My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin – Details, episodes & analysis

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My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/7d. Total Eps: 202

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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Andy Robertson, journalist, entrepreneur (BBC, Ludocene).

Episode 131

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 • Duration 01:22:12

Andy Robertson is a veteran journalist, editor, and entrepreneur who has spent his career exploring how video games can bring people together. After graduating from Brunel University with a degree in Computer Science, he worked as a freelance games critic for the BBC before launching Family Gamer TV, a YouTube channel designed to help parents and caregivers confidently navigate the increasingly complex world of games.

An advocate of games in diverse spaces, including the TEDx and Greenbelt festivals, he’s now launched Ludocene, a site described as “Tinder for games”. This clever, card-based video game recommendation platform has been inspired by deck-builder mechanics, and is designed to surface hidden gems beyond algorithmic trends. With a career that sits at the crossroads of games, meaning, and joy—he is a champion of the idea that digital play can be nutritious, life-giving, and wildly fun.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Lizzie Killian, musician (Teens in Trouble).

Episode 130

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 • Duration 01:21:12

Lizzie Killian is the lead vocalist and guitarist of Teens in Trouble, an indie rock band known for its anthemic melodies, sharp lyrics, and emotionally charged hooks. Before taking to the stage, she started her career as a writer covering games, then moved into communications, collaborating with titans of the industry such Capcom, EA, and Riot.

In 2022 she released her first E.P. with her band Teens in Trouble, which included the tracks “I’m Not Worried” and “Decomposing,” both of which have been featured in Fortnite. Last year, the band released their debut full-length album ‘What’s Mine’, described by Punk News as an “effervescent, catchy… grand way to make an entrance.”

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Jimi Famurewa, food critic.

Episode 122

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 • Duration 01:16:30

Jimi Famurewa is a British-Nigerian author, broadcaster and food critic whose writing blends cultural insight, wit, and deep empathy. As the former restaurant critic for the Evening Standard, he’s become one of the most recognisable voices in British food writing, known for capturing not just what’s on the plate, but also the people, stories, and histories behind it.

A regular guest judge on the BBC One series MasterChef, he was also one of the lead judges on Channel 4’s The Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver. His debut non-fiction book, Settlers, explored the lives and legacies of Black immigrants in the UK. His new book, Picky, charts his journey from being a child who refused all vegetables, to becoming a Guild of Food Writers’ Restaurant Critic of the Year.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Nolan Bushnell, co-founder Atari.

Episode 52

Tuesday, December 19, 2023 • Duration 01:13:44

My guest today is an American scientist, entrepreneur, and a founding father of the video game industry. Born in 1943, he grew up in Utah, in a Mormon family, before leaving to study engineering and business at Utah State University. While a student he played Spacewar!, one of the earliest digital games designed for the PDP-1 computer.

After graduation he joined an electronics company, and there met Ted Dabney, with whom he founded a start-up company with the aim of creating a commercial version of Spacewar! for the arcades. In 1972 the pair changed the company name to Atari, a term taken from my guest’s favourite board game, Go. Together with another engineer, Al Alcorn, the trio produced Pong and, in 1976, the Atari 2600 console – which together birthed the modern games industry.

Throughout the seventies my guest hired dozens of young engineers, including Steve Jobs who later co-founded Apple. Since then, he has founded more than twenty companies, received the BAFTA fellowship, and has been named one of Newsweek's “50 Men Who Changed America".

Thank you for listening to My Perfect Console. Please consider becoming a Patreon supporter; your small monthly subscription will help to make the podcast sustainable for the long term, and you'll receive bonus content, and access to the My Perfect Console community: https://www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Scherr, narrative director (co-writer Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Part II).

Episode 51

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 • Duration 01:21:46

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, contributing to an early version of Shrek at DreamWorks, Dinosaur at Disney, and to the music video Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In 2001 my guest joined the video game studio Naughty Dog and worked as the cinematics animation lead on seven titles including Jak and Daxter and the first three Uncharted games, a series for which he also helped to develop the storylines. He then became a staff writer and narrative designer on Uncharted IV: A Thief’s End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and the recent blockbuster The Last of Us: Part II.

In 2020 he left Naughty Dog after more than two decades and joined Crop Circle Games as narrative director on the studio’s first, as yet unannounced title.

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Iain Stirling, comedian, voice of Love Island.

Episode 50

Monday, December 4, 2023 • Duration 01:13:06

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 up, that my guest first tried stand-up comedy.

At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year he reached the final of the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year, taking second place to Joe Lycett. After being spotted at a gig, my guest then became one of the main presenters for CBBC, working alongside various puppet sidekicks – an experience that later formed the basis for his sitcom, Buffering.

After writing and presenting shows for the channel, in 2014 he was nominated as Best Children's Presenter by BAFTA. The following year, my guest’s voice became familiar to millions, when he became the narrator of ITV2’s reality show Love Island. As well as appearing as a contestant on the eighth series of Taskmater, my guest also hosts a popular Twitch channel, on which he plays video games.

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Mike Rose, indie game publisher (No More Robots).

Episode 49

Monday, November 27, 2023 • Duration 01:20:25

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 became editor-in-chief of IndieGames.com. From there he worked as UK editor of the North American video game industry website Gamasutra ––today known as Gamedeveloper.com.

After a brief stint working in PR, in 2017 my guest founded No More Robots. Since then, the Manchester-based company has published titles that have sold millions of copies, including 2018’s downhill mountain bike-racer Descenders, 2020’s royal-themed strategy game, Yes, Your Grace, and the adventure RPG Soccer Story.

A frequent speaker at video game events, he has gained a reputation as an outspoken champion of indie studios, and a willing sharer of insider knowledge.

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Jason Schreier, investigative journalist, Bloomberg.

Episode 48

Monday, November 20, 2023 • Duration 01:20:27

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, Joystiq, Edge, Paste, and others.

In 2012 he joined the staff of Kotaku, the video game website run, at that time, by Gawker. There he made a name for himself as a tenacious reporter, particularly with his empathetic coverage of crunch culture –– the term given to the egregious overtime working practises that remain prevalent across the games industry. This work led to my guest’s 2017 bestseller, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, and in 2021 the follow-up, Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry.

For the past three years my guest has continued to cover video games and the people who make them for Bloomberg. “I've always been in favor of drastic transparency,” he once said, “radical transparency.”

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Bryan Lee O'Malley, graphic novelist (Scott Pilgrim).

Episode 47

Monday, November 13, 2023 • Duration 01:10:42

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 Ontario, but dropped out and moved to Toronto, where he became involved in the city’s comics scene. His first graphic novel, Lost at Sea, was published in 2003.

The following year, he published Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, a graphic novel featuring a distinctly Canadian superhero, who must battle his new girlfriend’s seven supervillain exes. A melting pot of video game references and manga storytelling techniques, the story featured a cast of smart and witty twenty-something dropouts.

My guest expected Scott Pilgrim to sell a thousand copies. In fact, the six-volume series sold more than a million copies, and in 2010 was adapted into a film directed by Edgar Wright in which Michael Cera played the lead role. An eight-part animated series, titled Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, is due to launch on Netflix later this week, for which the entire main cast from the film have reprised their roles.

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Naomi Alderman, novelist (The Power, The Future).

Episode 46

Monday, November 6, 2023 • Duration 01:16:17

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, then received an MA in creative writing at the UEA. Her first novel, Disobedience, was released in 2006 and later adapted into a feature film starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. In 2012 she co-created the story-based fitness game Zombies, Run! – which has been downloaded several million times and continues to be a market leader.

In April 2013 she was named one of Granta’s Best British Novelists in their famous once-a-decade list. Her 2016 novel The Power, was featured in former US President Barack Obama’s best books of the year list, and won the 2017 Baileys’ Women‘s Prize for Fiction. The book was also adapted for television, debuting on Amazon earlier this year. If that weren’t enough, she is a regular presenter of science programmes on BBC Radio 4, Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

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My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

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Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Patreon3

Amazon82

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Patreon3

Amazon82