Electronic Arts today announced that Harry Potter fans will experience the magic and peril of Harry's third year at Hogwarts in the highly anticipated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban videogame.

For the first time gamers will play as friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as well as Harry Potter, switching between characters and utilizing their key attributes and skills to resolve challenges and overcome enemies. The three friends will need to combine their strengths and master a variety of new spells as they face Harry's most terrifying opponents yet: the escaped convict Sirius Black and the Dementors, the sinister guards of Azkaban prison.

Gamers will encounter a host of new characters and creatures, engage in a variety of sub-quests, fly on a Hippogriff, reveal the secrets of the Marauder's Map, and take on their friends in multiple two-player challenges.

Under development by EA's UK Studio, the team behind the worldwide success of the Harry Potter library of games that have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is scheduled for release in May 2004 for all consoles including the GameCube and GBA.

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