CORE - Core Gaming for Core Gamers

151 episodes listed below

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Gaming talk with history, hype, and side quests.

The gist

CORE treats games as both hobby and shared habit, moving from PlayStation showcases to arcade history without much ceremony. The appeal is the chatter around the news: jokes, side memories, live reactions, and practical takes from people steeped in games.

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About CORE - Core Gaming for Core Gamers

CORE is a gaming culture show with the rhythm of an ongoing group chat. It covers news, showcases, events, interviews, and current play, but its real texture comes from the way the conversation gets there. The show can start with technical setup for a PlayStation stream and quickly become a prediction game about Capcom, Resident Evil 9, Final Fantasy VII Part III, or Marathon. Hype is treated as part of the subject. So are expectations, rumors, early impressions, and the strange little rituals around watching a games showcase live. Regular episodes lean into that fast panel energy, with jokes and interruptions folding into actual opinions about games and the business around them. It is loose, but not careless. The speakers know the medium well enough to make quick comparisons, then drift into a memory or a side story before returning to the point. Special episodes give the feed more shape. A Warren Davis conversation turns Qbert into a doorway for talking about arcade design, Wreck-It Ralph, and why some old games resist being remade. A Gamescom report with Tanner Goodman shifts the focus to Cologne, booth demos, controller complexity, and the sheer scale of the event. A Crashlands 2 interview with Seth Coster gets into survival-game clutter, permanent upgrades, combat styles, and how crowded the genre has become. The show also leaves in the machinery of being a modern games podcast, from Patreon and YouTube logistics to copyright problems around livestream audio. That behind-the-scenes candor fits the whole package. CORE is casual enough to joke about bad advice and sick-day camera angles, yet focused enough to reward listeners who care about game design, conventions, and community habits. It is not a tidy capsule review show. It is a warm, reactive gaming table where news, nostalgia, interviews, and friendly teasing all share the same controller.

Made for: For players who follow showcases, conventions, game design chatter, and long-running gaming communities. It works best for listeners who enjoy informed banter as much as cleanly packaged news.

What sets it apart: CORE feels less like a formal review desk and more like experienced friends talking through the week in games in real time. Its mix of live reactions, community reports, and creator interviews gives the show more texture than a straight news roundup.

In their own words

Hosted by podcasting vet, Scott Johnson, Jon Jagger and Beau Schwartz. Weekly, on the frogpants network. Video games and the issues around them every week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why you'd press play

CORE turns hardware speculation and showcase chaos into the group chat you wish your console had.

Press play if you want

  • Scott Johnson, Jon Jagger and Beau Schwartz weighing VR tradeoffs before your wallet gets ideas
  • live showcase reactions that pivot from tactical stealth to an unexpectedly playable chicken
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
gaming news and showcase reactionsPlayStation State of Play predictionsGamescom floor reportsclassic arcade historyQbert and arcade designWorld of Warcraft community playsurvival game designpodcast and livestream logistics

Talks about

Best episodes of CORE - Core Gaming for Core Gamers

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

CORE SPECIAL: Crashlands 2 and Seth Coster interview

A clear design conversation about making favorite Crashlands 2 tools last beyond maintenance loops.

Crashlands 2 comes through as a design-minded conversation between Scott Johnson and Seth Koster, co-founder of Butterscotch Shenanigans. Koster explains the choice to strip out maintenance mechanics so players can keep moving, hold onto the items they have earned, and stick…

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Episodes

  1. 1

    CORE 480: Pulling It Back

    ·3h 16m
  2. 2

    CORE 516: Inflation Station

    ·2h 23m
  3. 3

    CORE 515: Nintendollars

    ·2h 45m
  4. 4

    CORE 514: Crimson Desserts

    ·2h 18m
  5. 5

    CORE 513: Ramdemic

    ·2h 17m
  6. 6

    CORE 512: Sony Goes Yoink

    ·2h 35m
  7. 7

    CORE 511: Claws Out

    ·3h 18m
  8. 8

    CORE 510: Creation of Ashes

    ·3h 2m
  9. 9

    CORE 508: Just Take Off The 2

    ·2h 41m
  10. 10

    CORE 507: Highguard is Midguard

    ·2h 46m
  11. 11

    CORE 506: CORE Veronica

    ·3h 6m
  12. 12

    CORE 505: Episode, Not Studio

    ·2h 41m
  13. 13

    CORE 504: Gateway Timeout

    ·2h 51m
  14. 14

    CORE 503: The 2025 OsCOREs

    ·4h 22m
  15. 15

    CORE 502: O' Holy CORE!

    ·2h 36m
  16. 16

    CORE 501: Clarity

    ·2h 57m
  17. 17

    CORE SPECIAL: 2025 Game Awards

    ·3h 58m
  18. 18

    CORE 499: Primed

    ·3h 16m
  19. 19

    CORE 498: Law of Threes

    ·3h 33m
  20. 20

    CORE 497: Claire Obscured

    ·3h 35m
  21. 21

    CORE 496: Open The Valve

    ·3h 51m
  22. 22

    CORE 495: Laminate Your Stones

    ·3h 20m
  23. 23

    CORE 494: Cross Me Again...

    ·4h 9m
  24. 24

    CORE 493: Impossible Task

    ·3h 5m
  25. 25

    CORE 492: Ex-Ally

    ·3h 25m
  26. 26

    CORE 491: Goes Up & Down

    ·2h 29m
  27. 27

    CORE 490: I'll Pass

    ·3h 23m
  28. 28

    CORE 489: Straight Out of Hades

    ·3h 52m
  29. 29

    CORE 488: Hedge Your Bets

    ·3h 18m
  30. 30

    CORE 487: Give Silver a Hand

    ·2h 39m
  31. 31

    CORE 486: Bon Voyager

    ·3h 4m
  32. 32

    CORE 485: September Reign

    ·3h 24m
  33. 33

    CORE 484: GamesCom Ahoy!

    ·2h 22m
  34. 34

    CORE 483: That Modular Life

    ·2h 28m
  35. 35

    CORE 482: Finish It!

    ·2h 59m
  36. 36

    CORE 481: Feels Itchy

    ·3h 27m
  37. 37

    CORE 517: Just Grab The Fish

    ·3h
  38. 38

    CORE 479: Going Bananas

    ·2h 51m
  39. 39

    CORE 478: Sub-Delayedica

    ·3h 9m
  40. 40

    CORE 477: Imperfect Dark

    ·2h 42m
  41. 41

    CORE 476: Death Standing Tall

    ·2h 32m
  42. 42

    CORE 475: Coming From The Inside Out

    ·3h 38m
  43. 43

    CORE 474: State of Showcase Direct Fest Play

    ·3h 36m
  44. 44

    CORE 473: Switch 2 Day!

    ·2h 59m
  45. 45

    CORE 472: Cat's Out of The Bag

    ·2h 34m
  46. 46

    CORE 471: Real Fan Money

    ·3h 31m
  47. 47

    CORE 470: Hit The Bricks

    ·3h 27m
  48. 48

    CORE 468: Jackin' That Price

    ·3h 3m
  49. 49

    CORE 467: Shadow Drop From Hell

    ·2h 39m
  50. 50

    CORE 466: Marathon Runners

    ·2h 44m
  51. 51

    CORE 463: Nintendo Misdirect

    ·3h 13m
  52. 52

    CORE 462: Assassin's Creedence

    ·2h 11m
  53. 53

    CORE 461: Is This Another Con?

    ·2h 18m
  54. 54

    CORE 460: Sega's Moment

    ·2h 38m
  55. 55

    CORE 459: Don't Believe in Fables

    ·2h 24m
  56. 56

    CORE 430: The Bear Won

    ·3h 16m
  57. 57

    CORE 458: Define Success

    ·2h 56m
  58. 58

    CORE 457: Again With The Loot Boxes

    ·3h 3m
  59. 59

    CORE 456: CORIO Strikers

    ·2h 39m
  60. 60

    CORE 455: Afterbirth

    ·2h 23m
  61. 61

    CORE 454: Ninja Guy Den

    ·2h 56m
  62. 62

    CORE 453: Switch-A-Roo!

    ·2h 58m
  63. 63

    The Jason Schreier Interview: Games, Blizzard, and The Industry

    ·43m
  64. 64

    CORE 452: That's a LOT of G's

    ·2h 38m
  65. 65

    CORE 451: 2024 is Out The Door

    ·3h 34m
  66. 66

    CORE 450: Replay & Boxing Day

    ·2h 35m
  67. 67

    CORE 449: The Right Path...of Exile

    ·2h 37m
  68. 68

    Audio Version of the Game Awards 2024

    ·3h 46m
  69. 69

    CORE 448: Titus Is Always Rightus

    ·2h 58m
  70. 70

    CORE 447: XDefiant Not Gonna Give it To Ya

    ·1h 57m
  71. 71

    CORE 446: Questions with Answers

    ·2h 30m
  72. 72

    CORE 445: You're late, Gordon!

    ·2h 53m
  73. 73

    CORE 444: Everything is Classic Now

    ·2h 40m
  74. 74

    CORE 443: Switch Back

    ·2h 31m
  75. 75

    CORE 442: Candy CORE-n

    ·2h 32m
  76. 76

    CORE 441: Netflix and Purge

    ·3h 28m
  77. 77

    CORE 440: Leak-a-chu

    ·3h 5m
  78. 78

    CORE 439: Hell, it's about time!

    ·3h 14m
  79. 79

    CORE 438: Emulate THIS!

    ·3h 37m
  80. 80

    CORE 237: Cast No Shadows

    ·2h 46m
  81. 81

    CORE: Special Coverage of Sony’s State of Play

    ·51m
  82. 82

    CORE 436: Best Pal in a Suit

    ·2h 50m
  83. 83

    CORE 435: The Playstation Bump

    ·3h 11m
  84. 84

    CORE 434: Gone-Cord

    ·3h 53m
  85. 85

    CORE 433: Pay or Die

    ·3h 29m
  86. 86

    CORE 432: Com One Com All

    ·3h 17m
  87. 87

    CORE 431: Video Games With a 'Z'

    ·2h 31m
  88. 88

    CORE 429: For Instance

    ·3h
  89. 89

    CORE 428: The War Within What?

    ·3h 6m
  90. 90

    CORE 500: 500 of These!

    Core episode 500 celebrates the show’s milestone with Scott, John, Jill, and an ill Bo before shifting to weekly game discussions.

    ·1h 11m·5 clips
  91. 91

    CORE 469: Eccos of The Past

    CORE 469 covers Sega's remasters of Echo the Dolphin and Tides of Time, plus a new sequel from the original development team.

    ·1h 56m·5 clips
  92. 92

    CORE Special: CORE XBOX Co-Stream Event Coverage 1-23-2025

    CORE's January 23, 2025 Xbox co-stream covers Ninja Gaiden 4, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Doom: The Dark Ages through live reactions from Scott and Beau.

    ·1h 4m·4 clips
  93. 93

    CORE SPECIAL: Gamescom On The Ground

    Hidden gem

    CORE’s Gamescom special follows Tanner Goodman through three days at Cologne’s 3-million-square-foot, 10-hall gaming convention.

    ·51m·3 clips
  94. 94

    CORE Special: Warren Davis & The Creation of Q*Bert

    ·56m
  95. 95

    CORE: Sony State of Play

    ·1h 24m
  96. 96

    CORE 509: The Play of State

    ·1h 26m
  97. 97

    CORE 464: Press C for CORE

    ·2h 46m
  98. 98

    CORE 465: Ten Dollar Tutorial

    The hosts of the CORE podcast announce they are getting a dedicated YouTube channel while joking about global warming and their podcast's isolation from world events.

    ·1h 54m
  99. 99

    PSA about our Summer Game Fest coverage

    Host Scott Johnson announces that the audio version of their live Summer Game Fest commentary will not be posted on the public podcast feed due to copyright issues with music in the trailers.

    ·2m
  100. 100

    CORE SPECIAL: Crashlands 2 and Seth Coster interview

    Scott Johnson interviews Seth Coster, co-founder of Butterscotch Shenanigans, about the release of Crashlands 2.

    ·43m·4 clips
  101. 101

    CORE 518: Swung Too Far

    Apr 16, 2026·2h 45m
  102. 102

    CORE 517: Just Grab The Fish

    Apr 9, 2026·3h
  103. 103

    CORE 516: Inflation Station

    Apr 2, 2026·2h 23m
  104. 104

    CORE 515: Nintendollars

    Mar 26, 2026·2h 45m
  105. 105

    CORE 514: Crimson Desserts

    Mar 19, 2026·2h 18m
  106. 106

    CORE 513: Ramdemic

    Mar 12, 2026·2h 17m
  107. 107

    CORE 512: Sony Goes Yoink

    Mar 5, 2026·2h 35m
  108. 108

    CORE 511: Claws Out

    Feb 28, 2026·3h 18m
  109. 109

    CORE 510: Creation of Ashes

    Feb 20, 2026·3h 2m
  110. 110

    CORE 509: The Play of State

    The hosts discuss video games, rising PC component prices, and share humorous childhood stories about Windex and soap punishments.

    Feb 13, 2026·1h 26m
  111. 111

    CORE: Sony State of Play

    Two gamers discuss predictions for the PlayStation State of Play event, including possible reveals of Capcom games, Final Fantasy VII Part III, and Marathon.

    Feb 13, 2026·1h 24m·2 clips
  112. 112

    CORE 508: Just Take Off The 2

    Feb 6, 2026·2h 41m
  113. 113

    CORE 507: Highguard is Midguard

    Jan 30, 2026·2h 46m
  114. 114

    CORE 506: CORE Veronica

    Jan 23, 2026·3h 6m
  115. 115

    CORE 505: Episode, Not Studio

    Jan 16, 2026·2h 41m
  116. 116

    CORE Special: Warren Davis & The Creation of Q*Bert

    Scott Johnson interviews Warren Davis, creator of Q*Bert, discussing the game's creation, its enduring legacy, and challenges in recreating its magic.

    Jan 16, 2026·56m
  117. 117

    CORE 504: Gateway Timeout

    Jan 9, 2026·2h 51m
  118. 118

    CORE 503: The 2025 OsCOREs

    Jan 2, 2026·4h 22m
  119. 119

    CORE 502: O' Holy CORE!

    Dec 27, 2025·2h 36m
  120. 120

    CORE 501: Clarity

    Dec 19, 2025·2h 57m
  121. 121

    CORE SPECIAL: 2025 Game Awards

    Dec 12, 2025·3h 58m
  122. 122

    CORE 500: 500 of These!

    The Core podcast celebrates its 500th episode with the usual banter, sound effects, and a sick co-host.

    Dec 12, 2025·1h 11m
  123. 123

    CORE 499: Primed

    Dec 5, 2025·3h 16m
  124. 124

    CORE 498: Law of Threes

    Nov 29, 2025·3h 33m
  125. 125

    CORE 497: Claire Obscured

    Nov 21, 2025·3h 35m
  126. 126

    CORE 496: Open The Valve

    Nov 14, 2025·3h 51m
  127. 127

    CORE 495: Laminate Your Stones

    Nov 7, 2025·3h 20m
  128. 128

    CORE 494: Cross Me Again...

    Oct 31, 2025·4h 9m
  129. 129

    CORE 493: Impossible Task

    Oct 24, 2025·3h 5m
  130. 130

    CORE 492: Ex-Ally

    Oct 16, 2025·3h 25m
  131. 131

    CORE 491: Goes Up & Down

    Oct 9, 2025·2h 29m
  132. 132

    CORE 490: I'll Pass

    Oct 2, 2025·3h 23m
  133. 133

    CORE 489: Straight Out of Hades

    Sep 26, 2025·3h 52m
  134. 134

    CORE 488: Hedge Your Bets

    Sep 19, 2025·3h 18m
  135. 135

    CORE 487: Give Silver a Hand

    Sep 11, 2025·2h 39m
  136. 136

    CORE SPECIAL: Gamescom On The Ground

    A special episode where the host discusses Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, with guest Tanner Goodman, who shares his experience at the world's largest gaming convention.

    Sep 8, 2025·51m
  137. 137

    CORE 486: Bon Voyager

    Sep 4, 2025·3h 4m
  138. 138

    CORE 485: September Reign

    Aug 28, 2025·3h 24m
  139. 139

    CORE 484: GamesCom Ahoy!

    Aug 21, 2025·2h 22m
  140. 140

    CORE 483: That Modular Life

    Aug 15, 2025·2h 28m
  141. 141

    CORE 482: Finish It!

    Aug 7, 2025·2h 59m
  142. 142

    CORE 481: Feels Itchy

    Jul 31, 2025·3h 27m
  143. 143

    CORE 480: Pulling It Back

    Jul 25, 2025·3h 16m
  144. 144

    CORE 479: Going Bananas

    Jul 17, 2025·2h 51m
  145. 145

    CORE 478: Sub-Delayedica

    Jul 10, 2025·3h 9m
  146. 146

    CORE 477: Imperfect Dark

    Jul 3, 2025·2h 42m
  147. 147

    CORE 476: Death Standing Tall

    Jun 26, 2025·2h 32m
  148. 148

    CORE 475: Coming From The Inside Out

    Jun 20, 2025·3h 38m
  149. 149

    CORE 474: State of Showcase Direct Fest Play

    Jun 13, 2025·3h 36m
  150. 150

    PSA about our Summer Game Fest coverage

    Scott explains why the Summer Game Fest commentary won't be on the audio podcast feed due to music rights issues, directing listeners to YouTube, Twitch, and Patreon.

    Jun 6, 2025·2m
  151. 151

    CORE 103: Gems are hard

    Nov 9, 2017·1h 37m