My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin
In My Perfect Console, Simon Parkin, award-winning author video game critic for The Observer invites well-known guests from the worlds of gaming, film and television, music, comedy and more to pick the five video games they would like to immortalise on a fictional games machine. They discuss those five games in chronological order of release, interspersed with biographical chat about the guest’s life and career –– a lens that often leads to new and unexpected insights.
"Thoroughly modern and ahead of its time...a gift." - NEW YORK'S VULTURE
"Charming, insightful." -- THE GUARDIAN
TIME OUT'S 50 Best Podcasts
VULTURE's Best Podcast of the Year
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 70 minutes
- Episodes
- 152
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Josh Scherr, narrative director (co-writer Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Part II).
My guest today is an American writer and narrative designer for video games. After graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with an MFA in Animation, he worked as an animator in Hollywood, co…
Iain Stirling, comedian, voice of Love Island.
My guest today is a Scottish comedian, writer, television presenter, narrator, and Twitch streamer. It was during his final year studying law at the University of Edinburgh, the city in which he grew…
Mike Rose, indie game publisher (No More Robots).
My guest today is founder and director of the independent game publisher No More Robots. After graduating from the University of Manchester with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, he becam…
Jason Schreier, investigative journalist, Bloomberg.
My guest today is a New York Times-bestselling author and journalist. After graduating from NYU with a degree in writing, he worked as a freelance journalist covering video games for Wired magazine, …
Bryan Lee O'Malley, graphic novelist (Scott Pilgrim).
My guest today is a Canadian cartoonist and creator of one of the best-loved graphic novels of the 2000s. Born in London, Canada, he joined the Film Studies programme at the University of Western Ont…
Naomi Alderman, novelist (The Power, The Future).
My guest today is an award-winning novelist, journalist, writer of games, and presenter of radio programmes. She grew up in London, studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University, th…
Meghna Jayanth, narrative designer (80 Days, Sunless Seas, Thirsty Suitors).
My guest today is an award-winning writer and narrative designer for video games.
As a child she split her time between Bangalore, London, and Saudi Arabia before settling in the UK to study English L…
Lucas Pope, gamemaker (Papers, Please; Return of the Obra Dinn).
My guest today is the American designer of two of the most highly regarded experimental games yet made. He grew up in Virginia, where his interest in hobbyist robotics led him to study mechanical eng…
David Wilson, former Director of Communications, PlayStation. (LIVE @ WASD)
My guest today is the former Director of Communications for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. After graduating from the University of Exeter, he joined Dennis Publishing where he worked as deputy e…
Pierre Novellie, comedian.
My guest today is a stand-up comedian, writer, radio host and podcaster. Born in South Africa, his family then moved to the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. He studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic lang…
Jennifer Hale, voice actor (Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid, Knights of the Old Republic, Cinderella)
My guest today is a is a Canadian American actor for video games, television and film. Born in Labrador in Canada, she soon moved to Alabama in the United States, where, as a teenager, she began work…
Kieron Gillen, comic book author (Star Wars, X-Men, Iron Man, DIE).
My guest today is an award-winning creator and writer of comic books. Born into a Staffordshire working-class family, he was a student of Applied Biology at Bath University when he started contributi…
Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, founder Melanin Gamers.
My guest today is a British-Ghanaian writer and advocate for inclusion and diversity in the video game industry. Having graduated from the University of Westminster with a degree in creative writing …
Clint Hocking, creative director (Splinter Cell, Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs Legion, Assassin's Creed Infinity)
My guest today is a Canadian video game designer and director. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with an MFA in creative writing, he joined Ubisoft Montreal where he co-wrote t…
Peter Molyneux O.B.E., video game designer (Populous, Theme Park, Fable).
My guest today is an English video game designer and programmer. In 1984 he designed The Entrepreneur, a simulation game about running a start-up company. When it sold just two copies, however, my gu…
Frank Lantz, founding chair, NYU Game Center.
My guest today is a game designer and Founding Chair of New York University’s Game Center. An influential writer, speaker, and thinker on video games he has taught generations of emerging young desig…
Stella Wisdom, digital curator, British Library.
My guest today is Digital Curator for Contemporary Collections at The British Library. After graduating from Aberystwyth University with a degree in Library Studies and Art History, my guest was awar…
Sam Barlow, game director (Silent Hill, Her Story, Immortality).
My guest today is a game director who has pioneered new forms of nonlinear storytelling that blend film and games. After twelve-year stint at the British development studio Climax, where he directed …
Joseph Mackertich, editor, Time Out.
My guest today is editor-in-chief of Time Out London. After graduating from SOAS University with a degree in religion and the history of art, he moved to China for a few years, then struck out as a f…
Paul Chowdhry, actor, comedian.
My guest today is multi-award-winning stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Born in Edgware London, to a Punjabi Sikh family, he was in his mid-twenties when he first tried stand-up. Five years later…