comScore
  1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser

Never Mind

No Harry Potter E-Books on Pottermore Until Next Year

by Jill Pantozzi | 11:02 am, October 3rd, 2011


Sad face. I signed myself up for the Beta of J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore (with three different email addresses I might add) on the first day you were able to do so – Harry Potter and Rowling’s birthday, July 31. You know what I still don’t have? A beta code to Pottermore. What’s worse, even those that do won’t be able to read the best-selling book series on the website until next year.

According to Pottermore’s Insider Blog, open registration for Pottermore will begin at the end of October but digital and audio copies of Harry Potter won’t be made available in the Pottermore Shop until the first half of 2012. Why? “In order to allow us to focus on our first priority: opening Pottermore to as many people as possible and making the experience as good as it can be,” says the site.

The beta period, which has been extended since the original announcement, allows users to read new content by created specifically for the site, take quizzes and play mini-games. One million users have been given access to the site so far.

“From the end of October, registration will be opened to everyone and we’ll be giving access to registered users in phases,” says the site. “Access may be granted quickly, but please note it could also take some weeks or months, depending on demand.”

Fans and non-fans of the series wondered why it had taken so long for Harry Potter, a cash cow as it is, to be offered digitally. Once Pottermore was officially announced it seemed the time had finally come. Well it hasn’t. Keep lugging your 500+ copies to work. At least it will strengthen your wand arm.

(via Gizmodo)

TAGS: | | | |


  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/3ct3pn6

    tinyurl.com/3tnmjr8

  • http://chocolateandcreamcake.blogspot.com/ Mandy Curtis

    (Yay Jill!)

    I got my beta a while back, but have only actually
    been able to get into the site a couple of times since then. (It’s often
    too busy.) Being a beta, it’s still a little glitchy, and a lot of the
    good stuff is still missing. I can see the potential, however.

  • Anonymous

    As I understand it, the e-books won’t have any DRM or anything, which should make them rather easy to generate.  If they’re building some custom file format, as opposed to a protected PDF, that could explain the delay.

    Odds are it’s the payment system they’re working on.  Since they’re selling the books themselves, that may mean they need to build their own purchasing system, which can take a while. Especially if they want to build a system robust enough to handle the surging hordes that will hit it on the day it opens.

  • Molly Leonard

    Aww, that’s too bad. The ebooks are my main interest in Pottermore; I already have the fandom community if I want interactive HP activities. I guess I was right not to sign up for the beta.

  • http://twitter.com/ChampagneThurs Kate

    The Pottermore Twitter account said that all Beta invites had been distributed.  Did you actually find the quill, receive the confirmation email, etc?  Checked spam folders?  I hope you didn’t get passed over!  The site is glitchy and some features really need expanded (the trunk, as an example), but it has a lot of potential and it’s neat to see that in this early stage.

  • Life Lessons

    Argh!!! I want my HP books on my Nook Color NOW!!! Why can’t they just offer the books through BN and Amazon? Oh well. I will wait but I will buy those babies as soon as possible.

X