What Makes My Perfect Console Different From Other Gaming Podcasts?

Updated

My Perfect Console is an interview podcast hosted by games journalist Simon Parkin in which each guest describes their ideal games console. That single framing device is what separates it from most gaming podcasts: instead of reacting to news, reviews, or industry events, every episode is built around one person's taste, memories, and personal gaming history.

The format: one guest, one imaginary console

The premise is the show's defining feature. A guest is asked to design their perfect console, which turns an abstract question into a structured conversation about the games they value and why.

That structure tends to produce:

  • Personal picks over consensus. Guests explain their own choices rather than ranking or reviewing what is currently popular.
  • Gaming history through biography. Because a "perfect console" implies a lifetime of play, conversations often move through formative games, platforms, and eras.
  • A concrete anchor for a broad discussion. The console concept keeps the episode from drifting into general chat, which is a common shape for news-driven shows.

How it differs from typical gaming podcasts

Dimension My Perfect Console Common gaming podcast
Core hook A guest's ideal console News, reviews, or panel discussion
Structure Interview-driven, one guest per conversation Multi-host segments, recurring news blocks
Focus Personal taste and gaming history Current releases and industry events
Timeliness Largely evergreen Tied to the release calendar

If you want release-date coverage or buying advice, this is not the format for it. If you want to hear how individual people think about the games that shaped them, the framing does the work.

The host's role

Simon Parkin is a games journalist, and that background shapes the discussion. The show is built as an interview rather than a chat between peers, so the questioning tends to draw out context around a guest's choices — what a game meant at a particular point in their life, or why a platform mattered to them — rather than staying on surface-level favorites.

Who it suits

  • Listeners interested in games criticism and history rather than news.
  • People who enjoy interview formats and guest-driven episodes.
  • Anyone curious how designers, writers, and other figures in games talk about their own taste.

If your main interest is staying current with releases or hearing weekly panel debate, a news-and-reviews podcast will fit better.