Technology Review magazine recognized Thatgamecompany's (
fl0w) creative director and founder Jenova Chen as one of the world's top innovators under the age of 35 for "his revolutionary approach to video gaming."
Chen was selected from over 300 nominees by a panel of judges and the publication's editorial staff. Technology Review's TR35 list has featured 35 innovators under the age of 35 every year since 2005. Prior to that, the magazine ran an annual TR100 list highlighting 100 individuals, which debuted in 1999.
Chen co-founded Thatgamecompany in 2006 and secured a deal with Sony Computer Entertainment America to create three titles. The studio's first commercial game,
flOw, which tasked players with evolving a micro-organism, was released on the PlayStation Network in February 2007. A PlayStation Portable version developed by SuperVillain Studios was released in March 2008.
Thatgamecompany is currently working on another PSN title,
Flower, which will have players guiding a flower petal through a city with the system's Sixaxis controller.
The magazine will feature Chen and the other TR35 winners for 2008 in its September issue, further honoring them at the EmTech08 Conference to be held at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., September 23-25, 2008.
"The TR35 honors young innovators for accomplishments that are poised to have a dramatic impact on the world as we know it," says Technology Review editor-in-chief and publisher Jason Pontin. "We celebrate their success and look forward to their continued advancement of technology in their respective fields."
