'Harry Potter' video game gets bumper sales despite backlash

Paris: The "Harry Potter" universe welcomes its latest edition on Friday, the "Hogwarts Legacy" video game, which provides a big test of the resilience of a franchise hit by criticism from some activists over the views of author JK Rowling.

The video game´s release has prompted some to call for a boycott but thanks to pre-orders it is already sitting at the top of sales charts.

"It´s not that this particular title has reprehensible things in it," said Will Overgard, a Seattle-based gamer and streamer who called on his followers not to buy the game.

"It´s that supporting this title says ´A-okay´ to some very, very, very questionable personal stances from (JK Rowling)."

Some specialist news sites, like TheGamer in Canada, are refusing to cover the release, though they have stopped short of calling for a boycott.

All that has done little to dampen enthusiasm among gamers for Hogwarts Legacy, which has been garnering rave reviews.

- ´Dream come true´ -

"It´s the game that everyone has been waiting for," said Quentin Seigneur, a 31-year-old French entrepreneur who has been a fan of the franchise since the first book was released in French in 1998.

He described the forthcoming game as a mix of Harry Potter´s universe and the "open worlds" of the "Grand Theft Auto" video game franchise.

"We´ll finally be the wizard we´ve all dreamt of being," he said.

Video games related to the franchise have not traditionally been huge hits -- the last attempt, 2019´s "Wizard´s Unite", failed to find an audience and the publisher halted sales last year.

Players of "Hogwarts Legacy" get to spend time as students at the famous wizarding school, with courses in magic and multiple quests to complete.

"The books and films always invited us to imagine the ways our story might be different if we were in Harry´s shoes," Alan Tew, director of the game, produced by Avalanche studio and US giant Warner Bros, told AFP.

"And we knew it would be a dream come true if fans could be put in the same situation."

Warner Bros did not respond to request for comment on the controversy surrounding Rowling. (AFP)