Jenova Chen on the Future of thatgamecompany

Andrew Goldfarb: ''It’s not easy to follow a game like Journey. After winning various Game of the Year awards (including IGN’s), thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen is feeling the pressure of debuting a successful follow-up. In an interview with IGN from the DICE summit in Vegas last week, Chen discussed his next game, the decision to bring it to multiple platforms, and where he thinks the industry is headed.''

[Megaton]

Bring it to Steam, whatever it is.

[KingKevo]

I do kind of agree with you and what he said about bringing their games to more people and not just owners of a specific platform. But on the other hand, making games exclusively for Sony and all the support (techchnical, financial and also promotional) they got from them gave them the opportunity to be where they are now. Sure they had a contract about 3 games and are now free to go, but I'm a bit afraid that they might not become as big as they might have become with Sony. The talent is there, but it's harder to get recognised as a multiplattform developer if there's no big company behind you advertising your game, even if you are thatgamecompany, developer of Journey. And I'm even more afraid about seeing their games on Smartphones ... please not. Their games belong on a proper console, PC or a modern PC like tablet.

[Megaton]

They were bankrupt when Journey launched after creating 2 games for the PS3. It obviously doesn't pay to stay under Sony's heel like they have been. They don't even own the properties they've created under Sony.

Go multiplat, own your work, earn more for your trouble.

[Daver]

@Megaton

Easy to say when you dont know anything..

[PirateThom]

thatgamecompany had two of the best selling PSN games in Flower and Journey.

They were, from all accounts, well off until Chen took the decision, not Sony, to delay Journey for 2 years and bankrupt his own company to make sure the end product was perfect.

Had it released on time, they wouldn't have had this issue, but Sony were patient and Chen is a perfectionist. That's why is a bestseller and won so many GOTY awards.

[KingKevo]

@ Megaton:

This is a quote of a quote from the article (Chen talking about working with Sony): "You don’t have to worry about the financial situation. Journey was an exception because we were finishing the deal, so we had to get another deal." They might have had to invest a lot of money, but they weren't anywhere close to go bankrupt. Sony already invested to much in both the company and the game itself. So if they needed more money or time, they got it. But sure, Sony was mainly focusing on helping the company to finish Journey. There was no reason for them to invest even more in the studio itself, because they are not part of Sony and already said that they wanted to go multi platform after Journey.

[dcbronco]

He could have gotten everything he got from Sony from others too. More in fact. Sony has been on record saying over and over that they will not pay for exclusivity. We have also found out that they also often demand the rights to the IP on some games.

Small companies need to do what is in their best interest. Multi-platform or cheapest should always be their direction in the beginning. If all of Sony's support left them bankrupt at the end of the day, it wasn't enough support. After a three game exclusivity deal, they are bankrupt. It could have been mis-management, but it was more likely a lack of sales because of exclusivity.

To me, this is the perfect time to go multi-plat. Or at least pretend to be going multi-plat. The success of Journey makes TGC a young free agent out looking for a new team. They can now get real support from Sony, get support from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo or go exclusively with Nintendo or Microsoft for more money. But most of all, TGC needs to put TGC's best interest at the forefront and not worry about loyalty.

[ShoryukenII]

@dcbronco

PirateThom: "thatgamecompany had two of the best selling PSN games in Flower and Journey."

They sold quite well actually.

[INehalemEXI]

JC keep it PS3 or 4

[OmniSlashPT]

I admire the fact that he respect Sony for everything they've done for his company and his games. He's not like Phil Fish that only wanted the money and the contract. Jenova knows Sony helped not only through money but through knowledge and experience, each games is better than the previous and Sony let him take risks.

No wonder we only see games like Journey, LBP or SotC from Sony, they are interested in gaming above everything else.