My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

In this special correspondence edition, Simon reads out your letters and answers your questions.

Is there a cut-off point for working in games journalism? Which video game does Simon think should surely have been picked by now but hasn't? Who decides how long guests talk about their game choices? How does Simon actually make the show — from bookings to post-production to those musical stingers? What is Simon's new book about, and how did he uncover the untold legal battle thxat changed the shape of the video game industry? And did you know the UK government has a Head of Video Games and Esports who listens to the show? Us neither! All this and much more.

And congratulations to letter-writer Chris Law, who wins a signed copy of Blood Echoes: A Bloodborne Anthology.
.
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Cantrill is a British comedian, writer, and actor from West Yorkshire whose work combines rapid-fire jokes with an off-kilter view of everyday life. He first came to prominence as one half of the acclaimed sketch duo The Delightful Sausage, alongside Amy Gledhill, earning Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations for Best Show in both 2019 and 2022. As a solo performer, he added another nomination in 2024, before returning to Edinburgh this summer and finally winning the Comedy Award for Best Show in 2026.

Alongside stand-up, he has appeared in programmes including Alma’s Not Normal, Daddy Issues, Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, and Avoidance, while his writing credits stretch across television and radio. Most recently, he joined the writing team of Saturday Night Live UK, which returns for its second season this week.

LINKS

Chris Cantrill
Website
Instagram
The Delightful Sausage

Saturday Night Live UK
SNL UK on Sky
Simon's Observer Features

How Saturday Night Live Landed in the UK
Jack Shep on That Princess Di Impression

Chris's Perfect Console
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill
Final Fantasy VII
Bloodborne
Animal Well
The Case of the Golden Idol

Other games discussed
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Dark Souls
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Resident Evil 2 Remake
The Witcher 3
Elden Ring
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is an Irish writer, poet, critic, and podcaster. Born and raised in Dublin, she began writing seriously as a teenager, studied English, Media and Cultural Studies at IADT, and later completed a Master’s in Creative Writing at NUI Galway. Her early work included the poetry collection Follies and Not Lost, a book of essays about emigration written after she moved to San Francisco in 2012.

Since returning to Ireland, she has published a series of acclaimed novels, including Spare and Found Parts and Other Words for Smoke, which won Teen and Young Adult Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Her 2025 horror novel Eat the Ones You Love was followed by a shortlist for Author of the Year, and she is now the 2026 Arts Council Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. Alongside her fiction, she writes about games for The Guardian. Her new horror novel, Strange Is the Light, is out now, and she is currently working on another book, about video games, titled Everything Not Saved.

LINKS

Sarah Maria Griffin – books & socials

Sarah Maria Griffin – official website
Sarah Maria Griffin – Instagram (@sarahgriffski)
Sarah Maria Griffin – Substack
Sarah Maria Griffin – writing about games for The Guardian

Strange as the Light (out 8 September 2026)
Strange as the Light – Waterstones
Strange as the Light – Titan Books
Strange as the Light – Bookshop.org UK

Earlier novels
Eat the Ones You Love – Waterstones
Other Words for Smoke – Waterstones

Sarah's Perfect Console
EarthBound (SNES, 1994) – Wikipedia
EarthBound – Nintendo Switch Online
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask – Wikipedia
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Nintendo
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Wikipedia
Night in the Woods – official site
Night in the Woods – Steam
Wandersong – official site
Wandersong – Steam

Other references mentioned
Disco Elysium – Steam
Chicory: A Colorful Tale – official site (Greg Lobanov, also made Wandersong)
826 Valencia – literacy non-profit, San Francisco
Dublin Youth Theatre
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – Waterstones
Rock, Paper, Shotgun – games journalism
Glenn Moore – Button Boys podcast

Next week's guest
Chris Cantrill – Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show winner 2026 (Rewilding)
Chris Cantrill – Chortle profile
Saturday Night Live UK – ITV

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Diver is a British journalist, editor, and author whose career has moved fluidly between music criticism and video games writing, always with an eye for subculture, history, and stories beyond the mainstream. He began at the music website Drowned in Sound, where he rose to become content editor, before going on to work with Clash and contribute to publications including Kerrang! and Rock Sound.

Later, he turned increasingly to video games, writing for outlets including Edge and Kotaku - as well as heading up teams at VICE Gaming (later Waypoint) and GAMINGbible - and bringing the same curiosity and critical energy to games culture, retro hardware, and the history of the medium. Alongside his journalism, he has written six books on video games and edited several more, covering subjects from indie games and esports to Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy. His latest book, Aliens: The Video Games, continues that fascination with the way great pop-cultural worlds mutate and endure through interactive form.

LINKS

Mike Diver – website & book
Mike Diver – Aliens: The Video Games: An Unofficial Guide (Waterstones, out 30 August 2026)
Aliens: The Video Games – publisher White Owl / Pen and Sword

Alien games discussed
Alien: Isolation – Steam
Aliens: Dark Descent – Steam
Aliens: Colonial Marines – Wikipedia
Aliens: Infestation (Nintendo DS) – Wikipedia
Aliens vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994 arcade) – Wikipedia
Alien: Rogue Incursion – Steam
Alien: Isolation 2 – official announcement trailer

Mike's Perfect Console
Sensible Soccer (1992) – Wikipedia
Sensible World of Soccer – Wikipedia
Streets of Rage 2 – Wikipedia
Streets of Rage 4 – official site
Snatcher – Wikipedia
1944: The Loop Master – Wikipedia
Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (includes 1944) – Steam
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – official site
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Steam

Other games and references mentioned
Drowned in Sound – Wikipedia (music website where Mike began his career)
Vice Gaming / Waypoint – Wikipedia
Aftermath – independent games journalism site
Respec – independent games journalism site
Mina the Hollower – Yacht Club Games
Yuzo Koshiro – composer of Streets of Rage 2 soundtrack, Wikipedia
Hideo Kojima – Wikipedia
Evercade – retro gaming handheld

Next week's guest
Sarah Maria Griffin – official website
Eat the Ones You Love – Sarah Maria Griffin's latest novel (Waterstones)
Sarah Maria Griffin – writing about video games for The Guardian

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Soren Johnson is an American programmer and game designer whose work has helped shape the modern strategy genre. After earning a master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, he joined Firaxis Games, where he worked as both a programmer and designer on Civilization III before going on to lead the design of Civilization IV, one of the most celebrated strategy games yet made.

Over the years he has contributed to a wide range of projects, including Spore, Dragon Age Legends, and Offworld Trading Company, bringing a distinctive blend of historical insight, systemic thinking, and player-driven design. Today he is the founder and design director of Mohawk Games, where he recently led the development of the acclaimed historical strategy game Old World. Alongside his development work, he continues to explore the craft of game design through his long-running blog and podcast, both of which are titled “Designer Notes”.

Soren Johnson – website & podcast
Soren Johnson – Designer Notes blog
Designer Notes podcast – episode archive
Designer Notes – Apple Podcasts
Designer Notes – Spotify

Mohawk Games & Old World
Mohawk Games – official site
Old World – official page
Old World – Steam
Old World – GOG
Old World – Epic Games Store
Old World: Empires of the Indus DLC – Mohawk Games

Soren's Perfect Console
Pinball Construction Set (1983) – Wikipedia
M.U.L.E. (1983) – Wikipedia
Seven Cities of Gold (1984) – Wikipedia
Legacy of the Ancients (1987) – Wikipedia
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999) – Wikipedia

Other games and references mentioned
Civilization IV – Wikipedia
Civilization III – Wikipedia
Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 remake) – Wikipedia
Civilization Revolution – Wikipedia
Offworld Trading Company – Steam
Spore (2008) – Wikipedia
Balatro – Steam
Vampire Survivors – Steam
Schedule I – Steam
Lethal Company – Steam
Bennett Foddy – personal site
Danielle Bunten Berry – Wikipedia (designer of M.U.L.E.)
Trip Hawkins – Wikipedia (founder of Electronic Arts)
Jake Solomon – Wikipedia
Game Developers Conference (GDC) – official site

Simon's book
Trial of the Space Invaders – pre-order (Bookshop.org UK)
Trial of the Space Invaders – pre-order (Amazon UK)

Support the show
My Perfect Console – episode archive
Support My Perfect Console on Patreon
Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.