So what happened to Thatgamecompany?

[zoltek]

That's what I'm talking about. The "fans" they've supposedly "left behind" are such big fans that they don't even bother looking into what the game actually is. It's very hard to care about the thread's premise.

1: "Why have they left us behind?"
2: "They haven't. They have a free game that's awesome and that you can play now (or will be able to soon)."
1: "But I don't want to"
2: "Ok"

They're even bringing this to Switch and presumably other consoles down the line.

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I, and many others, were well-versed in thatgamecompany's prior console efforts. I honestly thought they disbanded. Had never heard of this game until now.

I happen to think longform videogames on mobile phones are atrocious, gimped, and rely too heavily on microtransactions to succeed.

Perhaps OP's tone was a little severe in claiming that they abandoned their console fanbase, but there is truth in that sentiment. Obviously, they don't care and shouldn't have to if they have found success, but don't act like it's our fault they sold out to mobile and many, including myself, didn't know about it.

 

[touchfuzzy]

Everyone 's just waiting for the game to come out on a console before they give a shit. Same reason while nobody cared about Hades until it released for Switch when it was on PC (in early access, but basically the same game) for over a year.

 

[Delphine]

Spending on apps in iOS is almost double Android. https://www.businessofapps.com/insights/should-your-app-needs-to-be-ios-or-android-first/

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Yeah, I'm aware of that. Doesn't mean I like it still though. I don't like Apple, I never will, and most of the world at large don't use Apple products. But most American companies forget about that, or simply do not care about that. Maybe spending would be higher on Android if one would focus on it, heck, Chinese mobile game market sure is ample proof of that. But the intent is simply not there, and as a customer, I will then not care and play something else instead. And god knows, as a huge Journey fan, I've been waiting on Sky for years now, but oh well, here's to wait some more. Or I can always go replay Journey instead.

 

[Deleted member 17184]

I, and many others, were well-versed in thatgamecompany's prior console efforts. I honestly thought they disbanded. Had never heard of this game until now.

I happen to think longform videogames on mobile phones are atrocious, gimped, and rely too heavily on microtransactions to succeed.

Perhaps OP's tone was a little severe in claiming that they abandoned their console fanbase, but there is truth in that sentiment. Obviously, they don't care and shouldn't have to if they have found success, but don't act like it's our fault they sold out to mobile and many, including myself, didn't know about it.

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It's not that they "don't care" or "sold out to mobile." They went bankrupt just two months before Journey's release and were paying half a salary to every member for quite a few months during development. I posted about that on the second page. I'm sorry, but if caring and not "selling out" means that much sacrifice, it's better if they don't and pursue other platforms. These people have lives to maintain.

 

[bitcloudrzr]

Yeah, I'm aware of that. Doesn't mean I like it still though. I don't like Apple, I never will, and most of the world at large don't use Apple products. But most American companies forget about that, or simply do not care about that. Maybe spending would be higher on Android if one would focus on it, heck, Chinese mobile game market sure is ample proof of that.

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Well marketshare and downloads are significantly higher on Android and many or most of the big games on there. Premium spending differences are a whole different story though so you cannot fault developers for prioritizing the platform.

It's not that they "don't care" or "sold out to mobile." They went bankrupt just two months before Journey's release and were paying half a salary to every member for quite a few months during development. I posted about that on the second page. I'm sorry, but if caring and not "selling out" means that much sacrifice, it's better if they don't and pursue other platforms. These people have lives to maintain.

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Journey was more ambitious than planned but it turned out to be significantly more successful than both of their previous games combined.

 

[LetsEatSnacks]

Yeah, I'm aware of that. Doesn't mean I like it still though. I don't like Apple, I never will, and most of the world at large don't use Apple products. But most American companies forget about that, or simply do not care about that. Maybe spending would be higher on Android if one would focus on it, heck, Chinese mobile game market sure is ample proof of that. But the intent is simply not there, and as a customer, I will then not care and play something else instead. And god knows, as a huge Journey fan, I've been waiting on Sky for years now, but oh well, here's to wait some more. Or I can always go replay Journey instead.

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But...It's been on Android for just under a year....

 

[Deleted member 17184]

Journey was more ambitious than planned but it turned out to be significantly more successful than both of their previous games combined.

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Sure, but they still went bankrupt just two months before Journey's release and were paying half a salary to every member for quite a few months during development. The company would be in debt a few months after release if not for an investment they got. It paid off in the end, but you can't rely on that happening all the time.

 

[Delphine]

But...It's been on Android for just under a year....

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I know? This is not brand new information here, I know it's been released. It's the fact it was released on Android 10 months after Apple's version while they could have tried to release both at the same time. This is a pattern that keeps repeating for years in the industry of mobile games, and I'm tired of it, so I simply end up ignoring phone games most of the times.

Either way, the game requires very recent phones (less than 3 years old) to be able to play, so that's another setback I'm irked at. And I was voicing that disappointment and tiredness as well. I don't think I shouldn't be entitled to, really. I can try to understand the decisions that led to this game dev-wise, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about them, nor that I like them as a customer & player, period.

 

[Forearm_Star]

Great thread
Downloading now

 

[coldsagging]

I had no idea they made a mobile game. Journey is one of the best games of last gen hands down.

I just had a quick dabble on Sky, very pretty even on my phone but there seems very similar to Journey in terms of gameplay.

 

[Taffy Lewis]

Journey, but with tons of microtransactions and only on phones sounds really dreadful to me. Pretty much the antithesis of what experiencing Journey was like.

 

[LetsEatSnacks]

I know? This is not brand new information here, I know it's been released. It's the fact it was released on Android 10 months after Apple's version while they could have tried to release both at the same time. This is a pattern that keeps repeating for years in the industry of mobile games, and I'm tired of it, so I simply end up ignoring phone games most of the times.

Either way, the game requires very recent phones (less than 3 years old) to be able to play, so that's another setback I'm irked at. And I was voicing that disappointment and tiredness as well. I don't think I shouldn't be entitled to, really. I can try to understand the decisions that led to this game dev-wise, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about them, nor that I like them as a customer & player, period.

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Oh, I'm in complete agreement with you, its just that your statement read as though you were still waiting to play it on Android with the line, " And god knows, as a huge Journey fan, I've been waiting on Sky for years now, but oh well, here's to wait some more. "

Apologies for misunderstanding!

 

[bitcloudrzr]

Sure, but they still went bankrupt just two months before Journey's release and were paying half a salary to every member for quite a few months during development. The company would be in debt a few months after release if not for an investment they got. It paid off in the end, but you can't rely on that happening all the time.

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That is part of the financial risk of indie development though and it paid off very well for them. I am not disparaging their decision to get it out on mobile first, but this burden is going to exist no matter what platform.

 

[Delphine]

Oh, I'm in complete agreement with you, its just that your statement read as though you were still waiting to play it on Android with the line, " And god knows, as a huge Journey fan, I've been waiting on Sky for years now, but oh well, here's to wait some more. "

Apologies for misunderstanding!

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Nah It's fine, I didn't understand your post as you meant it, thanks for clarifying and cheers!

 

[Magog]

So they almost went bankrupt from a game with a 3 year dev cycle then they took 7 years to put out their next game. There's a big gap in that story and it would be interesting to know what happened. Were there cancelled projects, failed partnerships?

Chen did an interview last year saying he'd like to bring this game to Switch and Playstation 4 FWIW. Switch probably has 6/12 month console exclusivity deal or something.

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Yeah that's where i am confused. Did they go without funding for 3-4 years before getting the Apple deal for Sky? What happened in that long 7 years? Were all of their employees let go after Journey? Why didn't they secure funding for a new game before they ran out of money?

 

[Ridley327]

So they almost went bankrupt from a game with a 3 year dev cycle then they took 7 years to put out their next game. There's a big gap in that story and it would be interesting to know what happened. Were there cancelled projects, failed partnerships?

Chen did an interview last year saying he'd like to bring this game to Switch and Playstation 4 FWIW. Switch probably has 6/12 month console exclusivity deal or something.

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There's not that big a gap in the story when you realize that TGC had a lot of development support from Santa Monica Studio during the development of Journey. They were able to help fill in the gaps that a small studio like TGC couldn't, and when their contract expired... well, you're not exactly going to find it all that easy to make a game like Journey with a fraction of the staff, especially when you have some big departures along the way that made their situation even more precarious.

 

[AncientReptileBrain]

this thread really didn't have to take on this shitty tone but somehow here we are.

 

[TheCrackedJack]

thatgamecompanymadeanothergreatandsucessfulgame

 

[Edge]

I would argue that it's the player base who left them behind by completely ignoring a game that's literally Journey but better in every sense because they're scared of playing on their phones.

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Since the first announcement in January 2018, I hoped and waited for a console release, yes. But I was open for the mobile version. But then it took so long till we heard anything from the game again and when it finally came out, it was a year or so exclusive to Apple and when it finally arrived on Android it just didn't ran good on my S10+. Then they finally announced an official console version, only to be exclusive again for at least a year, of all consoles, to the worst technical platform out there, the Switch.

It's like they try to avoid making money from people like me as hard as they can with their weird release path.

We have 2 Switches here, that's not a problem, in theory, but god damn just give me the sweet sexy looking current gen version of this beauty, for fuck sake. I also have zero problems with F2P, that can be well done and fair, but all this exclusive nonsense is annoying as hell and rather leads to me not playing it at all in the end.

And we are huge Thatgamecompany fans with plenty of merchandise and I don't know how many bought copies of all of their games, to make that clear.

 

[spman2099]

I would argue that it's the player base who left them behind by completely ignoring a game that's literally Journey but better in every sense because they're scared of playing on their phones.

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Nah. I'm not going to play any games without tactile feedback. Using a touch screen feels awful. Making a game exclusive to a phone is a specific choice, one I will never reward.

 

[spam musubi]

Nah. I'm not going to play any games without tactile feedback. Using a touch screen feels awful. Making a game exclusive to a phone is a specific choice, one I will never reward.

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Why do we get people coming in every 5-10 posts saying they'd never play anything with a touch screen when it has been made clear many times in this thread that Sky supports almost any controller out there on phones?

 

[aceldama]

There's not that big a gap in the story when you realize that TGC had a lot of development support from Santa Monica Studio during the development of Journey. They were able to help fill in the gaps that a small studio like TGC couldn't, and when their contract expired... well, you're not exactly going to find it all that easy to make a game like Journey with a fraction of the staff, especially when you have some big departures along the way that made their situation even more precarious.

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It's not a surprise they took more time to develop a game of comparable scope independently. It's a surprise they managed to pay their staff and keep the business going for 7 years without a release when they'd struggled with a 3 year stint previously.

 

[Border]

Will SKy run on an AppleTV?

 

[Infinity Times Two]

Will SKy run on an AppleTV?

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Yes. IIRC They first showed off Sky when Apple announced the Apple TV 4K.

 

[spman2099]

Why do we get people coming in every 5-10 posts saying they'd never play anything with a touch screen when it has been made clear many times in this thread that Sky supports almost any controller out there on phones?

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Okay, let me clarify... I'm not going to take a phone with me on the go with a controller; so, if I were to buy a controller to make exclusive phone games playable I would be playing them in my home on a tiny screen. Seems like a pretty suboptimal way to play a game. Why would I bother going out of my way to make a bad experience simply mediocre when I could just play one of the hundreds of superb games that have released on gaming consoles that are designed around being a pleasurable gaming experience?

If a company wants my money they won't release a game on a phone exclusively.

 

[Ridley327]

It's not a surprise they took more time to develop a game of comparable scope independently. It's a surprise they managed to pay their staff and keep the business going for 7 years without a release when they'd struggled with a 3 year stint previously.

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I think a lot of folks really don't understand that contract work isn't the kind of work you can do intermittently and expect it to keep paying the bills. That's why a company like Platinum does so much contract work, since a studio their size requires them to keep making those deals to keep the lights on.

 

[Lynd]

If its good, ill play it when it hits consoles. Didnt some of the original team leave and make that Abzu game too?

 

[Deleted member 17184]

That is part of the financial risk of indie development though and it paid off very well for them. I am not disparaging their decision to get it out on mobile first, but this burden is going to exist no matter what platform.

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Do you think going bankrupt and paying half a salary is worth it? Would you be doing that yourself without knowing if it would pay off in the end?

Whether you like it or not, they found a bigger audience on mobile and that makes their company more sustainable. It's not that they're not going to put their games out on consoles, though.

Okay, let me clarify... I'm not going to take a phone with me on the go with a controller; so, if I were to buy a controller to make exclusive phone games playable I would be playing them in my home on a tiny screen. Seems like a pretty suboptimal way to play a game. Why would I bother going out of my way to make a bad experience simply mediocre when I could just play one of the hundreds of superb games that have released on gaming consoles that are designed around being a pleasurable gaming experience?

If a company wants my money they won't release a game on a phone exclusively.

Click to shrink...

As many have said before, you can use both a controller and a TV to play mobile games. It's essentially a console at that point. You don't have to, of course, but the option exists. As for exclusivity, there was a one-year deal. It helped the game succeed. It then went on to another mobile platform, and soon Switch. PlayStation platforms are also being considered.

So soon you'll have all these options available to pick and choose if you want to play their game.

 

[DC5remy]

Which game company?

 

[spman2099]

Do you think going bankrupt and paying half a salary is worth it? Would you be doing that yourself without knowing if it would pay off in the end?

Whether you like it or not, they found a bigger audience on mobile and that makes their company more sustainable. It's not that they're not going to put their games out on consoles, though.

As many have said before, you can use both a controller and a TV to play mobile games. It's essentially a console at that point. You don't have to, of course, but the option exists. As for exclusivity, there was a one-year deal. It helped the game succeed. It then went on to another mobile platform, and soon Switch. PlayStation platforms are also being considered.

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Fair enough. I will definitely buy it when it comes to a console. 100%.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

know? This is not brand new information here, I know it's been released. It's the fact it was released on Android 10 months after Apple's version while they could have tried to release both at the same time.

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I'm pretty sure Sky got funding from Apple in exchange for timed exclusivity. It was first announced at an Apple Keynote, and there was actually a beta for Mac (I played it, it was great) before even the iPhone version was released. No way they'd do Mac before PC unless Apple was tipping the scales.

 

[spam musubi]

Okay, let me clarify... I'm not going to take a phone with me on the go with a controller; so, if I were to buy a controller to make exclusive phone games playable I would be playing them in my home on a tiny screen. Seems like a pretty suboptimal way to play a game. Why would I bother going out of my way to make a bad experience simply mediocre when I could just play one of the hundreds of superb games that have released on gaming consoles that are designed around being a pleasurable gaming experience?

If a company wants my money they won't release a game on a phone exclusively.

Click to shrink...

It has also been clarified many times in this thread that you can play phone games on your TV as well. But the goal posts are always movable. Either way, these are all solved problems and when there's a will there's a way. Clearly that's not the issue.

 

[spman2099]

It has also been clarified many times in this thread that you can play phone games on your TV as well. But the goal posts are always movable. Either way, these are all solved problems and when there's a will there's a way. Clearly that's not the issue.

Click to shrink...

You are the one moving the goal posts. So now I have to go buy cables to transfer the image to my TV (and then cobble them together with a third party controller). Basically, I need to construct a console piece by piece. How is that a reasonable expectation? Seems to me I would just be better off playing games on a console which is a pleasurable experience out of the box (without engaging in some kind of DIY experiment). Your argument is asinine.

Especially since this game is coming to a console... so why would I bother with any of this? I will just keep buying good games on consoles.

 

[MadMod]

Isn't 50 million downloads on a free game (sky) worse than breaking sales records on PSN (journey)?

 

[foxuzamaki]

That's another confusing aspect of NuThatgamecompany. Why bring it to Switch and not the PS4 which was the home of your previous games after Sony gave you a huge leg up in the industry with a 3 game deal for some unknown college students. PS4 has a larger install base as well if money is all they love.

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Gonna keep it real with you chief, its become abundantly clear that Indies thrive on the switch and PC compared to every other platform

 

[OGM_Madness]

Having play and loved Journey, I was hoping for another Console release. I bet their new IP is great but I'm hoping it comes to PS5 or at least to Switch with no or less mtx

 

[spman2099]

Having play and loved Journey, I was hoping for another Console release. I bet their new IP is great but I'm hoping it comes to PS5 or at least to Switch with no or less mtx

Click to shrink...

Seems like it is on the way to consoles.

 

[Magog]

Gonna keep it real with you chief, its become abundantly clear that Indies thrive on the switch and PC compared to every other platform

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Huh? Rocket League and Fall Guys both made it big because of Playstation Plus.

 

[Yabberwocky]

I had no idea about Sky, will definitely check it when it comes to Switch.

(Also, not anti-mobile, but I hurt my shoulders up very quickly these days when it comes to mobile gaming or handheld gaming consoles, so I have to stick to playing games on my television, unfortunately.)

 

[foxuzamaki]

Huh? Rocket League and Fall Guys both made it big because of Playstation Plus.

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Notice you said playstation plus

 

[Loud Wrong]

Huh? Rocket League and Fall Guys both made it big because of Playstation Plus.

Click to shrink...

And Sony hasn't appeared to give a damn about indies in years whereas Nintendo has. Things changed a few years into the PS4s lifespan. I don't blame any indie dev for going directly to Switch first like Hades did.

 

[julia crawford]

Which game company?

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This joke is fourteen years old and you should be ashamed

 

[bitcloudrzr]

Do you think going bankrupt and paying half a salary is worth it? Would you be doing that yourself without knowing if it would pay off in the end?

Whether you like it or not, they found a bigger audience on mobile and that makes their company more sustainable. It's not that they're not going to put their games out on consoles, though.

Click to shrink...

If they were confident in the product and were lucky to have Sony and SSM for support then yes it was worth it. This is inherent to all game development, even on mobile you may fail to find and audience since f2p is no guarantee of success. They risked big and the reward was big, and they were able to improve the sequel for an even bigger success. Again I am not saying their decision to go mobile first is in any way negative.

And Sony hasn't appeared to give a damn about indies in years whereas Nintendo has. Things changed a few years into the PS4s lifespan. I don't blame any indie dev for going directly to Switch first like Hades did.

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Launching Fall Guys and regularly featuring indies for PS5 and PS4 in their showcases goes against this thinking.

 

[Deleted member 17184]

If they were confident in the product and were lucky to have Sony and SSM for support then yes it was worth it. This is inherent to all game development, even on mobile you may fail to find and audience since f2p is no guarantee of success. They risked big and the reward was big, and they were able to improve the sequel for an even bigger success. Again I am not saying their decision to go mobile first is in any way negative.

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Half a salary for months and bankruptcy are worth it... Okay, I think we have to agree to disagree.

 

[bitcloudrzr]

Half a salary for months and bankruptcy are worth it... Okay, I think we have to agree to disagree.

Click to shrink...

The game was more ambitious, took longer, and needed support from SSM. They did not blindly walk into that situation and getting outside investment, or a loan, or cash flow some other way is not abnormal. I am not sure what part you are disagreeing to, that they could have scaled down the scope of Journey to save time and money? Then we might not be talking about what a success that game turned out to be, so clearly they thought it was worth pursuing.

Financial risk in game development is not abnormal.

 

[TSM]

I would argue that it's the player base who left them behind by completely ignoring a game that's literally Journey but better in every sense because they're scared of playing on their phones.

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If a developer decides to switch platforms it's them who left their player base behind. This is like when the Bayonetta sequel ended up on the Wii U and left the player base behind. I'm glad they found success on the new platform at least since they make really interesting games.

 

[Mafro]

If a developer decides to switch platforms it's them who left their player base behind. This is like when the Bayonetta sequel ended up on the Wii U and left the player base behind. I'm glad they found success on the new platform at least since they make really interesting games.

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Bayonetta 2 wouldn't have existed without Nintendo though.

 

[dgamemaster]

Just going to throw in some of my two cents here, but thatgamecompany is doing just fine. While it is disappointing that their latest game had mobile as it's starting platform, it still seems to be a rather fantastic game on its own, and it's definitely better than at least 92% of other mobile games in terms of ambition and execution.

Just cause your game launches on mobile doesn't discredit the game at all or make it worthless. The Pathless, one of the major launch titles for PS5 came to Apple Arcade (technically mobile) Day 1, and people still consider it rather good.

Huh? Rocket League and Fall Guys both made it big because of Playstation Plus.

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Rocket League ain't indie anymore (bought up by Epic Games), and Fall Guys got the benefit of not just PS+, but also the streaming wave and quarantine. Also, both of those experiences are multiplayer-focused, and while Sky is indeed multiplayer-focused, it's a very different type of multiplayer than those two games. What about single-player game experiences like Flower and Flow? Why didn't Edith Finch get as huge of a popularity boost in 2019 when it was on PS+? PlayStation isn't the best platform for indie experiences, and while there are success stories, it's nowhere near as large as the Switch/PC indie success stories.

If a developer decides to switch platforms it's them who left their player base behind. This is like when the Bayonetta sequel ended up on the Wii U and left the player base behind. I'm glad they found success on the new platform at least since they make really interesting games.

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If Bayonetta 2 wasn't funded by Nintendo, there wouldn't be any more Bayonetta. Don't blame the developer for being literally unable to continue making games unless they switched platforms. The player base isn't forced to follow, but I don't think devs like Platinum ever want to abandon their player base.

 

[ILikeFeet]

If a developer decides to switch platforms it's them who left their player base behind. This is like when the Bayonetta sequel ended up on the Wii U and left the player base behind. I'm glad they found success on the new platform at least since they make really interesting games.

Click to shrink...

Bayonetta 2 would have left the player base behind by not fucking existing

 

[Deleted member 17184]

The game was more ambitious, took longer, and needed support from SSM. They did not blindly walk into that situation and getting outside investment, or a loan, or cash flow some other way is not abnormal. I am not sure what part you are disagreeing to, that they could have scaled down the scope of Journey to save time and money? Then we might not be talking about what a success that game turned out to be, so clearly they thought it was worth pursuing.

Financial risk in game development is not abnormal.

Click to shrink...

I'll reply just for clarification. My point from the very beginning was that if they have to go through bankruptcy and paying half a salary to their entire company, it's not worth pursuing console development first for the games they want to make. That's all.