Ask HN: Has anybody here ever successfully started a videogame company?

I think most of the honest people here 30 or younger will say they got into programming in some part due to videogames. These days, it seems more viable than it used to, with the various routes for self-publishing available through the Xbox Live marketplace and the app markets.

After seven years of doing much less interesting varieties of programming at work while making silly JS games at home - my urge to actually make videogames is stronger now than ever. So, I took action. I downloaded the XNA Toolkit and banged out a basic pong clone in an hour to start off with and moved forward from there. Coincidentally I happen to be friends with an amazing musician who was more than happy to provide me with music and a great artist to provide me with graphics. Fast forward to today and I've got a game that I can feasibly see myself releasing this week.

I want to keep doing this and would love if I could start doing it full time; it's been a blast. I'd like to do this full time but like most people, I'm not independently wealthy quite yet. I still have to feed myself. So, all of that is to say, has anyone here tackled the same endeavor and succeeded? Are there people who fund games other than the big successful videogame companies perpetuating themselves or does everyone find success on the side then keep going? Certain platforms sell better than others (I've heard Steam's much better than the Xbox 360 market)? Any hurdles to watch out for?