in addition to gaming.
