Journey Takes Its First Steps This March

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Journey Takes Its First Steps This March

Journey for PSN: Sandy

As you may know from my recent tweet, the development of our latest PlayStation Network game, Journey, is finally complete. And today, we’re very excited to announce the official release date for Journey. You will be able to download it from the PlayStation Store for $14.99 starting March 13th, 2012. Three years ago, our last game, Flower, was part of the Spring Fever event on PSN, and this year Journey will kick off this year’s Spring Fever. Look for more information on the highlight games and sales of this year’s Spring Fever event on the PlayStation.Blog in the coming weeks.

With each game we create, we want to bring something truly unique and authentic to the user. We want our players to experience something they have never felt before. Our first game for PSN was flOw in 2007, a meditative zen video game haiku. We followed that in 2009 with Flower, our video game version of a poem about the tension between urban bustle and natural serenity. Journey, our third game, is an interactive parable, an anonymous online adventure to experience a person’s life passage and their intersections with other’s.

Journey for PSN: Tower

You wake alone and surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert, and soon discover the looming mountaintop which is your goal. Faced with rolling sand dunes, age-old ruins, caves and howling winds, your passage will not be an easy one. The goal is to get to the mountaintop, but the experience along the way is discovering who you are, what this place is, and what your purpose is. Travel and explore this ancient, mysterious world alone, or with a stranger you meet along the way. Soar above ruins and glide across sands as you discover the secrets of a forgotten civilization. Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay, Journey delivers an experience like no other.

This last Sunday, February 12th, was the anniversary of the launch of our previous game Flower. We started working on Journey right after Flower launched, and the past three years have flown by extremely fast. In these three years, we at thatgamecompany and our friends in SCEA Santa Monica Studio have faced many challenges together and emerged stronger. Much sweat and tears have been put into the development of the game, and many people have come and gone.

Journey for PSN: Hall of Light

So for us, the Journey in the game has also become a metaphor for the development process of the game itself. Our team is very close to our own mountaintop; we are just a few short weeks away from letting the world experience what we’ve poured our hearts and souls into these last three years. I can’t describe how eager we are to let everyone finally play the game and hear about your experiences with it.

Stay tuned for more Journey news and updates in the coming weeks.

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79 Comments

7 Author Replies

  • I seriously can’t wait. I respect you guys and gals at TGC so much. <3 I'll put it out there to Sony that I'd buy all the TGC games on PSVita as well… and in physical form if that were to happen. *nudge*

  • I’ll be in Japan over spring break so I won’t be able to download and play the game day 1 like I wanted to =C I really loved the beta and I’m a gigantic fan of Thatgamecompany; bought and ‘finished’ every game! I’ll be sure to get this the moment I get home, but until then I’ll have to settle with my life-long dream of going to Japan =D. Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this masterpiece of a game!

  • Part 1 of 2 ;) : I think I’d buy anything from you guys ;) You prove that not only are games art.. but that there are some amazing and true A R T I S T S behind them… thanks for making THREE breathtaking PS3 games, 3 OF THE BEST. :) I too (as someone else already said) was sold the first day you announced / showed this game. I can still remember the FEELING I got when I first played flOw, and Flower… it’s something special, different, relaxing, gives you room to breathe + “think” in a different way. Of all these “big” games coming out like GTA5, Mass Effect 3, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 6… Journey is the one I want the most, because just from the beautiful trailers I can see it’s something special.

  • Part 2 : Maybe it’s because my favorite genre is “Adventure” (which is why I think Uncharted resonates with so many other people too.. because it takes you on a story where you’re connected with the characters and through the environment you both see amazing sights and overcome everything right there with them, wanting to help them as much as helping yourself… an adventure is best at bringing out real character….my opinion.. of course ;) ..which reminds me of Ico / Shadow of the Collosus now..), but either way I can’t wait to go on a Journey, sand-skating my way through the deserts :) I am interested to see how the online with feel like though, without knowing who you’re playing with… interesting experiment.. that’s all I can say for now. I wonder if we could customize our characters to make each person unique online.. ? or is seeing anyone in the desert enough to make them go in the same direction.. hmm.

  • From all the hype that surrounds this game – not to mention the amazing gameplay, concept, and graphics – I think you could have charged more. $14.99 is a steal from what I’ve seen of this game.

  • I can hardly wait! I’ve really been looking forward to this beautiful game! The visuals, the presentation, the music, are all just amazing. It’s one of only a handful of games I plan to buy this year.

    How much HDD space will this take? 1.5 gigs?

    One can only wonder what lies beyond the mountain for thatgamecompany…

    Thanks so much and have a great weekend!

  • Awesome March 13 needs to get here and fast! Also i too would like to see it on the Vita that would be amazing!

  • Really looking forward to it!!!

  • What about this and Flower and Flow games for Vita? I’m sure those games should be cool on that system… moreover with all the features like Near, AR, Etc …

  • Very intriguing came. Wish this was coming to Vita as well :/ I am sure I will give it a shot at some point.

  • Thank you for this birthday present ThatGameCompany. You guys are great.

  • I can’t wait for this.

  • Is Journey going to have Move or 3D support? (or even a Move or 3D patch for Flower would be awesome too!)

    • Move and 3D came out at a time where Journey’s core design is locked. It was not designed with move controller in mind, and every single thread of power from the PS3’s cell process was used to render one image rather than two. So no Move and 3D. But you are getting the best of everything for what is in the game.

  • Now that you got a break, how about adding Move support to Flower? Should be pretty simple and make the experience much better than holding a Dual Shock around with one hand.

    Can’t wait to play Journey though :)

  • looking forward to it! loves all the previous games

  • are there any plans for DLC that were previously mentioned or future plans, or dlc plans in general for this title?

  • Jenova, Kellee, I participated in the Beta and loved the world, the fluidity, the music and the ambiance. Each of the studio’s releases have been amazing experiences, and this appears to be no different in its promise to deliver another unique experience.

    I had a chance to speak with you, Kellee, at CES this year. I said it then, I’ll say it again. TGC’s library of PSN releases deserves a full, collected, retail release. I know you can’t comment on this happening, or even if it’s something TCC would consider, but I’ve listened to all of your keynotes, blogs, etc., and can only imagine a retail release collecting flOw, Flower, and Journey. I see it packed with art galleries, downloadable soundtracks, behind the scenes videos and/or documentaries, bonus themes and PSN avatars, etc.

  • I suppose I dream, but I assure you, I’d buy them all over again simply on the premise of supporting a studio and vision that has meant so much to me as my adult “gaming” habits evolve with experiences like these.

    As with each of your releases, you have my commitment to a day 1 purchase and I can all but assure you that whatever I have currently in my PS3, or in my game queue, will be promptly shelved to dive deep within the universe of Journey. I can’t wait!

  • Yay Thatgamecompany!! Can’t wait to pick this game up, I wish you guys the best! Love your approach to videogames, it’s always something unique. It’s also very refreshing to see a videogame where the main action isn’t shooting a gun.

  • Been waiting so SO long for this news :D!!!!!

    Epic Game coming in!

    Thank Guys

    Is there a diference on the price for Plus members?

  • Yesssssssss! I’ve been waiting for this game. Ever since I played flower I’ve been hooked. I can’t wait. :)

  • Can’t wait to get this game, I loved your previous games and this one looks fantastic and beautiful. I still play Flower from time to time, can’t wait to get this game.

  • Can’t wait to start playing this game. I loved Fl0w & Flower; and this one will be no different.

  • finally, a release date!

  • God, thatgamecompany is so good. Going to buy this as soon as it comes out and. I really, really hope Sony gives these guys contracts to make more games for the PS3.

  • Is there camera control on the right stick ? Can I disable the camera on the Six-Axis ?

    These were 2 of my feedback issues from the beta. Disabling camera on the Six-Axis is make or break on a purchase for me since I play in my gaming chair leaning back. Playing the beta always having to lean forward to avoid the camera aiming at the sky was a nuisance.

    Thanks, looking forward to the game!

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