| LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Quidditch, the fictional game played in the "Harry Potter" books, will soon come to life in a World Cup contest, but don't rush to Britain expecting to see actual people flying on broomsticks or chasing snitches.
Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. on Thursday said it will sponsor an international tournament of its game "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup."
The "Potter" franchise, one of EA's most important, has generated sales of 20 million units from two games. The recent "Harry Potter" movies rank among the top-grossing films of all time, and the books are international best-sellers.
EA said it will conduct its sweepstakes, with eight U.S. winners to be flown to an undetermined location in mid-November to compete in a Quidditch tournament using the version of the game for the Nintendo GameCube.
The winner will travel on to Great Britain for an international final on Dec. 21, competing against top players from Europe, Asia and Australia.
The U.S. sweepstakes is open until Oct. 15 for children aged eight to 14. The game will be released on Oct. 31 for all major platforms. | |
