Not gonna lie, I've waited for years for Harry Potter. Knowing Rowlings stance on gambling they'd have to remove the coin door and make it HUO. No big deal.... or is it? How many pinheads are there that could offset the missing sales of operators?
I'm not a brand snob but I do have to say that the last couple of my personal dream themes Stern did were not fantastic. Both Stern and JJP bring something totally different to the arena. I hope if the licensed is obtained WHOEVER get's it makes it the GOAT because it certainly has the IP/range as stated by mbrave77. Whoever designs it needs to LOVE HP and not just see it as "another game the public will buy regardless of how bad it is".

HP:
Hogwarts castle main toy with swaying ramp for "Major Fortuna"
Quidditch arena mini playfield
Hogwarts express - specifically a train that gets moved by completed shots to get to Hogwarts - could be used as ball save as well (how cool would it be that it circled the circumference of the game and randomely dumped balls for multi ball?
Spider cave as kick out
Hagreds house as a second kick out
The Whomping Willow as a moving toy that bats balls.
And to get crazy a wide body plus 1/4 playfield rotisserie that flips worlds taking you to a combined world of the ministry of magic and the world of Hogsmeade village.

Dude, this game would be the first of it's kind and truly a boutique pin that is two games in one! Even the worst of the worst HP snobs would bow down.

No offense to anyone who owns GOT but that was such a generic attempt at such an iconic theme. I was so freaking bummed out at what Stern did with that title. Granted that's a flow game and I'm not a huge flow guy so that didn't help but overall (I feel) the artwork was pretty bad and the toys were completely lack luster on the Pro and the LE's (while better) weren't that fantastic either. Harry Potter would have to be chock full of toys to create an immersive experience. I think stop and go type games allows a player to take more of the code in which helps with the immersive side of things. I hope regardless of who does it that they don't cooker cutter this machine and say "oh let's put a mini playfield in". No. How about you DON'T and put a COUPLE things in in the spot where a mini pf normally is put?!

If I had anyone's ear on the manufacturing side I'd say make this machine a one off. Make the playfield deeper and/or make the cabinet longer. More room more options.

I do find it amusing that people say "wow kiddy themes bash bash bash" but in all actuality it's things we grew up on. I know people coming up on 60 that love Harry Potter. But an argument to be made is why do some people want old movie themes that the newer generation cannot relate to at all? Kind of a double edge sword calling the kettle black type of ordeal

Oh I just had a couple cool thoughts. Two things to be implemented. Have parts of the hobbit trail cut/missing with a small coil sideways to perform a reductor spell (the ball would get kicked out into the playfield via a second side button which would require timing skills) and use the lock down bar button to perform the Expelliarmus spell which where the ball would be at on the playfield it would disable the mechs. (The spell is used for disarming). so for instance you could make the pop bumpers go dead. You could also program button sequences kind of like Nintendo did with Contra. You learn/perform spells.
Someone hire me .... I'm just pooping ideas out left and right!

I sound like a broken record but with Rowlings feelings about pinball being a form of gambling they'd have to agree to HUO and no coin door or no code to support a coin door (which you know darn well someone would hack it). But anyway .....
For this title to not yet to have been made is just mind boggling. Compare it to POTC (which will have 6 movies and got two machines made). Probably just as big if not a larger following the Jurassic park series which has had 3 pins made now? The Hobbit had 3 movies and a pin made. The Lord of the Rings - 3 movies made and a pin. 9 Star Wars movies and 4 or 5 pins now?
So the question is, with Rowlings stance would there be enough of a market to support this build for HUO? I guess I honestly don't know just how big of a part Operators play in machine purchasing numbers? Any guesses on what percentage?