Anyone who has not yet played thatgamecompany's game, Journey, has certainly heard of it by now. Afterall, anyone who has played it knows what an experience it is and has been doing their part to spread the word about this gem. Because of that, Journey has become the fastest selling game on the entire PSN store. That's right, not just the fastest selling PSN exclusive, but fastest selling game. Though those who have played the game will not be surprised by this, it is no less than a monumental achievement for the small studio.
In a post on PlayStation Blog, Jenova Chen writes:
It has been an exciting two weeks for us since we launched Journey on PlayStation Store. We see the personal connection between our work and the players, which is the most real and priceless reward for us. For that, we thank you so much for your support, for spending time and money to play our game and for spreading the word about Journey to your dear friends and family. Thanks to you, Journey has officially broken PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store sales records, surpassing all first and third-party games to become the fastest-selling game ever released in the SCEA region on the PlayStation Network.
We owe a lot to our fans. In fact, idea of forming the thatgamecompany team to create games with Sony Santa Monica originated from several dozen emails that players sent in after playing our first student game, Cloud, from our time at USC. It was the players who told us how moving the game was and how it is important that we keep making these types of games so that more people in the world will realize what video games can be, and can grow to love games through our work. To me, that was a life-changing moment. I knew making games was my life calling.
However, a surprising announcement followed this great news. Kellee Santiago, Co-founder and President of thatgamecompany, announced her departure from the company today. According to her interview with Gamasutra, the split is completely amicable, she has just decided to seek new challenges in her life. This news rings with an emotional tone, especially for players who have experienced thatgamecompany's Journey, which shows that meetings and partings can be both fleeting and memorable. In fact, Kellee's journey with Jenova began even before thatgamecompany, having gone to school together at USC and even creating the student game Cloud together.
After doing these three games, I think it was a really great opportunity for all of us to look at what we've learned and what I've taken from that experience, and go forth and take it into new arenas,
In near perfect closing statement, she follows up with this tweet:
Thanks so much for the kind words today, I feel so much love and gratitude. It's time to hit the "Start New Journey" button!
While we want to continue the path of Thatgamecompany, Kellee has found a new direction in her career. Though our path in the future may be different, as TGC begins our next project, we wish Kellee a good journey and that our paths may cross again.
Congratulations to thatgamecompany on their impressive achievement! To Kellee, on behalf of all of us here at 8bitfix, we wish you a prosperous new journey and a scarf that continues to grow!
You can read Jenova Chen's full blog post here, or Gamasutra's article here.
