Hey Everyone.
Randall Lowe here with a lot of really exciting Flower news and announcements. It is my honor to be posting on behalf of Jenova Chen or Kellee Santiago, the creative geniuses at thatgamecompany behind Flower.
Today, February 12, we’re all very proud to be celebrating the one year anniversary of Flower’s release on the PSN! Before I get onto the news, perhaps I should recap for those of you who aren’t familiar with Flower.
Flower is a completely new experience in gaming that takes you on an emotional journey through vivid and beautiful landscapes. In it, you guide the wind to collect flower petals, float above grassy hills, and paint the world with color and light. Since its debut, it has won a ton of awards and recognitions, from critics and fans alike, as a truly unique experience and ground-breaking game. If you missed it, here’s Jenova and Kellee accepting the award for Best Indie Game at the Spike VGAs in December. If you haven’t tried the game out yet, now’s the perfect chance!
Even better than reading my words about how unique and beautiful Flower really is, please take a moment and watch this developer diary video featuring Kellee from TGC, and my boss here at Santa Monica, Eric Koch.
So, back to the anniversary. To celebrate Flower turning one year young, and all the success the game has enjoyed since its release, we’ve put together a beautiful and serene dynamic theme, complete with day and night cycles, for all the fans who want to bring the Flower experience to their XMB. This went live on the PlayStation Store yesterday for the low price of $2.99. Go check it out!
Want more than just the dynamic theme? Then you’re in luck! Coming soon, we’ll be releasing the original soundtrack for Flower composed by Vincent Diamante. This soundtrack has been remastered and mixed specifically for this release, and more details will be announced in the near future. So check back on the blog for a release date and pricing!
Speaking of fans, here’s a great fan-made trailer that the developers liked so much, they contacted the creators so we could release it officially on PSN!
Finally, I just wanted to take a moment on behalf of thatgamecompany and SCEA Santa Monica Studio to express the sincere gratitude and appreciation to all the fans of Flower; for the longevity of your support and your level of interest in this project that has meant so much to so many people.
love Flower, will buy the theme.
I want the soundtrack! It was so peaceful to just listen to you and enjoy.
Will the soundtrack be on the PlayStation Store?
So when can we expect the next game from you guys?
Flower = Most original last year and a absolute gem. More people need to buy and experience this game. Its a nice fresh air for me and I usually play this for 15 or so before I have to take a exam.
I really like the Flower theme, before it i had the regular one, used it for almost a year lol
Flower is one of the most incredible gaming experiences I’ve had. Truly brilliant. Looking forward to the soundtrack release!
We wan a DLC for Flower! please. I love Flower.I got the theme yesterday and is one of the best. Flower rocks
I simply love Flower to death and I thank the developers for creating it. There is not a single experience out there like it. If I had the money, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend it on the dynamic theme, if only as a show of support. Perhaps as the one show of support I CAN offer, I’m not going to ask you to front me the $2.99 for the theme. =P
Grabbed the dynamic theme – it is GORGEOUS. Well done, TGC!!
Flower truly is a great experience, I’m about to replay each dream again. Could use the stress-relieving, relaxing vibe this game gives me.
Absolutely love this game. Definitely a unique experience in the gaming plateau.
Flower still remains one of the best gameplay experiences to this day. Sure, grand scale stuff like Uncharted 2 and the upcoming God of War III are very awesome but sometimes you just want to sit back and relax and enjoy the sounds and visuals that Flower has to offer :) Can we expect bonus levels for it somewhere down the line? Or any possible news on the next project from thatgamecompany?
Downloadable game of the year, 2009. BRILLIANT game…Can’t congratulate TGC enough on the game, nor thank them enough!
I don’t know if you meant this with the post, but please make sure the sound track is released on PSN aswell as iTunes etc. Any that means WORLDWIDE PSN not just USA please :)
I love Flower. I bought it when it was on sale, it was worth the price. And then I won a copy from the VGA’s, the recipient loved it as well. Thanks for such a great game.
Is this theme likely to make its way to the UK PlayStation Store in next week’s update? It would be a crime if it didn’t as its only the second decent dynamic theme (after the LittleBigPlanet one) that I’d be willing to pay for.
That was an excellent fan-made trailer. That trailer pretty much sums up how mesmerizing Flower is.
I’ll pick up the Dynamic theme tonight. Can’t wait for the soundtrack.
Please continue to think out of the box with your next game. These are the kind of games that are remembered, while everyone else is playing “Me too”.
Any clues as to what thatgamecompany are working on next?
I bought Flower yesterday in the EU PSN sale…so awesome, makes me wish I’d bought it earlier.
I just picked up Flower from the PS store sale. It’s a great game. I would have gotten it sooner but better late than never I suppose. I really hope thatgamecompany makes more indie titles like this in the near future.
I love your work… keep it coming! ^_^
picked up the theme within minutes of seeing it in the store :D
amazing experience game, whatever it was, it was awesome
By the way, that was a FANTASTIC fan-made trailer. Probably the best that I’ve seen and I could be fooled into thinking it was an official trailer for the game. Really well done to whoever made it!
I can say that flower is a awesome game…PLEASE TELL ME THAT EXCLUSIVE PS3 GAMES LIKE UNCHARTED , FLOWER SOUND TRACKS WILL BE COMEING TO THE PS STORE. COME ON SONY !!
very classy theme. Picked it up as soon as I had a look at the preview. Recommended if you’re looking for a new DT to grace your XMB, and chase away some winter blahs.
I don’t know how many people will agree with me but here we go.
I was amazed with Flower. At the end of the day, even the best *enter genre* game would be just another *enter genre again*. Flower was an experience.
The only thing that hindered my Flower experience was the controller.Don’t get me wrong, the Dualshock 3 is very very good.
However I would love to play Flower with a minimalistic controller that would feature one analog trigger, vibration and sixaxis.
If that controller was available I would pick it up just for Flower.
Looking forward to the soundtrack and enjoying the soothing tunes after hectic gaming sessions.
Man, it’s been one year since I bought Flower? Time flies! Thanks so much TGC, your work on that game was so wonderful & deserving of all the praise it got. One of the best and most original games I’ve played in a long time! And I’m SO GLAD the soundtrack is coming! I can’t wait to pick it up!!
Thanks again! :D
im going to buy this game one day. I have to darn many to worry about right now i wouldnt know what to do with it @ the moment.
Got the theme, but it was kind of a let down. I was hoping the petals would be influenced by the controller like the glitter in the default theme. Oh well.
I’m really looking forward to the soundtrack. Will it be 24-bit lossless? If we have the soundtrack downloaded, will the game use it as a higher-quality asset? I’d love to see this happen for Everyday Shooter and Locoroco Cocoreccho as well (along with a trophy patch!).
Thanks for continuing to create and provide long-term support for innovative games!
PS: I feel like this kind of content has slowed down on PSN recently, and I hope 2010 fixes that.
The dynamic theme was nice. Wished there was more variety, but still, one of the best dynamic theme available right now.
When are we going to hear more about thatgamecompany’s next project?
I love flower, simply sole it, sometimes I’ll get home form a very stressful day at work and college and play a fell minutes of it just to relax.
Have been using the standard flower theme since the day I got it, will get the dynamic one soon.
You know what I would love to see as thatgamecompany’s next project for the ps3? cloud
http://thatgamecompany.com/games/cloud/
was one of their first games if I’m not mistaken, you can actually download it now for free on the pc, but to have a HD version with all the eyecandy on the ps3 would blow my mind.
I love this studio man.
I was only asking about the possibility of a Flower Dynamic Theme on the EU Blog Store Update yesterday!
Please say that this will be released on the EU Store next Thursday?!
Wow, I just finally purchased and downloaded Flower and it’s dynamic theme last night not knowing today was it’s anniversary. All I can say is the first few levels i’ve played so far has been a wonderful experience. Thank you.
Geehehe, already have flower and the dynamic theme :) Very beautiful stuff. *Random side not, I love love Kellee’s pink hair ^_^.
is the price……FWEEEEEEEEEE?!
i hope TGC announces their next game at E3. cant wait to see it. flow was cool but flower was extremely good. third will be even better i bet
Themes are a waste of money but I’ll gladly purchase the soundtrack. It was really great music for a great game. :)
3 videos and not one actually showing the dynamic theme.
Happy 1 Year Anniversary, when will FLOWER be $4.99 so I can buy it?
Actually the Flower DT is the best one so far, it’s beautiful and the music is good too. I just wish the designers put more effort into the XMB icons and created something that reflected the look of the trophies. Also buying the soundtrack, hopefully Q Games will do one for PJ Shooter.
Not trying to be rudebut can someone tell me why we have to pay $3 for themes that are free in other regions? Last I checked if you give something away for free to one group but charge another isn’t very fair. The Wipeout and Afrakia themes are both FREE in europe and japan.
Couldn’t you guys give us a demo?
Randall, how come we didn’t get the game sale the EU did? Flower is only £2.39 on the EU store which is about $3.70… I’d much rather spend that 3 bucks on the game rather than the theme… :(
DLC please. I would absolutely love more levels for this game.
I vote for flower 2. either that or a DLC expansion pack of some kind. I just want more Flower!
I HATE the dynamic theme. thanks to the annoying sound effect when I confirm or cancel something on the XMB.
it would be 5/5 if I could disable the sound( and i still want to hear the default sound for navigating the xmb)
I enjoyed flower, but I wish there were more exotic locations (like an island with tropical plants. I’ll buy the theme.
This was my favorite game of 2009. I will definitely buy the theme.
Question about dynamic/premium themes:
When the XMB is updated and gets another icon (for example, the XMB’s latest one is the PS3 Minis folder), do dynamic/premium themes get an update with a icon picture for it?