Journey, a project very dear to our hearts, represents thatgamecompany’s efforts to deliver a unique emotional experience to players online. As such, in conjunction with Santa Monica Studio, it is an honor to announce the Journey Collector’s Edition, launching for the PlayStation 3. This is our first disc-based release, and will be available at retail outlets across North America for $29.99 on August 28.

From the simplicity of flOw, to the poetry of Flower, to the awe of Journey, this special Blu-ray bundle features thatgamecompany’s three award-winning PlayStation Network-exclusive titles, paired with exclusive new content and previously released digital content.

The complete set of bonus flOw, Flower, and Journey content includes:

+30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Journey
+Creator Commentary play-throughs of all three games
+Three exclusive mini-games from thatgamecompany
+Concept art and screenshot galleries for all three games
+Original soundtracks for all three games
+PS3 dynamic themes and wallpapers
+PSN avatars including 8 exclusive new Journey avatars never released before
+Official game trailers and developer diary videos
+Reversible cover art
+One month trial subscription of PlayStation Plus

We are particularly excited about the Creator Commentary play-throughs of all three games, because we get to share with players insights about flOw, Flower, and Journey straight from the minds of the designers, artists, engineers and composers who worked together to make these games so special.

Another great feature included on the disc are the three exclusive mini-games born out of a thatgamecompany tradition: the 24hr Game Jam. As the name implies, each game was created by us, start to finish, in 24 hours. So for the first time ever, thatgamecompany’s mini-games, Gravediggers, Duke War!!, and Nostril Shot, will be available to play outside of our studio.

We share these mini-games as a “thank you” to our players for supporting us over the years. In case the names didn’t already give it away, these mini-games showcase thatgamecompany’s lighter side with madcap competitive multiplayer action. We hope you sincerely enjoy their silliness as much as we have.

In the meantime, please check out the official trailer for thatgamecompany’s first Blu-ray disc release, hitting stores on August 28 and currently available for pre-order on Amazon and GameStop.

thatgamecompany was started in 2006 in response to the many heartfelt requests we received as students from players around the world. These players were looking for games that provided meaningful, enriching interactive experiences in a broadly accessible, artistically crafted way.

Since then we have been very fortunate to have brought our players flOw, Flower and Journey through our three-game partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment America, Santa Monica Studio. We are extremely grateful to Sony and the many players who put their faith in us. Their support has turned Journey into the fastest selling title in PSN history.

Many of you have asked what’s coming up next for TGC and whether our games can be played on other platforms. I have good news for you.

Today I am pleased to announce thatgamecompany has raised funding to develop and release our games independently. This enables us to bring our games to more platforms and provide our players the highest quality experience at every point of contact.

Making this possible is Mitch Lasky from Benchmark Capital. Together we share a vision for bringing emotionally compelling interactive entertainment to players worldwide.

We are very excited about our new adventure. Please stay tuned, as we look forward to sharing with you more details about our next game soon.

So, yeah! This week only,  flOw and Flower are both on sale for 30% off for everyone in North America, and 50% off for PS+ subscribers in North America.  The sale also includes most of the other content related to flOw and Flower, such as the flOw expansion pack, Flower avatars, and a dynamic theme.

Also, we made a Journey demo!  It’s short and doesn’t have multiplayer, so you’ll have to buy the whole game in order to experience multiplayer.  Still, you can surf around in the happy sand land for as long as you want, or until you do want to buy the full game.

Check out the prices of everything after the break.

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Diamante followed up with “TGC is in a really neat place: so familiar in terms of people and processes and emotions, but still very different from where the video game industry was the last time I teamed up with them. It should be a great ride.” 

The Art of Video Games exhibit opened up in March to great fanfare from people all over the United States, and thatgamecompany was there to see it open.  Kellee Santiago was part of a panel on Friday, and Robin Hunicke had her own talk on Saturday evening.  We also had our first East Coast Community Meetup on Saturday afternoon, as well.

flOw (PC) and Flower (PS3) were both in the exhibit, and Flower is one of the five playable games, sitting alongside Myst, Super Mario Bros., Pacman, and The Secret of Monkey Island.  It is an amazing honor to have Flower playable in the exhibit, let alone having flow and Flower just being there!  We are very thankful to the exhibit’s curator, Chris Melissinos, everyone at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and everyone else who volunteered and helped out with the exhibit.

If you want to see some pictures from the opening weekend events and links for the photos on Facebook, click the “Read More” button:

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