Journey is fastest-selling PSN game ever

The headache and strange aversion to any sound other than the music in Journey after watching it played reinforces my insisting that the game should have been so much more than a mere platformer with primitive-but-stylish graphics and a haunting musical score to carry it out of mediocrity. It was clear after watching that this game NEEDED and really badly suffered from a lack of interactivity, since the only part of my brain working here was really my auditory and perhaps a bit of visual and memory. More parts should have been firing here, and to give examples there was definitely a missing element of suspense and perhaps urgency to get the adrenaline up just enough to wake players up from the hypnotic presentation. No, this game could have been more, and I feel cheated by what we have been left with.

What a great game, wish we'd get more like this. So different and beautiful.

How the heck can something like that sell so good. It's so simple and plain boring..

@ decebal: So if the developer added an extra hour of grind, you could justify spending the extra $5, right?, For myself, in a word, yes! Although I don't think I'd use the word (grind) which is usually reserved more so for an MMO and that of doing the very same think over and over again! That's not at all what I and some others are asking for! Just a little more bang for the buck if you will. Anyway I do hope you enjoyed it, and I too no doubt will in the future! Happy gaming.

oh well, i do love the game, and hope that the next title (2.0) will have more "communication" skills.

@psycho75 Well alright then. Obviously i'm not going to get more info out of you about it, so I'll stop it at that. Still not gonna play it right now. Still got a very long list of games I did not finish yet. Maybe in the future.

@supertom221 for me the overall experience was great,music,visuals,puzzles and smooth gameplay,like i said,you'll need to play yourself to know better,for me it is a very good game and an welcome change of pace...

I think that the shortness is needed. The game is meant to an experience done in one sitting (I've enjoyed redoing it a number of times and expect to do more). It's great we we get 40+ hour quest games (costing well over $80 once you get the DLC) and it's great we get one sitting games (that cost $15). One way to think of "Journey" is as a MEGA arcade game (it's pretty long compared to "Donkey Kong"....). I think of it as an interactive film experience. To me the single biggest problem with download-only games is that you can't resell them if you don't like them (or ever).

@x-2tha-z Well yeah, that's what it sounded like. Doesn't mean I thought you are. So now you jump the gun again instead of trying to listen, and not only that, you become judgemental and think you know all about me. That's the kind of person you are. Does that make YOU happy? @psycho75 That still doesn't answer my question... What is good about Journey? Don't try to pull a "can't put it into words" crap on me, please. It can be put in to words. This isn't a revelation, just a game with (supposedly) a very good atmosphere. What is that atmosphere?

@supertom221 You said I sounded like a shallow arrogant ****. You don't consider that to be an insult? Don't be ridiculous. You didn't understand my comment then insulted me because I took the time to explain it to you. That's the kind of person you are. You must be so happy.

@supertom221 The reason i replied to you is that i too had second thoughts about this game till i played myself in a friends house...i don't know what kind of game mechanics is appealing to you but journey isn't an action packed nor have a mind blowing gameplay,is more like an atmospheric trip that "talks"to the player thats why is unique and hard to explain. I understand that isn't a game for everyone but i recommend trying,if you are unsure wait for a price drop:)

@psycho75 I wasn't looking for respect, and I wasn't criticizing Journey. Can't people stop for a moment to read before shouting "hater!!1!"? I just want someone to explain to me what's so good about it. I'm sick of people spilling rainbows at it and not telling me why. I'm not going to pay 15$ for a game that's 2-3 hours long with no explanation to why it's amazing. For all I know, it might not be my cup of tea. But I don't know that. From what i've seen, the game has beautiful cel-shaded graphics that give an artistic feel as well as unique exploring and Co-Op mechanic. That's it. What else is there for me?

@x-2tha-z Calm the hell down. I wasn't insulting you, I was pointing why would a person feel like that. Stop jumping the gun for a moment and try to understand i'm not against you. And no, i'm not dumb, I believe. I know they are sold all the time, but between selling your art to spread it and derailing it to turn a profit there's a big difference.

I'll be passing over this one since I think I have a disorder that doesn't alllow me to feel emotions over emotional scenes in media(Whether games, movies, books, etc). Sorry guys, but pretty art isn't enough for me to get a 2-3 hour game. I need something else to win me over.

@supertom221 Now you turn to insults? And my comments make me sound like what? Well, what does your last comment say about you? I can't understand why THIS GAME would make someone cry. The idea of that happening is ridiculous to me. Translation, since you're struggling so much to understand - I can't understand why JOURNEY would make someone cry. The idea of JOURNEY making someone cry is ridiculous to me. Do you finally understand now? Was that simple enough for you? And your comment about art not being sold, you seriously aren't dumb enough to think that are you? Art is sold all the time. Artists paintings for example are sold all the time. Here's a tip, you might even find some on eBay right now, genius.

@supertom221 I second you on your MGS statement,thats TRUE ART,however i don't think anyone will respect your Journey criticism since as you said you didn't played the game. You would be surprised how many times a game made me change my mind after experienced,it's a interactive thing you know,its different from just watching a trailer or review,just saying.

@x-2tha-z Well allright... "All I thought while playing it was 'Wow, these graphics are great' and 'Okay, I'm starting to get bored now'." Kinda makes you sound like a shallow arrogant f***. " The idea of that happening is ridiculous to me." The idea of making a game move you is ridiculous? I'm not trying to diss you, I'm just pointing out why people thumbed you down.

@supertom221 I have looked at it closely. The first sentence says "I really don't understand why this game would make someone cry". When I said "this game", I was of course referring to the game featured in the piece of news we are commenting on. That game is Journey. I then asked him to tell me what part of Journey made him cry. My comments referring to great graphics and boredom were also about Journey. At the end I say I can't think of anything in the game that would make someone cry. The game I'm referring to is the one featured in the news story we're commenting on (Journey). I didn't say I couldn't think of any games that would make someone cry. As I said before, my comment is pretty clear. What are you reading? Why do you have to understand what I'm "trying" to say? You could just read what I did say.

Different is good, different is profitable good! I bet it wasn't the Jawa-looking protagonist that made it sell that well. Guess gamers want these kinds of games as well. Not everything needs to be a supersized franchise.

@x-2tha-z Because it sounds liek it. Look at your comment agai and closely inspect it. Don't worry, I got exactly what you were trying to say and I support it. Guess all these "clever" people who see the artistic side of a game are so intelligent they can't even properly read a comment. How ironic.

@Wula_ Oh, I've played Shadow of the Colossus; I thought a lot of the camera angles in Journey were very evocative of the angles used in SotC -- the feelings of desolation and beauty, too. Shadow of the Colossus is when I started believing in the artistic potential of gaming; Journey helped me realize that it wasn't an isolated incident. Both games give me a lot of hope for the future of gaming -- both as an industry and as a veritable art form. It's hard to believe in games as an art form when titles like Battlefield and Call of Duty saturate the market, but companies like Team Ico and ThatGameCompany and Irrational remind me that there are some wonderful prospects out there that transcend the percolated dross of Infinity Ward and EA.

Fun game but a bit short. I was hoping that the second player would have had a bigger role. I feel like the game lacks depth but it was still pretty much what I expected.

@supertom221 I don't know how you could've got that from my comment. I think it's pretty clear I was talking about Journey specifically.

I dunno, I played this at a friend's house (he gushed over it) and it wasn't that impressive. It was pretty to look at and that is about it. It's incredibly (shamefully) short and I found it to be pretty boring. I can't really see any replay value in it. It might be a case of pretty looking interactive art, but I it didn't make me feel all emotional or euphoric or anything like that, more like meh. And I am not emotionally dead or empty, a good emotional scene or moment in a book or movie can get me choked up or teary eyed or filled with joy, this game just didn't do it for me.

@x-2tha-z Thank you. But I can see why people thumbed you down. Your comment sounds as if you say a game can't make you cry as if i's any less emotional than a novel or movie, which isn't true. I hope you aren't really thinking that. But at least we both agree on the fact Journey is alot like Angry Birds on that aspect-- People play it for 10 minutes, talk as if they've played it for a year. Thinking they are clever, all I can come up with is disgust. I cried when I played MGS3 because I knew very well how touching it is and what made me cry, in addition to the fact it's an excellent game. BUT WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT JOURNEY?! WHAT?! The reviews, the fans, the gameplay videos-- NONE OF THEM tell me WHY it's so good!

@Supertom221 I completely agree. I've played Journey and I think people are getting a bit carried away with the things they're saying about it. They're reading things into it that simply isn't there. People have been quick to thumb down my last comment but none of them have tried to explain why this short, simple game is such an emotional experience. They probably haven't said because they probably don't know why. They're just jumping on the "Journey is so emotional" bandwagon.

the only reason I heard of this game was because of some dude on Youtube named Brod3o. His review made me want to buy the game! LOL!

@franzito I have no interest in Auction galleries. Also, alot of the auctions are selling art of an artist that is long past, meaning the piece of work was never meant to be merchandise, therefore it does not lose it's deeper meanings. But it does take a damage to it. ALso you kind confused me on that last paragraph there. I did not insult the graphics of the game, and I think you are acting abit pretentious where you say i'm justifying a "supposed shallowness" of a game. Game graphics, musical score, story, gameplay, length, and overall fun factor is very important to a game. Anything else is not mandatory to a game, but a welcome bonus, not the other way around. Again, I have not played journey so I cannot comment on anything the game does in those aspects, I'm just tired of people acting all artsy-fartsy and acting like they got something I didn't, a deeper meaning, because I actually look at the overall picture. And what does fantasy have to do with it?

@hollowninja Also the reputation that game company that made this game has. Played flower before this. Thought it was artistic and actually made me calm. But this is much better. A total euphoria must say.

@supertom221 I hate to break with you but ART became a sale's product since gallery auctions made them so. Personally, if a game feast the eyes but, of course, has a whole integration with controls, music and such, why not buy it? It won't be less good because it looks good. You try to justify a "supposed shallowness" of the game based on its looks but forget, being art or not, it's a fiction matter. It's about fantasy and that's it.

This game intrigues me, but will I buy it? No. If this game delivers so much artistic integrity and brilliant mechanics that take it beyond the realm of the average game, why the big price tag? You don't sell art. Art is not merchandise. Nontheless, I do wish to try this game out at some point, since I missed out on Flow and Flower, but if it's artsy fartsy and no real substance, pass. I'm not dissing this game in any way, but all I hear about this game is "It's ART! it's a masterpiece! It's great, beautiful!" . . . What's so amazing about it? Sorry, I jsut prefer artistic games like ICO and Shadow of The Colossus. They might have a great deal of focus on emotions and artistic portrayals, but atleast they remember they are still games.

This just proves that you dont have to follow the current trends in video games in order to have a succesful game! take notice Capcom!

It seems to me that the few people that don't like Journey are measuring it in terms of quantity and not quality. Sure, the game only takes a max of 3 hours to beat,but the personally emotional experience to be had in those few hours is such an amazing feeling that feels complete, and doesn't need to be unnecessarily stretched longer. And I think it only enhances the replay value because you want to feel that emotion again. The game was designed to give the player an experience and an emotional response. As minimal as it seems, it's epic in it's execution. If playing Journey doesn't give you that experience that's fine, but that doesn't mean it sucks because the game isn't 20+ hours long. Journey is the strongest argument games can be considered art. I know a lot of Journey players feel the same. Here's hoping I see you in the desert!

It's funny that so many people complain about paying 15 bucks for a 2 hour game. Do you complain about paying that kind of money on a bluray movie? Journey provides an experience very similar to a good film. No wonder the hardcore gaming industry is in trouble. Judging value based on length is a terrible mistake. I actually wish games would get shorter, because it's rare to see a long game that does not get repetitive and boring at some point.

@ MGS_fan_2015 If what you say is true. You missed out on a ton of other great emotional games. Try looking at games like Limbo, Shadow of the Colssous, Okami, Ico, and a few others I can't think of right now. They all deliver great emotional journeys as well in their different presentation styles like this game does.

I think it's well deserved. Journey is one of the most emotionally epic experiences to be had in a video game.

Good to know!

I am very pleased to hear this. It certainly deserved to sell well.

Agreed, I need to pick this one up too :)

Seriously need to buy this game. I'm off work all next week, now may be a better time than ever :)

@MGS_fan_2015 I really don't understand why this game made some people cry. The idea of that happening is ridiculous to me. What was it specifically that brought you to tears? What happened to evoke such an emotional reaction? All I thought while playing it was 'Wow, these graphics are great' and 'Okay, I'm starting to get bored now'. I can't think of anything in the game that would've made someone cry.

Sony did well to sponsor these guys.

This game had me in tears. Any doubt I had about whether or not games can be art was extinguished with this. This is art, ladies and gentlemen -- art as only a game can be. No film could capture this; no poem can replicate it. This is an experience that can only be conveyed through gaming.

@BimboShaggins also there is pretty much no chance of a pc port since it a Sony publish game and I believe they own the rights to it not to sure though and anybody who insults other users gets reported and a thumbs down

The game was truly amazing

I realy need to pick this up; I loved Flower. Never played flow tho... :|

but does it blend ?

please please please pc port! this game looks so awesome. and please give me thumbs down simply because I don't a Ps3 you pre-teen fanboys

Word of mouth really carried Journey.

Honestly if you have flower, I wouldn't even bother with journey, compared to how beautiful flower is with all it's vibrant colors and rather while simple, but fun gameplay, Journey is just dull mindless wandering with some rather annoying and poor gameplay mechanics. If you are looking for nothing more then a visual ride, as an artist the music and visual are nice, though only come in 2 flavors, orange and shades of grey, which is isn't all that pretty, I could play GoW and get the same visual appeal out of it, and actually get a GAME out of it. Then by all means go for it, but in my thoughts as a GAMER, it's a waste of money. @gfantini, Oh yea the feeling carry long afterwards, it's called regret and slight bit of disgust...