thatgamecompany has gained worldwide acclaim for the creation of several fantastic and memorable PlayStation Network titles. The studio's last title, Flower, topped the PSN sales chart for March 2009.
The final game in the developer's three-title exclusivity deal with Sony, Journey, enraptured both gamers and critics alike. Not only has Journey topped the PSN sales chart for this month, but it has also achieved the status of the fastest-selling PlayStation Network game in history.
Over on the PlayStation Blog, thatgamecompany's creative director and co-founder, Jenova Chen, confirmed that Journey, which released a mere two weeks ago, has become the fastest-selling PSN game ever in both North America and Europe, though he didn't convey any exact sales figures. Clearly, this bodes well for the developer's plan to seek a "bigger audience."
The co-founder also stated that the fan response to Journey has been extremely positive.
"After we released Flower in 2009, players sent hundreds of emails about their experience with the game. They varied from a nine-year-old girl to a 65-year-old man, from a marine serving duty overseas, to a soldier returning from Iraq. There were even stories about a mother’s memory of her two children in the wheat fields, a surreal butterfly fantasy from someone’s grandmother who passed away, and a young man who spoke about his brother who has Down syndrome. Those kinds of letters are what drive us at TGC to keep working."
"And now, the reaction to Journey has been even more overwhelming. We have received more letters from fans in the two weeks since Journey’s launch than we did for Flower over the past three years!"
In addition to the sales record confirmation, thatgamecompany are, due to the positive feedback received, about to release Journey's soundtrack as a separate entity. Composed by Austin Wintory, the game's soothing soundtrack will be released via the PlayStation Store, in addition to iTunes, on April 10th. Furthermore, a CD version of the soundtrack is in the offing, but will be released in a limited capacity.
Chen's announcement, meanwhile, has certainly come at an odd time; it was revealed only earlier this morning that thatgamecompany co-founder and president Kellee Santiago has left the developer. Keep your eyes on Game Rant for more on that story as it develops.
For more on Journey and to see why exactly it has beaten PSN sales records, check out Game Rant's review.
Journey is available now, exclusively for PS3.
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Source: PlayStation Blog