Harry Potter video game gets bumper sales despite LGBTQ backlash

Since she publicly objected in 2020 to the trans-inclusive phrase “people who menstruate” being used in place of the word “women,” the Scottish author has faced threats and controversy.

Because she emphasized biological sex over gender concepts, she was accused of transphobia by many. She denies the allegations.

Some people have called for a boycott of the video game since it was released, but pre-orders have already helped propel it to the top of the sales charts.

Will Overgard, a Seattle-based gamer and streamer who urged his followers not to purchase the game, stated, “It’s not that this particular title has reprehensible things in it.”

“It’s that this title supports some very, very, very questionable personal stances from (JK Rowling).”

Even though they haven’t called for a boycott, specialized news sites like TheGamer in Canada are refusing to cover the release.

Despite everything, gamers’ enthusiasm for Hogwarts Legacy, which has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, has not diminished.

“It’s the game that everyone has been waiting for,” Quentin Seigneur, a French entrepreneur who is 31 years old and has been a fan of the franchise ever since the first book was published in French in 1998, called “Dream come true.”

He said that the upcoming game would combine the world of Harry Potter with the “open worlds” of the “Grand Theft Auto” video game series.

He declared, “We’ll finally be the wizard we’ve all dreamed of being.”

The series’ video games haven’t always been big hits. The most recent one, 2019’s “Wizard’s Unite,” didn’t appeal to enough people, and the publisher stopped selling them last year.

In “Hogwarts Legacy,” players take on the role of students at the renowned wizarding school and complete a variety of challenges.

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

“And we knew that putting fans in the same situation would be a dream come true,”

An AFP request for clarification regarding the Rowling controversy was unanswered.

The new game, which is expected to feature a transgender character, will allow players to select their gender, Tew informed AFP.

According to Tew, “in the character creator, you will choose whether others refer to you as a witch or wizard,” and that decision would have an effect on your dormitory,

“Holding their noses” The backlash does not appear to have affected the books’ popularity or the shows and movies that are based on them.

According to Bloomsbury, a book publisher, sales of the wizarding tales increased during pandemic lockdowns before declining once more, which is consistent with the overall pattern of book sales.

After reading the first Harry Potter book 20 years ago, 32-year-old Kyle Thomas stated, “Harry Potter was an escape from the world for me.”

The Canadian, who was in London to see the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” stated, “I still listen to the audiobook every year, it is still my favorite book.” She was there to see the play.

According to University of Buffalo researcher Cody Mejeur, LGBTQ gamers in the United States had divergent views on the subject.

Some people wanted complete boycotts, while others were less zealous and thought about buying the game used to avoid giving money to Rowling.

Mejeur said that some people loved the game’s concept and the franchise and would probably buy it “holding their noses.”