Say what you want about "Hogwarts Legacy," but it sure blows this failed "Harry Potter" game out of the water!
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00:00Say what you want about Hogwarts' legacy, but it sure blows this failed Harry Potter
00:04game out of the water.
00:06We are heading towards quite the debacle.
00:09Fans wanted a video game adaptation of the Harry Potter franchise almost as soon as the
00:13book series began, releasing in the 1990s.
00:16They soon got their wish, and Harry Potter adaptations and original games were released
00:20alongside the books and movies.
00:22But they weren't all magical.
00:24For every Lego Harry Potter, there's a Hogwarts mystery, and the quality of Harry Potter adaptations
00:29runs the gamut.
00:30Hello, Harry.
00:31It's me, Hagrid.
00:32Good to see ya.
00:34In 2019, gamers found themselves excited for yet another wizard game, this time from the
00:39developers behind the beloved Pokemon Go, Niantic.
00:43But Wizards Unite didn't soar into the sunset on a broomstick.
00:47Instead, it was a flop that left many fans disappointed.
00:51But why did the wizarding title from Niantic fail?
00:54After all, fans seemed to mostly enjoy it, despite its bugs.
00:58Unfortunately, the answer is complicated, involving a mixture of performance issues,
01:02poor sales, and familiar gameplay.
01:05Eventually, the title shut down in 2022, leaving fans without a constant virtual wizarding
01:10home until Hogwarts Legacy arrived in 2023.
01:14"...stupefy, levitation, apio, incendio."
01:22When Niantic released Pokemon Go in 2016, mobile gamers had never seen anything like
01:27it, at least not on the same scale, anyway.
01:30Inspired by developer John Hanks' love of gamifying maps via augmented reality, his
01:34company set out to create a game that allowed players to capture Pokemon via smartphone
01:39while walking around in the real world.
01:41Aspiring Pokemon trainers never knew what types of creatures they'd run into during
01:45their daily walks, which encouraged players to continue playing and exploring their neighborhoods.
01:50During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pokemon Go additionally provided a way for some gamers to maintain
01:55social connections from a safe distance, even though Niantic eventually tried to walk back
02:00its increased range for interactions.
02:02With Pokemon Go experiencing continued success, it seemed inevitable that a similar game with
02:07other IPs would emerge.
02:09Wizards Unite offered the same sort of gameplay, but with a Harry Potter twist.
02:13Instead of catching wandering creatures, hopeful wizards could explore the unseen magical world
02:18around them, collecting artifacts, encountering magical beasts, and battling characters from
02:23the wizarding world.
02:24Expecto Patronum!"
02:30While the game was technically different from its Pokemon-themed counterpart, the two titles
02:34had many similarities.
02:36For example, instead of the Pokestops in Pokemon Go, Wizards Unite featured inns that allowed
02:41wizards to recharge.
02:42However, Wizards Unite also included a progressive narrative that unfolded over the life of the
02:47game.
02:48While the two titles catered to different fanbases, gamers looking to experience both
02:52might have noticed major similarities and chosen the AR game they already knew best.
02:57"...that Pokemon Go craze, it's sweeping the nation."
03:00Gamers seem to be losing interest in AR games, even as Pokemon Go continues to thrive.
03:06In its official statement announcing the end of Wizards Unite, Niantic explained,
03:10"...not all games are meant to last forever.
03:12Our goal with Harry Potter Wizards Unite was to bring the magic of the wizarding world
03:16to life.
03:17We accomplished that together, delivering a two-year narrative story arc that will soon
03:21complete."
03:23The developer also mentioned two other AR games that it had just released or planned
03:26to release soon.
03:27One of those games, Pikmin Bloom, is still running, but the other never even released.
03:32After earning less than $1,000 during its soft launch, Transformers Heavy Metal didn't
03:37even survive six months.
03:38Given that Transformers Heavy Metal seemed to shut down due to poor sales, it would make
03:42sense for the same to be true of Wizards Unite.
03:45Even years after its release, the game had only made just under $40 million.
03:50That may sound like a good deal of cash, until you consider that Pokemon Go made more
03:54than $900 million in 2020 alone.
03:58Considering that Wizards Unite required all the maintenance and attention of a live service
04:02game, it could have made financial sense for Niantic to pull the plug.
04:05On top of everything else working against it, Wizards Unite also had some performance
04:09issues that fans couldn't help but notice, with some complaining about nonstop bugs.
04:14For many players, performance issues were simply unacceptable, especially considering
04:19the years of experience Niantic had making AR games.