My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin cover art

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

By: Simon Parkin
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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

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

Simon Parkin Science Fiction
Episodes
  • George Osborn, strategist, author (Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence.)

    George Osborn, strategist, author (Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence.)
    Jun 16 2026

    George Osborn is a journalist, strategist, and analyst whose work explores the increasingly fraught intersection of video games, business, and politics. He has worked as a reporter, consultant, and as Head of Campaigns and Communications at Ukie, the UK trade body for games, developing a rare vantage point on how the medium shapes, and is shaped by, power.


    He is also the founder of Half-Space Consulting and the editor of the Video Games Industry Memo newsletter, where he examines the forces driving the modern games business. In his new book, Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence, he argues that games have become far more than entertainment: they are now digital third places, contested spaces in which authoritarian regimes, populists, and extremists seek to wield influence.


    LINKS:


    George Osborn:


    The book: Power Play – buy via Bookshop.org UK (supports independent booksellers)Power Play – Waterstones

    Power Play – Bookshop.org US


    The newsletter: Video Games Industry Memo – George's newsletter (free to subscribe)


    The Games:


    1. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)
    2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64, 2000)
    3. Championship Manager 01/02
    4. Mass Effect 2
    5. Balatro


    Also mentioned Bellingcat – investigative journalism outlet founded by Eliot Higgins

    Support My Perfect Console on Patreon

    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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    1 hr and 30 mins
  • Gabríel Ólafs, pianist, composer, founder Reykjavík Orkestra.

    Gabríel Ólafs, pianist, composer, founder Reykjavík Orkestra.
    Jun 9 2026
    Gabríel Ólafs is an Icelandic pianist, composer, and producer whose work blends classical tradition with fantasy and a strikingly modern sense of atmosphere. Born in Reykjavík in 1998, he began playing piano at the age of five, receiving both classical and jazz training before emerging as a recording artist while still a teenager.His debut album, Absent Minded, was released in 2019, and his subsequent work has expanded steadily in scope—from the solo intimacy of Piano Works to the folk-inspired Lullabies for Piano and Cello, which grew out of a 1906 Icelandic songbook he discovered in an antique shop.He is also the co-founder of the Reykjavík Orkestra, and has quickly become one of the most distinctive young voices in contemporary instrumental music. Most recently, with Polar, he has moved further into speculative, atmospheric composition, drawing in part on the dreamlike emotional language of video games.Gabriel Ólafs: Website Releases Archive Spotify Apple Music YouTube InstagramPolar: Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music Buy CD (Decca Classics) Buy from Decca Records US YouTube PlaylistPolar: Traveler's Log: Listen on SpotifyPolar: Building A World: Watch on YouTubeThe Waves: Listen on SpotifyForza Horizon 6: Official Site XboxOther Gabriel Ólafs Releases / Labels: Oli Records Decca Classics Releases ArchiveJóhann Jóhannsson / IBM 1401: Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTubeNils Frahm: Website SpotifyGabriel's Perfect Console: World of Warcraft The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered God of War Death Stranding Baldur's Gate 3Other Games Discussed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Diablo IV Metal Gear Solid 2Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsoleTake 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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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • Elise Kova, romantic fantasy novelist.

    Elise Kova, romantic fantasy novelist.
    Jun 2 2026
    Elise Kova is a fantasy novelist whose rise from online serial writer to international bestseller has made her one of the defining voices in modern fantasy. She began writing young, producing her first novella in sixth grade, and later returned to storytelling in earnest when she started Air Awakens in 2012 as a hobby, posting chapters online and building an early community of devoted readers. After querying the book without success, she chose to publish it independently in 2015, a decision that gave her full creative control and transformed her career.Within a year she had become a full-time author, and soon afterwards her work began appearing on bestseller lists, from USA Today to the New York Times. Since then, her novels have reached readers around the world, selling millions of copies and spawning a string of beloved fantasy series, including the Loom Saga, Married to Magic, Dragon Cursed and Arcana Academy. Next, she returns to that world with Prince of Swords, one of her most eagerly awaited books yet, publishing in July 2026.Elise Kova – Website & Books: Elise Kova's official website Elise Kova – About & FAQ Prince of Swords – Elise Kova's website Prince of Swords – Penguin Random HouseThe Games:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeFinal Fantasy XShin Megami Tensei: NocturnePersona 3BloodborneMusic mentioned: Zedd – Clarity (Spotify)Simon's books & projects: Trial of the Space Invaders: The Case that Changed Video GamesLook for the Light: The Last of Us Anthology – Tune & Fairweather (pre-order) Support My Perfect Console on PatreonNext week's guest Gabríel Ólafs – Polar (Spotify)Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsoleTake 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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    1 hr and 32 mins
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