The PlayStation x Reebok collection will be available in the US, UK and Japan from October. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The PlayStation x Reebok collection will be available in the US, UK and Japan from October. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The PlayStation x Reebok collection will be available in the US, UK and Japan from October. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The PlayStation x Reebok collection will be available in the US, UK and Japan from October. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment

A history of PlayStation collaborations, from Reebok shoes to McDonald's Happy Meal toy


Faisal Al Zaabi
  • English
  • Arabic

Since the first PlayStation was released in 1994, the console and its successors have sat comfortably on the throne of gaming. Despite competition from Nintendo and Xbox, each generation of PlayStation has remained some of the bestselling, with the most successful of all being the PlayStation 2, which sold more than 160 million units.

With its popularity comes the demand for co-branded merchandise. Here, we look at various PlayStation collaborations over the years, which aim to cement the brand's place in pop culture.

Books

PlayStation: The First 30 Years. Photo: Read-Only Memory
PlayStation: The First 30 Years. Photo: Read-Only Memory

PlayStation marked its 30th anniversary in September with the release of a new photography book in collaboration with British gaming-focused art book publishing house Read-Only Memory, which charts the brand’s history.

PlayStation: The First 30 Years brings together 400 pages of images, including rare prototypes, concept sketches and design models from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s archives.

The collection highlights the evolution of the company’s hardware, from early experiments to the consoles and controllers that went on to define gaming culture for millions of players around the world.

Clothes

A PlayStation-branded T-shirt by Les Benjamins. Photo: Les Benjamins
A PlayStation-branded T-shirt by Les Benjamins. Photo: Les Benjamins

Les Benjamins’s PlayStation release includes three T-shirts, two sweatshirts, a hoodie, a bomber jacket, a polo shirt and jeans. All the items bear the PlayStation logo with the brand’s name written in the console’s recognisable font.

The clothes also make use of the four shapes found on every PlayStation controller – circle, square, X and triangle.

Last year, to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary in December, Japanese clothing brand Beams released a set of hoodies and crewnecks that celebrated the gaming console. These were a lot more subtle in their representation and used the PlayStation’s iconography in a minimalist way.

German sportswear brand Puma also collaborated with PlayStation to release a line of colourful T-shirts. The Puma line used hues such as baby blue and violet to present a more playful side of the console.

Shoes

Puma x PlayStation shoes. Photo: Puma
Puma x PlayStation shoes. Photo: Puma

Alongside the tees, Puma also released a PlayStation shoe collection that is closer in spirit to the console colours. The sports shoes came in black, white and blue and featured details that fans of the console will recognise.

The biggest shoe collaboration for PlayStation was in 2021, when rapper Travis Scott and Nike released a special pair. The Nike Dunk Lows feature the signature Travis Scott reverse swoosh and the original PlayStation Logo with Japanese lettering under it.

The cream and light blue footwear was an instant hit with collectors and PlayStation fans alike. Today, the shoes sell for upwards of $2,000 on marketplace StockX.

Another footwear collaboration came in 2025 with Reebok, again for the brand's 30th anniversary celebration. The brands unveiled a trainer collection inspired by the original PlayStation console, with each design tied to one of the system’s launch regions.

The line includes Instapump Fury 94 for Japan, Pump Omni Zone II for the US and Workout Plus for the UK. Set to launch this month, the footwear draws on the console’s distinctive look, with each Reebok silhouette reflecting contemporaneous popularity with the console from the mid-1990s.

The shoes will be released in limited-edition packaging that echoes the console’s launch design, complete with the anniversary grey colour scheme and other nostalgic details.

Food

McDonalds released a Japan-only exclusive happy meal toy in 2021, which featured four characters from PlayStation games
McDonalds released a Japan-only exclusive happy meal toy in 2021, which featured four characters from PlayStation games

PlayStation fans were given a chance to play with their food with a pasta collaboration in 2023. British online supermarket Ocado and pasta makers Garofalo teamed up with Sony to create pasta shaped like the characters on the Sony controller.

The PlayStation pasta was sold in a 500g bag that cost about $3. The collaboration was the first of its kind for PlayStation, but it wasn’t the first time the console was associated with food.

Pasta shaped like the PlayStation controller's buttons. Getty Images
Pasta shaped like the PlayStation controller's buttons. Getty Images

In 2012, American fast-food chain Taco Bell ran a promotion for participants to get a chance at owning the portable PlayStation Vita console. Four years later, the chain announced another promotion for a chance to win a golden PlayStation 4 console, which has now become a sought-after collector’s item.

The first documented collaboration between PlayStation and a fast-food chain was in 2001, when McDonald's released a Japan-only exclusive Happy Meal toy that featured four characters from PlayStation games.

The characters were PaRappa the Rapper from the game of the same name, Toro from Doko Demo Issyo, Pipo Saru and Chocobo from Ape Escape.

Toys and collectibles

Funko released a line of figurines based on PlayStation characters. Photo: Funko
Funko released a line of figurines based on PlayStation characters. Photo: Funko

There have been numerous releases of toys and collectibles that feature PlayStation game characters. Most recently, Sony released keychains that featured all the controllers and portable devices from its history.

These keychains were only available in Japan and could be found at gachapon machines, coin-operated capsule toy vending machines.

The most well-known collaboration for PlayStation toys and collectibles is with Funko. The company, which produces figurines that feature characters from pop culture, collaborated with PlayStation to release a line of some of its most recognisable characters.

Some of the most popular of these are of Joel from The Last of Us, Kratos from God of War, Sam Porter Bridges from Death Stranding and The Hunter from Bloodborne. Many of the PlayStation Funko figures sold out immediately and can only be bought on the second hand market for exorbitant prices.

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

UAE squad

Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.

UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

'The Ice Road'

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne

2/5

Super 30

Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5

Company profile

Name: The Concept

Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 7

Sector: Aviation and space industry

Funding: $250,000

Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products

HIV on the rise in the region

A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.

New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.

Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.

Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.  

Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.

Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

Facebook | Our website | Instagram

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Updated: October 02, 2025, 12:11 PM`