Back in the late 90s, 1998 to be exact, Nintendo of America developed a pitch to claim the exclusive rights to adapt the "Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling into video games, which had recently become a worldwide phenomenon with the release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." The gaming historians at Unseen 64 have cobbled together what evidence remains of the budding alliance that could have had a massive effect on pop culture as we know it.
According to a former artist who was employed by Nintendo Software Technology during that time period, reports of the "Harry Potter" license's impending sale pressed studio executives to halt work on three titles ("Ridge Racer 64," "Bionic Commando" and "Crystalis") in order to focus on honing the "Potter" pitch.
The studio was split into two teams. The primary team focused on a pitch for a third-person adventure game. At the same time, a smaller group worked on a game based on the fast action wizard's sport of Quidditch. Nintendo Software Technology hoped to develop adaptations for Nintendo 64, Gameboy Advance, GameCube and future platforms, corresponding with the release of each book in the series.
Rowling obviously looked over Nintendo's pitch, but Unseen 64's source reports that there was a disagreement in regard to art style. Initially, the plan had been to use a Western cartoon style inspired by Thomas Taylor's cover art for the first edition of the book. After some time, studio management instead switched to a more Japanese, manga-infused style, which caused some issues within the team.
Nintendo's proposal was unable to live up to the greater resources behind offers from companies like Universal and Disney. Nintendo could only offer its expertise in gaming, while larger media companies could offer film and television as well. Rowling ultimately sold the rights to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million. Warner Bros. then hired Electronic Arts to create the video game adaptations of the series, starting with the multiplatform release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 2001.
Check out the video below for more information on this most intriguing "coulda been":
