Did a chance encounter with Demon’s Souls in Japan help bring FromSoftware’s games to the West?
In today's episode, Scottish journalist and Guardian Games Editor @mackeza.bsky.social talks about chronicling the video game industry, and her new book covering Nintendo.
Available now: bit.ly/3OMBODk
Enjoyed appearing on Jacob Watson-Howland's podcast, talking about The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: open.spotify.com/episode/1yAT...
Joining us for our first episode of 2026 is the mathmetician and narrative designer, @jon.inkle.co.
In 2011, Jon co-founded the independent studio Inkle, and has since worked on titles such as 80 Days, A Highland Song, and now a game set in a wartime computer: TR-49.
Listen now: apple.co/45JM19p
What a time that was.
Thank you so much for reading
Oh that’s amazing! I had no idea. Thank you for making such an incredible game. I found the leaderboards just after we recorded, and many people have messaged me about them since! Apologies for the mistake.
I love listening to this podcast and I’ve been looking forward to doing this episode for ages - hear our countdowns of our favourite games of 2025, right here!
The Guardian picked THE FORBIDDEN GARDEN by Simon Parkin as one of the Best Science Books of 2025!
https://bit.ly/3MoIE0x
This week's episode––our last interview of 2025––features @harvey1966.bsky.social, co-designer of Deus Ex and Dishonored, in a profoundly reflective mood, exploring a life spent at the bleeding edge of immersive sim design. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Critics once wielded savage pens. Now, audiences crave cheer. As the age of the vicious restaurant review fades, have we lost our appetite for honesty along with our taste for cruelty? In today's @observeruk.bsky.social:
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
Great read, and can’t help but make parallels to other reviews
Critics once wielded savage pens. Now, audiences crave cheer. As the age of the vicious restaurant review fades, have we lost our appetite for honesty along with our taste for cruelty? In today's @observeruk.bsky.social:
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
Join Simon live in Chicago as he chats with pioneering American video game developer Alex Seropian.
Find out how Alex founded Bungie while a student at University, and why, after Apple's Steve Jobs revealed the game on stage, they took Halo to Microsoft.
Listen now: bit.ly/48DkCGz
My book about Nintendo is out soon! Early readers have said incredibly nice things about it! Pre-order here for US/UK: linktr.ee/super_nintendo
‘The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad’ is one of @theguardian.com’s science books of the year. Pick up a copy for a loved one who enjoys nonfiction wherever you get your books: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Incredible @myperfectconsole.bsky.social episode with Mark Cerny sharing a ton of annecdotes.
Atari, Sega, Universal, Cystal Dynamics, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Playstation, you name it.
Priceless stories for videogame history enthousiasts.
Give it a listen!
Mark, write a biography I beg you! 🙏
A phenomenal interview within the format of the show while the guest clearly has about 100 hours at least of stuff to talk about. One day maybe. A book. But in the meantime, an excellent interview by Simon Parkin
A rare Pokémon appears: Mark Cerny, on the show, next week.
The story of how a Bournemouth schoolboy developed Worms, a video game that went on to become a global phenomenon, is extraordinary. One of my favourite conversations on the show this year-
A privilege to speak with @yosp-jp.bsky.social, whose passion and belief in independent gamemakers is both infectious and authentic.
Among many other things he tells the story of how a failure led him to join Ken Kuatargi's PlayStation project, an opportunity that changed the course of his life:
Origins of a Species 🐟
At the turn of the millennium one of gaming’s most unique and bizarre titles was released for the Dreamcast.
@simonparkin.bsky.social sits down with its creator Yoot Saito to discuss the evolution, extinction and potential revival of the weird and wonderful Seaman.
A privilege to speak with @yosp-jp.bsky.social, whose passion and belief in independent gamemakers is both infectious and authentic.
Among many other things he tells the story of how a failure led him to join Ken Kuatargi's PlayStation project, an opportunity that changed the course of his life:
🤖🌟 Issue 6 of APWOT is live on Kickstarter! 🌟🤖
Featuring a beautiful lenticular cover of Astro Bot marking both our feature interview with the game’s director, Nicolas Doucet, and the 30th anniversary of PlayStation.
Get in there!
💫 kck.st/4i1GAHT 💫
Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American and The Economist!
The true story of the botanists who made “the heroic decision during the siege of Leningrad to guard biodiversity at the cost of human life” (NYT)
The Forbidden Garden by Simon Parkin, now in paperback! https://bit.ly/3BIYQod
I am such a huge fan of @myperfectconsole.bsky.social, because I'm such a huge fan of @simonparkin.bsky.social. Getting to be on the show was a delight, and folks are telling me it was good - I'm glad to hear.
While alive, Einstein fought all attempts to use his name and likeness as a promotional gimmick. His death, however, turned his face into a battleground, kickstarting the celebrity image rights industry.
Inside the murky world of Einstein’s rights, now in audio:
www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...
🚨 It's that time of year again! Please sign up for the upcoming ISSUE 6 campaign! 🙌🙏
www.kickstarter.com/projects/caz...
*The Audience Versus* is coming to The Pleasance, Islington next Tues, 28th Oct.
Face-off against @elliegibson.bsky.social and www.instagram.com/_ednight/ in a series of bastardised video game-challenges.
With host @thenewsatglenn.bsky.social.
Tickets here: www.pleasance.co.uk/event/audien...
The success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 caught everyone by surprise, including those intimately involved in its creation.
Join @SimonParkin.bsky.social in conversation with Lorien Testard as he recounts his journey from guitar teacher to game's composer.
Listen now: apple.co/47xkVDw
I'll be talking with @simonparkin.bsky.social today for a live recording of the @myperfectconsole.bsky.social podcast as part of the University of Chicago's amazing Year of Games Symposium. Come through if you can! www.eventbrite.com/e/my-perfect...
