Fans of the Harry Potter films might have taken to wailing and gnashing teeth when Warner Bros. unexpectedly delayed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth theatrical installment based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels. One such person may have been EA CEO John Riccitiello, who abruptly found himself with a guaranteed money-making holiday game release and no film to push it out alongside.

As has been widely expected, EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment said today that the game Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been delayed from its expected November release to join the film when it debuts worldwide in summer 2009. When the Half-Blood Prince does claim his crown, he will do so on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac, and mobile devices.

Like the film, the game Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince follows the titular hero as he enters his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he will play some quidditch, duel some wizards, and attempt not to be the latest of victim of supreme dark lord and series antagonist Voldemort. The game is in development at EA’s Bright Light Studio, which is based in Guildford, UK.

By Tom Magrino