In September 2025, around 100 people connected to the original PlayStation launch in Europe gathered in Soho, London. Some had not seen one another for decades. Others had travelled across the UK, from Europe and across the Atlantic to be there.
I conceived and organised Games Collective as an unofficial gathering to mark 30 years since PlayStation’s European launch. It grew from a smaller reunion the previous December and from a wish to bring more of the team together: to reconnect, share memories and preserve something of that period in games history.
For those of us who worked through it, the memories remain vivid. PlayStation was new, the outcome was far from certain, and a great many people gave their energy and imagination to making it work. Thirty years later, the conversations picked up with surprising ease.
People shared stories from the early years and remembered colleagues whose work had helped make PlayStation possible. A message sent from Tokyo by a member of the original launch team who could not attend was read aloud. Games press were also there, speaking with guests.
Games Collective took around six months to put together. I found the Soho venue, arranged ticketing, contacted guests and coordinated the event, with generous help and support from others. What made the gathering special was the effort people made to come and the pleasure of seeing former colleagues together again.
The film above captures some of the speeches and moments from the gathering. It also includes footage from 1995, bringing the two occasions briefly alongside one another.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the event happen, and to everyone who travelled to be part of it. Bringing people together to share that history made the months of work worthwhile.