<P> The sport Quidditch, played by characters in the Harry Potter series, was created in 2005 and is played worldwide . Characters and elements from the series have inspired scientific names of several organisms, including the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, the spider Eriovixia gryffindori, the wasp Ampulex dementor, and the crab Harryplax severus . </P> <P> The popularity of the Harry Potter series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other Harry Potter related license holders . This success has made Rowling the first and thus far only billionaire author . The books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular film adaptations produced by Warner Bros., all of which have been highly successful in their own right . The films have in turn spawned eight video games and have led to the licensing of more than 400 additional Harry Potter products . The Harry Potter brand has been estimated to be worth as much as $25 billion . </P> <P> The great demand for Harry Potter books motivated The New York Times to create a separate best - seller list for children's literature in 2000, just before the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . By 24 June 2000, Rowling's novels had been on the list for 79 straight weeks; the first three novels were each on the hardcover best - seller list . On 12 April 2007, Barnes & Noble declared that Deathly Hallows had broken its pre-order record, with more than 500,000 copies pre-ordered through its site . For the release of Goblet of Fire, 9,000 FedEx trucks were used with no other purpose than to deliver the book . Together, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble pre-sold more than 700,000 copies of the book . In the United States, the book's initial printing run was 3.8 million copies . This record statistic was broken by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with 8.5 million, which was then shattered by Half - Blood Prince with 10.8 million copies . 6.9 million copies of Prince were sold in the U.S. within the first 24 hours of its release; in the United Kingdom more than two million copies were sold on the first day . The initial U.S. print run for Deathly Hallows was 12 million copies, and more than a million were pre-ordered through Amazon and Barnes & Noble . </P> <P> The Harry Potter series has been recognised by a host of awards since the initial publication of Philosopher's Stone including four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (all of which were awarded in 2001), three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes (1997--1999), two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001), the inaugural Whitbread children's book of the year award (1999), the WHSmith book of the year (2006), among others . In 2000, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel, and in 2001, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won said award . Honours include a commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997), a short listing for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' Choices, and best books lists of the American Library Association, The New York Times, Chicago Public Library, and Publishers Weekly . </P>

When did the harry potter books become popular
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