Following the public opening a few weeks ago, Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne has been giving a few interviews here and there, revealing some interesting facts and predictions.
Speaking to The Guardian, Redmayne insists that when released, Chamber of Secrets will be a much richer experience than book 1, which some users were a little disappointed with. From the article:
Redmayne also acknowledged issues with Pottermore’s community and promised change – although everything will continue to be moderated. “The community elements are too restrictive at the moment and we will be easing them up. Within a community, you need to be able to communicate,” he said. “In the next few weeks we will enable people to communicate more, but to do so in a completely safe environment.
The site will also become more interactive, he promised, revealing that work is currently underway on launching the second book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “It won’t be the next couple of weeks but we’re working to get it live as soon as possible,” he said. “What is going to become a given is that there will be a lot more interaction added. When book two goes online – and we’re working on that at the moment – it will be a real step up from the stuff in book one. There’ll be more from Jo, and more interactivity. And we will grow this over the seven books – you will see it becoming a broader and broader and richer and richer experience,” he said.
Also, The Bookseller quotes some impressive figures from the CEO:
The Pottermore e-book store sold £3m-worth of Harry Potter e-books in its first month, the company’s chief executive has revealed, while the Pottermore experience, which allows fans to explore the Harry Potter universe online, added five million new users in the two weeks since its own launch on 14th April.
Charlie Redmayne said sales at the online shop, which went live on 27th March, had been driven first by pent-up demand, with the sales value high because of the number of Harry Potter fans buying the e-book bundle, priced at £38.64, a discount of 14% on the cost of buying the seven titles individually.
Redmayne said the sales had been above budget, and continued to outpace expectations.