Cup of Jones - September 27, 2018

Hi Jones, I have an idea that I would like to share, was originally to be used on a game news site that I tried to create over 10 years ago, it is Re(tro)view. Reviews of old games but viewed and compared accordingly to the year that game came out. Because is an old game there would be no rush to put the review out and you could use footage from past streams in the review. As an example you could do a for the Goonies 2 and Ben for Suikoden

Gabriel Heilborn

Safety reply

Erunion

G’day Jones, I was wondering what some of your favorite memories of the Final Fantasy MMOs are. I picked 11 back up recently, after shelving it for a few months because I was stuck on a mission that required a particular item drop. When I still had no luck, I happened to mention this to a friend who had first invited me to try the game, and he offered to log in as a high-level Thief to help out. Along the way he taught me a few things I wish I had known all along, but when we finally got the item drop I was shocked to discover I couldn’t pick up a second one. Apparently I had had the item and dumped it into storage back before I dropped the game, and completely forgot to check before I went out on the mission. We had a good laugh at it and I’ve been making steady progress since. Any great stories from those days, or from 14 (which I’ve also been playing very casually), that you could share?

Erunion

Mr. Jones If you could turn any activity (or videogame) into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance at winning the gold medal for? Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla

Sup Jones! You’ve been getting a lot of questions about how, and in which way, the Allies will be decorating the new studio (which you understandably cannot answer until you have one locked in)- But what I really want to know is, how will you be redecorating your garage? I assume it’s going to be pretty barren after all the production equipment is out of there, so are there any interior design ideas that you’re really excited about? L&R, TAHK0

TAHK0

Hello Mr. Jones. As always, feel free to trim to whatever length fits the show best, I know I ramble. After Damiani's update on the latest game sleuth I remembered how at the beginning of this venture you said a few times how you were hiring an outside company to work in the graphics for Damiani's show; because Pop fiction was such a flag ship in GT and this was its spiritual successor. I don't mean this to be taken as backlash or a complain about the schedule of the show, I know these are not easy to produce; but given that there have been only 6 episodes of the show, do you think that was a wise investment? Meaning, if that money would have gone to the EZA podcast it would have been used over 100 times now, not only six. I don't know, I'm just curious to know if you think it was a good investment and stand by it, or if you knew the scheduled would be so complicated would you rather used the money in something else. Love & Respect César.

César Villa

Hi Brandon, I've never written to Cup of Jones or EZA/Gametrailers in general, so I hope this is the correct forum for what I am about to discuss as I could find no e-mail address for general inquiries. There's no way I can sugar coat this, but I felt that last night's stream of Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise was conducted in a completely unprofessional and inconsiderate manner. It pains me to say something like that since I have the utmost respect for the crew and have obviously never felt compelled to write about such behavior before. It was just a complete hour of heckling and dismissing the game. Now I would never ever tell someone they have to be interested in the same things as me, in fact I hope that is not the case because everyone is unique. This is not about whether a game is good, bad, or whatever, but about the conduct of the EZA crew when streaming a game, any game. I fully understand and enjoy when you guys tell your jokes about games, as it brings levity to streams, but this just seemed malicious. It seems to me you could have several options. First, you could just grin and bear it, not commenting on how much you dislike said game. Second, you could research the game you are streaming and see if it fits the format of a one hour stream. Third, you could even stop playing a game if it pains the crew that much, as you gave the game a chance but it just wasn't working out. There were two things that ultimately disappointed me the most. For people like me, who enjoy the game, the anime, the studio behind the game, it seemed like no one in the crew knew what they were talking about in those three areas and made broad generalized statements that demeaned each. I wholeheartedly believe in the "Love & Respect" ideology and 99% of the time you guys completely nail it, but this to me was a serious gaff. I don't enjoy a number of things the Allies obsess over (Pokemon, superhero movies, Disney even) and could criticize each harshly, but you never see me in the comments section or in chat demeaning those things. That's what last night's stream felt to me. Lastly, and most importantly, I saw a number of people in chat stating that they were on the fence about getting the game and now would not based off that poor representation of the game. Skipped dialogue, skipped cut scenes, a lack of general information for the game, the anime, and the studio behind it, and of course all the unkind things said, and you can see why someone would come to that conclusion. This disappoints me the most, as it takes a game out of someone's hands based off of misunderstanding. But also, say it is someone's first time watching an EZA stream, they'll misunderstand what you guys are all about. I'm sorry if this seems overly critical, but it is something that actually bothered me, so I thought I'd write about it. Thank you so much for your time. Love & Respect, Uzi

UziSuicide666

Hi Brandon – NEW TIER REWARD SUGGESTION! Obviously having greater patron numbers is the best driver for growth & ultimate goal for the business, but maintaining your current patron number is a close second. Considering this, I think it would be awesome to have a new “Rotating Tier” reward. Perhaps setting this at a higher tier $ amount may help interested patrons sign up! The Rotating Tier Reward: Set up a poll every month and have a list of ideas of something simple to produce for the upcoming month. Nothing extraordinary or time consuming, but something fun perhaps. For example, one month, patrons may have voted for a quick stream with Huber to predict the next Rocksteady game and share his thoughts on how this game will look & play. While the next month could be something as simple as Kyle yelling into the camera, “Little pig, little piiig!” for one whole minute as an exclusive video. I think this can bring excitement to every new month and polling winners helps keeps patrons involved each month. Also being upfront about how the rotating reward is something lighthearted and quick will help curb any big expectations patrons may have. What are your thoughts regarding something like this? L&R! - Christian

Rammer

Quick prediction request: Do you think Arthur Morgan survives or dies at the end of RDR2? As we never see him or hear of him in RDR, it would seem his fate is pre-determined.

Steve S

They use Google for passing footage around I believe. It's unlimited storage, so I doubt that they delete anything.

Harrison Holt-McHale

Hi, Jones. Sorry if this is too late, I've sent you a tweet asking about the leaked Harry Potter game and even included Amanda, but didn't get a response. Like another ally, Jason Walstrom, said, I would really like to know what both you and Amanda think of the leaked Harry Potter game. Still, first things first, apologies for not spelling my name in my last Cup of Jones question, I had heard you talk about spelling about a thousand times now over 12 years - I discovered GameTrailers back in 2006, and still I forgot to spell my name. I'm very sorry about that. Daniel, the beginning is fairly standard like "Da-nny" from Danny Rand from the Iron Fist TV series, while the "el" is like the el from "Elgato", it's like it has a hidden ´ accent that turns it into an "él". It sounds like that because I'm from Brazil, where we speak Portuguese. But it's also easy to understand if you know a bit of Spanish. As for the Ribeiro, the "Ri" sounds just like the beginning of "Rib", the "bei" sounds like "bay" - as in ocean bay. As for the "ro" sounds, it's a whole lot more complicated to explain because the sound is probably the hardest obstacle to English speakers who learn Portuguese. The culprit here is the "r" sound, since it can take many shapes. If or anyone is curious about it, just Google search for "explaining Portuguese r to English speakers carro" and you will see how hard it is to explain it in just a few sentences. Best example I could come up with - with the help of a site covering the subject - is that the "ro" sounds like the ro in "corona", like corona beer. I don't know how popular this beer brand is in the US, but if you watched The Fast &amp; The Furious movies, you should have an idea of how it sounds. As for the question about the Harry Potter game, just a few things to note, the tweet I've sent you has the article from EuroGamer, which has a lot of details on the most likely developer of this new AAA Harry Potter game, it's none other than "Avalanche Software", the developers of Disney Infinity. Which is a great team to handle a Harry Potter game imho, as I really liked the Disney Infinity games. I also would like to add that the leaked trailer shows a true high budget AAA Harry Potter game - even though the quality is far from perfect, which is just awesome as hell. Below is the link in case you haven't watched it yet (link found on the EuroGamer article): <a href="https://my.mixtape.moe/scyeev.mp4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://my.mixtape.moe/scyeev.mp4</a> Another source, a BBC News reporter and renowned Potter fan, Lizo Mzimba, also said that the trailer is: "from a yet to be announced RPG currently titled Harry Potter Magic Awakened, although other titles including Magic Forever are also in the mix. Other Potter games are also thought to be on the way" I actually spent a few days in the last couple of months thinking about a high budget AAA Harry Potter game, and since it was my birthday yesterday, this news came to me like a birthday present - on that subject, it's nice to know that October is Amanda's birtday month as well. Lastly, but definitely not least, "Hufflepuff" all the way! And if you think about it, as a whole, Easy Allies is Hufflepuff as well. :) L &amp; R

Daniel Ribeiro

Brandon, there was one person I thought of when I read about the leaked Harry Potter game footage -- Amanda Troop! Please share with us her reaction when this story leaked.

Jason Walstrom

Hi Jones, Apologies in advance if you've answered this in the past, but I was just wondering if you guys have considered utilizing the "Community" tab on your YouTube channel? Promos have done wonders lately for boosting Patreon numbers, but it may be worth creating a few quick text posts from time to time to further alert the subscribers of upcoming streams, events or premieres - if it is permitted to point them towards Twitch/Patreon. At least for me, I've noticed these posts pop up for suggested channels I'm not even subscribed to in the YouTube app on my phone, so it may have an added benefit of reaching those who have watched your videos but have not yet subscribed. Curious of your thoughts, L&amp;R, -- Jon

Jon White

Hi jones, No one and a half page question this time, keeping it short. :) One great thing about EZA is the shared love for the video games music, and I think the EZA concert reflect that in huge way &amp; filled with the ally’s personalities. I think there is still space to be discovered in this direction, so I suggest “Easy Allies Orchestra” which take place few days before or after E3, taking advantage of this big event happening in your area. I know it’s a huge project to handle but cooperating with the local philharmonic/orchestra would make it reasonable, EZA can reach companies for permissions with the connections already established, and the minimum funding needed can be achieved by kickstarting the project on any platform. Other gaming communities have associated themselves with stuff like wrestling and that worked good for them in the past, I see orchestra as the classiest thing for EZA to adopt as an annual project. L&amp;R.

Mr_Cid

Hi Jones, does box art matter? Fist of the north has a sick reversible cover while detroit: become human's single cover is horrendous.

bjørnar haraldsvik

Hi Brandon, With the occasional mention of the massive GT footage library that yall used to have access to, I was curious...have yall been thinking about/planning to implement a proper file server at the new studio once it comes into fruition? I don't know the details of EZA's current method of storing and sharing footage and files and such, but I would imagine that everyone would benefit from having a central place to keep and retrieve that sort of raw footage. Whatever studio space yall end up in, there would most likely be some sort of electrical or server closet that would be built for such a thing to fit in, and if it has decent enough internet service then you could setup a secure VPN where people could remotely access it from home/out of the studio as needed. Maybe this is thinking too far ahead, but I figured it would be something to start planning out and budgeting for early on if yall determined that it would be worth the investment. Thanks for everything yall do! Will Schmuck

Will Schmuck

Safety Reply.

Harrison Holt-McHale

Hi Jones, I hope you're having a lovely morning. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I've managed to convince my boss and enough of my colleagues to have the company run an X-hour Charity Live Stream on Twitch. We're a software company, and while a lot of us are into gaming and the like, we don't know a whole lot about setting up a large live-stream space for audio. Our set up will have needs not unlike your own, a large group of us on a Sofa around a big TV, with people moving in and out of the stream on the fly. While I wouldn't dream of having a space as fully functional as yours, I think it would be silly not to ask what your space is like, and try and replicate the few parts that are within our reach, and would make the experience better for any viewers that stop by. You know, simple stuff. What's your current set up in terms of mic placement? I'm aware you're always battling with echo. Is there anything that you've found really helps? Any other advice at all would be greatly appreciated. Cheers :)

Harrison Holt-McHale

Jones! As an on again/off again (currently off) player of FFXI, I was delighted to hear that you had played it too. If you’ll indulge me, I’ve got some rapid fire questions about your time with the game. Which server did you play on? Starting city? Race? Favorite class? Favorite subclass? Favorite skill? Favorite leveling/party zone? Least favorite? Favorite holiday event? For me it was Quetzalcoatl, San d’Oria, Hume, Dark Knight, Ninja, Logging, Valkurm Dunes, Crawler’s Nest, Halloween. Thanks for your time! L&amp;R, Sean

What are some of your favorite Telltale moments? Maybe your top 3? Or maybe the allies could do a Top 10.

NotYourMom

Thanks, Blood! &lt;3

MizRacy

EZA forum community have collectivelly picked top 25 gamef of 2000. Top ten games are: #10. Perfect Dark #9. The Sims #8. Jet Set Radio #7. Diablo II #6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 #5. Pokémon Gold and Silver #4. Shenmue #3. Deus Ex #2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask #1. Final Fantasy IX I never played any of this games, so I have no question regarding this. But you've enjoyed such lists previously, so I've decided to post this.

Alexander Zyryanov

Jones ever since I heard about the sequel to GTLive I have been dreaming about guests. Since this will be your baby who would be your top 5 guests and why. No restrictions based on distance, schedule etc.

Jordan Buitendyk

From MizRacy whose comments keep getting deleted. Hey Jones, Barry Bumphriod and I were chatting the other day about how challenging it is for those of us in EU and Asia/Pacific timezones to watch streams. We’re aware that if you’re a Twitch subscriber, then you can rewatch the streams at your own convenience, but part of the fun of the streams is interacting with other members of the community via chat. Obviously, we don't expect you guys to readjust your streaming schedules based on us, but I did mention that it would be nice if you guys could set up a re-broadcast of each of the weekly streams that are at more reasonable times for those of us in the EU and Asia/Pacific regions. I’m aware that it’s a bit more work, but I do think many members of the community would appreciate it and I think it could help attract new viewers as well, especially ones in those time zones. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Love &amp; Respect, MizRacy.

Easy Allies

Hype check for Tetris Effect

Megan Linart

What did you think of the new Yoshi trailer?

GmanSir

Hey Jones! First time I’ve ever asked a question for Cup of Jones since I started supporting you. My question is this: Have you guys ever considered doing reviews for games that aren’t new releases? As in, going back to older games and reviewing them somewhat retroactively? Your five minute video for FFVI inspired me to ask this because I liked it so much!

Kyle Armstrong

Hi Jones! I've been listening to Cup of Jones for a few months now but this is my first time submitting a question/comment. To start, I'd like to congratulate you on getting FFVI into the Hall of Greats! After hearing in previous CoJ your frustrations over being unsuccessful in the past and how you mentioned FFVI would be like your nuclear option, I'm glad that your passion and efforts with your heartfelt presentation paid off rather than you become disheartened with the process. As someone who's never played a Final Fantasy game before but has become more curious about it in recent months, the love you've expressed for the game has placed it as the entry I'm most interested in trying first. Since another ally asked about beginner's tips for the game last week I'll instead take my question a step further; after VI, which Final Fantasy games do you hold in high regard and recommend to someone just getting into the series? Love &amp; Respect

CosmicCrown

Hey Jones! Personal question incoming: my girlfriend (celebrating our 1 year anniversary on October 1st) isn't really into gaming. She played some Mario Kart and SSX on the Gamecube in the past, but that's about it. What she does like are card and board games. so we play a lot of Skip-Bo, Sequence and Rummikub to name a few. Do you and Amanda have non-digital games that the two of you play or that you play with friends or family? And if yes: do you have some recommendations? To close off I would like to say that you guys are doing a stellar job and I tip my hat to you for your transparency surrounding financials, goals and plans. Love &amp; Respect Stefan

Stefan Vlemmix

Hello Jones(great job with the Final Fantasy VI presentation you got a well deserved win). My question is related to Hall of Greats. It is one of my favorite things that you guys do, but I feel like how everyone votes is kinda confusing as to why games are getting into the Hall of Greats. Are you guys voting on which game is actually the best in your opinion or which presentation is actually better? Each Ally seems to have their own thought process as to what this means. Pure-hearted Ben pours out his soul for his game, while also giving chips based on presentation above his game preference. Back-door Bossman is always striking deals trying to get his game more votes. Sorry for the longwinded rambling, but I really love Hall of Greats and I was just trying to understand what all you guys mean when a game qualifies for one of the greats.

strawhatninja

Hey Jones, as always with HOG weeks, there's bound to be some questions to pop up (congrats btw, FF6 deserved it). My question, is the stream rule still in effect for winners? Do Favorite Fantasy/Bos V Woz fill that requirement? I ask because I'm dying to see Bosman stream Pokemon Blue since that won a few HOGs ago.

Kate Bishop

I really enjoyed the clip show also because I only am able to make time to view special streams like hall of greats or e3 coverage. The saddest part was that it was just a hard cut, clip show gone, goodbye. I would suggest in the future when a decision like this needs to be made, accompanying the news post should be a final episode allowing us to all say goodbye. It makes me think about when relatives have passed and sometimes you get a chance to say goodbye and sometimes you don't, but it seems you should almost always have the power in your situation to give us a goodbye! Just something to think about.

Matt Brookbank

Howdy Brandon, is there any chance that you guys will review Tales of Vesperia? I know you don't review remasters (I couldn't think of any) but with Vesperia there will be a lot of new content which was previously only available in Japan. Or do you think such games should rather be a part of Don't Skip? Best of luck with the studio search!

Sebastian

As a recent patreon I liked the show And For That Reason. Will that be coming back? Doesn't even have to be community ideas, maybe made up characters by the Easy Allies.

Down with guilty pleasures!!!

Parasitepaladin

How Jones, what is your opinion of guilty pleasures? If you feel bad about liking something, do you truly like it? Why do we have to feel bad about liking something that is bad, or not widely accepted? And/or why do we let the pressure of negative opinions from others diminish our enjoyment of something? I say if you like something, have pride in it! No more guilty pleasures, just straight up pleasures!!

Parasitepaladin

Hey Jones, A few COJs ago, you said you finally got round to watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure again. Assuming you mean Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, I was just wondering where you were up to and what you thought of it so far?

Alex Johns

No audio version this week?

Andrew Chalmers

Has EZA considered have a "membership/viewer drive" via social media to promote the Easy Allies YouTube/Twitch/Patreon? I've really been wanting to organize something like this with the community and I think there are enough of us who are interested that we could maybe work on it for you guys since you're all very busy right now, but I'd want to get permission from you guys first before we even consider it. Thoughts?

MizRacy

You need a little Blood in your cup of Jones. That's horrifying... But it is Halloween. Smooth Jones, very smooth.

Jason Rumsey

A few weeks ago you mentioned while you're not a fan of using the term (namely because it's so over-used), you referred to John Williams as a 'genius'. For example I consider the first Portal a genius work, though it's hard to ascribe a single person to the delivery of that game in the same way you can attribute a score to John Williams or a movie to Tarantino. Thus: who (and what) else do you consider a 'geniuses' of their craft and art-form, and do you delineate between works of genius versus genius works?

Paul Meekin

Brandon i just want to say that the FFVI video for HoG is amazing, you can tell you love the game. do you think it's worth the lack of streaming for the content that you're producing? i was looking at the schedule and yes, you have content eveyday, but there used to be a stream everyday, i'm not complaining, it was just a thing that i thought while visiting the website

Daniel Garza Andrade

Jones has answered this question before but if I remember correctly it's because of YouTube algorithms and what not.

Ibrahim Sozer

The sync has been off for months

Ibrahim Sozer

Hi Brandon! I was wondering if you and the allies had ever considered revisiting your previous games of the year for the previous year? GOTY is one of the most exciting times for me when it comes to Easy Allies and having a quick discussion about the previous year, one year on, could work as a great promotion for the upcoming 2018 GOTYs. I know that a lot of allies catch up on games later on after GOTYs (Hollow Knight with Damiani for example) that they logistically just could not play to meet the end of year deadline. When it comes to what format this would take it could be as lighthearted as a discussion or as serious as a games list 2.0. Keep up the phenomenal work - Jason Presents :-)

Jason Presents

It will appear eventually, after youtube is done processing a video.

Sergey P.

First 7 minuits are missing :/

Hey Mr. Jones! While the concept of financially supporting a group isn’t a new thing to me, I’ve recently gone through several videos where it’s felt like most have had an uptick in the sentiment, “Even if you can’t pledge, just leaving a like or maybe even a subscription works wonders.” While I’ve never really given it much thought because I support primarily through Patreon and/or YouTube subscriptions to various groups or individuals, I thought I would go ahead and ask: Just HOW do likes and subscribes help? Unlike many people, I don’t have a YouTube channel and I don’t stream, so any insight as to how the process works in this aspect would be greatly appreciated. As always, thanks for taking my question if you do and have a wonderful day! Cheers! P.S. Per your comments regarding Alliances for the Hall of Greats: THANK. YOU.

Brandon K Gann

Might also cause problems with the copyright system of YouTube

Rurmelly

Someone mentions putting B-roll of games on the podcast. I know you said no to it for now, but I wanted to throw in a reason I would dislike it. If you put B-roll of a recent game, I would not watch the podcast if I am avoiding spoilers. So although this might improve it, for me, it would actively stop me watching completely. Also, I want to watch the Allies, not game footage. It would just be a distraction

BeardedScotsman86

Hi Brandon. sending you good vibes. :)