Former Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, and New York games journalist, Harold Goldberg, have started a new podcast that is not only for gamers, but for anyone interested in technology. Talking Games with Reggie and Harold is a seven-episode charity podcast where they interview influential people in different sectors of the video game industry. Their goal is to raise $15,000 from donations through GoFundMe. Despite only being three episodes in, Talking Games with Reggie and Harold is already proved to be a podcast gamers shouldn't miss.
The charity in question is New York Videogame Critics Circle, one founded by Goldberg himself. This non-profit organization raises money to bring internships, scholarships and mentorship programs to students in poverty-stricken areas of New York City. The money raised by this podcast will go towards bringing games and games writing courses to high school students living in homeless shelters, a community that has been especially hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics Circle has also developed a few courses that its offer students on journalism and games narrative. Fils-Aimé has explained that he feels a connection to this charity because he was born in the Bronx.
These two hosts are perfect for this type of work. Fils-Aimé and Goldberg both are well-known and educated in their fields, and while their careers don't technically overlap, they've both worked in the video game industry in different ways. Reggie Fils-Aimé fills in the business and marketing side of the conversation, while Harold Goldberg balances everything out with the creative side.
Reggie Fils-Aimé started at Nintendo of America as head of the marketing division before being named President. And while Fils-Aimé is best known for his role at Nintendo, his skills go beyond video games. Not only has he worked for companies like Pizza Hut, Guinness and VH1, Fils-Aimé was part of the marketing team for "The Concert for New York City," which brought in more than $35 million for disaster relief after the 9/11 attacks. Fils-Aimé's experiences have made him knowledgeable on both the business side of things, as well as on the consumer side. One must understand a fanbase in order to successfully market to fans, and this is something Fils-Aimé is known for. The man has inspired a variety of memes over the years during E3 press conferences and Nintendo Directs.
Harold Goldberg, as an award winning author and journalist, is an expert in all sorts of literary media. He has been a contributor for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly and many other newspapers and magazines. He's also created various online entertainment content, like Sony's Motherboard and VH1's Game Break. He's also the author of All Your Base Are Belong to Us: How Fifty Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture, a book about how the culture around video games has changed throughout the years. Like Fils-Aimé, Goldberg brings his own perspective around gaming culture as well as a passion for it.
This unique and fascinating mix of perspectives is clear from Talking Games' first episode, which loosely centered about video games and education. The hosts interviewed Henry Love from Gateway Housing. Located in one of the hardest COVID-hit cities in the U.S., the group helps provide people with shelter. They break down some of the issues people in these situations are dealing with during the pandemic and how video games can help.
The second episode featured an interview with Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft, who discussed how the pandemic has changed the way companies are operating. With so many conventions and other in-person events canceled and Microsoft and Sony releasing next-gen consoles this year, the companies have had to adapt. Spencer and Fils-Aimé, as two people who have both run major gaming companies, offer a perspective gamers won't find anywhere else. The most recent episode also features a guest who'll be familiar to gamers: Geoff Keighley, best known of producing and hosting The Game Awards, as well as this year's Summer Game Fest.
So far, the podcast is both entertaining and informative for gamers and non-gamers alike. While much of the podcast obviously focuses on the gaming industry given the backgrounds of the hosts, guests and charity, it covers more than just gaming. In addition to telling stories about their previous jobs, Fils-Aimé and Goldberg cover a variety of topics and interests, such as how they made it to the positions they are in now, all while telling funny stories about their experiences.
With all of the connections the hosts have made over the years, the podcast is full of great conversations between some of the biggest names in the gaming industry. Each episode also ends with Reggie answering questions from donors about his career and giving advice to up-and-coming leaders. Between offering unique perspectives and supporting a great cause, Talking Games with Reggie and Harold is an example of what gaming can be at its best and a podcast anyone interesting in the industry should listen to.