Mike’s the editor of the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, one of the country’s best-selling magazines, and far and away the biggest selling videogames magazine in the history of all things.

You went to Japan for the PS2 announcement. What was it like and what else did you get up to while you were over there?
Japan is a neon-splattered hybrid of New York, Blade Runner and every manga video you’ve never seen. The nightclubs have elevators, Akihabara (the gadget district) looks like the future and all the workmen look like the Beastie Boys in the Intergalactic video. That cool. Um, PlayStation 2? PlayStation 2 told you everything you know about games is wrong - DVD compatibility, MPEG2 technology, Internet possibilities, backwards compatibility and a graphics capability that means you’ll be able to play games with the visual quality of rendered intros! The demos of Tekken, Crash and Gran Turismo proved what developers can do in just a couple of weeks - imagine what’s coming up for the winter launch in Japan. Tekken 4, here we come...

Go on then, just how many copies is OPSM selling these days?
The sales of our Metal Gear Solid issue were (deep breath) 453,292. That’s beating Loaded and pummelling all our opposition. Sorry if that sounds smug but we’re chuffed to mintballs over here.

What game are you most looking forward to this year?
A joint tie between Dino Crisis (The new PlayStation game from the Resident Evil developers) and Ape Escape - the new platform/adventure from Sony and the first game to truly use the analogue controller. Wait ‘til you play the dingey level.

Who’s your favourite pop group?
Too many to mention but most involve obscure Americans with detuned guitars. Deep breath then - Sebadoh, Sleater Kinney, Silver Jews, Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel, Plush and the absolutely marvellous Quasi.

What do you do on Saturdays?
Spend the day with my little boy, James, hoofing a ball around the park. The evening is spent at Bristol’s supergroovy Blowpop, hosted by Dope On Plastic’s John Stapleton and his Mickey Mouse hands.

What’s been your best work-related trip?
The recent trip to Tokyo for PlayStation 2 was top for work (so many games, so little sleep) but last year’s trip to Los Angeles was amazing. A chance to meet the fine gentlemen at Naughty Dog (Crash’s developers) plus a few days spent at the beautiful Argyle Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. It’s an Art Deco-designed hotel that featured in Tim Robbins’ movie, The Player and is famed for John Wayne riding a horse up the staircase. Ah, them frozen margaritas...

PlayStation 2. Isn’t this getting just a bit silly? The games are going to look frighteningly realistic, aren’t they?
That brings up a question. If the in-game graphics look like FMV, what will the FMV sequences look like? Add on the capability to input images from a digital camera (imagine wrapping photos of you and your mates on blank faces in FIFA 2001 and making your own team!) and yup, this is getting a bit stupid. Stupidly good.

Do you play Radio One, Radio 2, or CDs in the office?
Just moved office so it tends to be an ear-bleeding mix of my nonsense music, random shouting plus a bit of Mark and Lard for, um, afternoon relief.

What’s your favourite magazine?
Again, too many. I tend never to miss Ego Trip, NME, Paper, Time Out, National Geographic and The Wire but thanks to the job, I get to read everything and anything (including Inside Soap). I was a huge fan of Select two years ago - the closest the UK has got to Grand Royal yet.

Liverpool FC. They’ve worked very hard for Comic Relief this year. What’s going on?
Look, it’s tactics. We’ll lure everyone into a false sense of security by playing Phil Babb and then next season, make the rest of the Premiership look like the insignificant gnats they truly are.

That’s it.
Can I go now?