Cup of Jones - August 23, 2018

there is an EZA crew in GTA Online, look for it, but i think i'm the only active right now :P

Daniel Garza Andrade

Hi Jones, Hall of Greats is this upcoming month (hard to believe it's come around again already!). I'm sure you have a game picked out, but I just wanted to appeal to your 'Western' sensibilities about one particular game that I know you, as well as myself and many others, simply adore: Red Dead Redemption. The reason why I think this could be the time to pull the trigger and whip out the cowboy hat on Red Dead is simply this: by the time the *next* Hall of Greats comes around, Red Dead Redemption 2 will be out, and be loved, be hated or be meh'd (??) by critics and gamers alike. If Red Dead is the wonderful successor we all hope it will be then arguing for the original may become quite difficult, given that the Allies do love to argue for the place of a slightly, perhaps technically, superior sequel when presented with an earlier entry in any given series. Similarly, if RDR2 does not live up to the unsurmountable hype, it may cast a long shadow on the series, making the original an unlikely selection for a place in the hallowed Hall, despite the joys of that story and those moments and the one and only John Marston. The Allies are a fickly jury (although rumours persist that they are not entirely immune to backdoor shady deals, which *of course* you would never partake in, Mr. Jones). Anyway, whether you decide to bring Red Dead, Final Fantasy 6 or have another stab at the retro fight (Space Invaders? Donkey Kong?) I wish you the best of luck! Love and Respect, Barry

Doug

Morning Jones! I know that the topic of traveling to the east coast, Gamescom, TGS, etc. has been brought up time and time again. However, now that y’all are launching new Patreon goals past $50k, I think that trips such as these would make excellent tiers for the $60k range. It’s definitely something that Allies want, and east coast allies such as myself would throw all sorts of money your way if it meant a huge meetup at PAX East. Love & Respect Brian Denu (Pronounced den-OOO (emphasis on the U))

Brian Denu

Morning Jones. Had an idea that came up yesterday from my friend Rachel and given that Huber has now the living conjurer of video game dreams, I wanted to pitch an idea for either a one-off episode or a Huber Syndrome episode. During the holidays, Huber dons a Santa suit and grabs Patron emails or comments submitted for the show of their own personal video game wishes and dreams out of a big red sack and reads them to the camea. So during that magical time of the year, some of Hubers Hype magic can rub off on them and help their favorite video game become a reality. I think it would be a very jolly show and now that Huber has proven over these last few years is that for a cost of only a $1 Patreon pledge, Your video game wishes could come true. PS, this may come off a selfish but I am very happy Cup of Jones is moving to Thursdays since I work almost every Tuesday mornings and I have most Thursday mornings off. Huzzah!

XWF Outlaw

Very topical question for you, Jones. We have reached 50k for two months, and this third month looks to be very close. I could see it being just barely over 50k, or barely under 50k. With that in mind, what is the plan if it ends up slightly UNDER? Does the wait for three months in a row of 50k begin anew, or do the studio plans continue to move forward? L&R Josh Read

Josh Read

Hey Jones! Have you heard about the millennium falcon ride that disney is currently testing in arizona to be part of star wars land? They apparently have to rework it as it is an interactive ride where a group of people work together towards a common goal (like an escape room). They found people left the ride frustrated and people who would lead them to failure. What are your thoughts on having rides like this at disney/star wars land? ps they also figured lines would be very long (3h+) due to the length of the experience.

Lucid Ludwig

Very important business question, Mr. Jones. Given Michael Huber's propensity for willing games into existence, how can EZA monetize this? This is getting out of control...

Bradley Spies

Hi Jones, I'm curious if there's been any discussion about doing follow up streams for some of the games played during events such as Easy Livin' or Game Day? Some of streams, such as the Revengeance playthrough manage to get a good portion of the way through a game and the allies spectating/commenting on it add to the experience and seem to get pretty into it, even at the risk of their own sleep. Given the sporadic nature of these things it wouldn't make sense to be a patreon tier, and it's the sort of thing that I would imagine would be a hard sell for a group stream. I would also imagine that the overhead required to coordinate people/equipment, so it might not be worth it, but I was curious if it'd been considered. L&R Joe

Joe Edmisson

Hey Jones! I've bought it up before, but you said we have to be loud about things so you can here us. So then, no matter how small, any movement with First Fifteen?

Parasitepaladin

Personal Question: Have you been to Mickey's Halloween Party, and if so, is it worth the cost? I am interested in going this year, but I'm not certain that it provides more of a unique experience than a normal Disney trip. I am currently an annual passholder so I will get my fill of the Halloween attractions, but I wonder if the smaller crowds alone would be worth the price. I appreciate the insight. L&R -Steven

Steven Sell

Personal Question: What kind of juicer do you have? I was thinking of getting one myself but don’t know much about what makes the high end ones “better”. Do you have any recommendations/tips based on your experience?

Benjamin Shultz

No podcast versión??

Is audio version a thing of the past?

Hey Jones, Just thinking about people not wanting to use Patreon. NoClip has a section on their website specifically that says something along the lines of "if you don't like Patreon or want to use it, feel free to give us a one off donation here...". Not sure if this is helpful to you guys, or has come up before, but might help the Allies get a bit more extra funding once and awhile.

You can file this under personal; since it is definitely not business. Mr. Jones, long time since I posted here. How are you? As always, feel free to cut any fat from this post, I tend to ramble when trying to give context. I sent the cat related question in the past Q&A. I was hoping to get Damiani's and Ben's input aside from yours, but it looks like being an early poster played at my disadvantage this time. I wonder if you have any more cat knowledge you'd like to share. I know that you can't elaborate too much during the Q&A, but maybe here during the cup you can use a couple of minutes more to share your wisdom acquired with Albus & Norbert. Love & Respect. César.

César Villa

F

Sekiro505

Personal question : what's your favorite food?

Sekiro505

Hello Jones, I have a question for you. If you would hire someone as full time Ally, is there someone in mind that showed you interest to join EZA or would you opt for the normal process to seek candidates?

Gabriel Heilborn

Hey Jones, so CDPR just had a big gameplay blowout of Cyberpunk 2077 on Twitch Monday, Aug. 27. I was wondering if you saw it or saw parts of it and wanted to ask if it was the same thing shown behind closed doors at E3? Also, will EZA be doing any reactions or discussion of the game now that the general public has seen it. I get why it was hard to talk about before now, it really isn't like anything we've ever seen before in a video game. Cheers. Thanks Jones.

I hope you're doing well today

PAX west is just around the corner! Any allies showing up? Would love to have an EZA meetup led by Huber!

umryan

Bring on My Hypothetical: John Hammond just came on the TV and announced his opening of the world's first Dinosaur Theme Park: Jurassic Park! Would you go to the theme park? Would you wait to see if nothing bad happens? What would you do in a world where Jurassic Park exists?

Daniel Askew

Hey Jones! I expect you'll get a lot of comments on the latest Top 10 this week, so for what little it's worth here's my 2cents: There's a saying in science that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." I think that the main failing of the Top 10 was that the writing didn't clearly justify why BOTW (and Zelda) was SO special. The towns were named, their key attributes listed, and that was kind of that. If, by the time you got to the 3rd BOTW town, it was clear just how exemplary they were, and why BOTW in particular outshone so many other RPGs in its settings and towns, then the whole thing would've gone down much more easily with the public. THAT BEING SAID: as you chuckled about during Easy Livin' (congratulations on that, by the way), sometimes the best Top 10s are those that stir the pot. This is, after all, Easy Allies' Top 10, not the United Nations'*! Your loves and prejudices are what makes you who you are, and we love Easy Allies because of your personalities. So as far as I'm concerned, keep up the good work! L&R James * This probably could have been better stated in the writing also. This is YOUR Top 10! And you all love BOTW's towns, for these very special reasons...

James McCoy

Hi Brandon. Last Saturday I've finished watching Easy Living 2018 (#ALL50) and I have to ask: why most of the games you've played were the old ones? Are older games more noticeable on Twitch, or is it simpler to run them in unknown environment? For the reference, average release year of all games you've played is 2005 and median year is 2002.

Alexander Zyryanov

Hi Brandon, why do you picked the Cup of Jones as the title of your show? do you have more insight of why the other names on the other shows in EZA were chosen and what were some not used names?

Daniel Garza Andrade

The Recent Top Ten video (the 46K stretchgoal series) made by the allies has received 70% as many dislikes as it has likes (as of 08/26) on youtube. How do you feel about your audiences reaction. How do you interpret the higher-than-normal level of dislikes. Are you comfortable with the easy allies production pipeline on a video series that is such a high-tier reward for your patreons? Tough love that comes with much respect for what y'all do. I dig into this from the perspective of someone investing in your content with the hopes of your audience growing. Despite what effort that may have gone into making this video, I fear that the end product does not convey a respect for the level of funding given by patrons to greenlight this series. Given that top 10 videos are such a high-priced stretch goal, I would like to see Easy Allies recognize them on the top of patrons 'desire index', and communicate that clearly with a higher-quality end product.

Kiraz

Milestone idea. Business trip milestone. A milestone that sponsor your busines trips. Like sending someone to Gamescom, or maybe visit a developer in Japan (Bloodworth). I would love to see more of EZA in stuff like this. Thoughts? L&R

About GTA Online during Easy Livin, It's been one of the few games I've looked forward to seeing, since (although you love bringing it up in conversation) that's the only time you've given it stream time. Considering how popular it is and if it still gets new updates by next Easy Livin I think it's worth playing again (although It might understandably loose it's spot to Red Dead Redemption 2). Also, whilst watching you do missions, race or just drive around is fun, I think what would really ramp it up is to make an Easy Allies crew and make a crew session and team up with other allies for some shenanigans. Same goes for Red Dead Redemption (for Easy Livin at least). Either way, hoping for more and looking forward to regular Red Dead Redemption streams with the official Easy Allies posse!

GermanScientist

Have you ever had "pie in the sky" thoughts, like what if EZA patronage reaches 75K or 100K? Do you have fears of EZA getting "too big" or are you looking forward to if and when that day comes?

Steve S

Hi Jones, regarding the E3 and Easy Livin' sponsorships, is that an amount that was added up in Patreon or is it a little extra you prefer to keep private?

Sven Van Lathem

Hiya Jones: Random personal question: After Kingdom Hearts3, and the half dozen versions of Sora defeat the dozen versions of Xehanort (which, sadly... sums it up), it seems the series will likely continue in some fashion but the story will thankfully start fresh. The mechanics, the structure, even the characters might carry over to some degree, who knows. Is there anything a similar-in-style KH4 can do differently to not only interest you, but actually excite you? Or is it the central concept that doesn't grab you? Thanks as always and have a good one ~Adam

Adam

I want a shirt that says sometimes we cant be in control of our own menes

Daniel Mogo Sanchez

Jones, I respect you vaulting the [redacted] me, [redacted] meme. However, just for a quick clarification. I think the reason a lot of people found it funny, myself included, wasn't because it related to parental abuse (which would be gross), but because it is directly tied to the kink community. "Daddy" has become a pretty common term in that space. The erotic nature of the remark is why it was funny. That being said, out of respect I will discontinue the use of it (you gotta respect the vault). Cheers!

James Kennedy

Sounds like way too much work

VGJunky

Hey Jones, I haven't had any real complaints with the allies since you started, but your most recent top 10 really bothered me. It wasn't the fact that four of the ten towns were from Zelda or the choices themselves. My problem was that the video was unable to convey why the list was ordered the way it was, and as a result it left a lot of people unsatisfied. I have a potential solution, however, it would take more time, and i know the allies don't exactly have all the time in the world. My solution? Make two top 10 videos. One video is the exact same as normal; the other is a longer form video where you explain in depth why one town is above the other. Maybe when the list is close to being finalized the allies can get together and record a final debilitation on the list itself and each ally can explain why they want that thing on the list. You could even just do a group video chat online to do the deliberations since it can be hard to get everyone together. Some of you might have really interesting or thoughtful reasons for putting one town so high up, but from an outside perspective it just looks like you picked a few random towns from recent games without much thought put in.

Hello Brandon. It's not very often I want to offer some constructive criticism, but after watching your recent top 10 video on towns and seeing 4 entries from the same series and 3 of those 4 were the same game, would it be more of a benefit to have a one entry per game or franchise rule please? I think I remember a similar rule being done on the Gametrailers lists in the past and it helped showcase the variety that games can offer in each category, however one could argue that a single game with 3 entries for example, is a testament to how much of an impact that game has on those people drawing up their best of list. It's your list and opinions at the end of the day and that should always be respected regardless of the outcome. Thank you again for the content.

Anthony Stevens

What process will you guys go through to determine what game gets played for Full Playthrough Fridays?

Mr. Jones My question is about the upcomming Red Dead Redemption 2. I played and loved the first Red Dead Redemption, but as I was playing I couldn't help but be distracted by that trademark Rockstar humor/attitude. The game was engaging and I felt very invested, but the good vibes were frequently undercut by immature NPC dialog, out of place offensive comments that seemed added just to "spice things up" and stereotypical portrayals that seemed mean spirited (specifically Irish). Though the game was still enjoyable, these detracting factors seemed to taint an otherwise great experiance. Did you notice any Rockstar attitude and did it interfere with your enjoyment of the game? Any hopes and fears for RDR2 as far as the tone or attitude? Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla

I know Easy Allies Plays is where you upload all your Twitch streams, but will this be the case for Full Playthrough Fridays? Nothing involved in the Patreon goals exists on EZAPLays (to my knowledge), so I'm curious if this will be the first goal to not appear on the main channel.

Evan Charles Teague

Boop

Hi Jones, what's your favourite super group? The Highwaymen? The Travelling Wilburys? I've never really heard your opinion on music apart from musicals so I'd love some insight.

Hi, Brandon! My apologies if you've been getting this a lot lately, but I had to ask about the Top 10 lists. In the latest list, you had four entries from the Legend of Zelda series, including three from the latest game. I feel this does a great disservice to other games, as that is a solid third of the list from a single game. Most lists I see use a "one example per game/franchise/series/what have you" rule, which I feel makes the list both more diverse and also a lot more thought out, as you can't just look at two towns and decide to throw them both in. My question is this: Was there a reason for forgoing the One Example Per Game/Franchise/etc rule? Did you realize that there would be as much blowback as I've seen on the decision to include four Zelda examples? L&R

AC

Morning Jones!! I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Easy Living and had a blast watching. Animal Crossing in particular was such a calming stream, and I was glad that I was able to stay up and hang out for the jolly vibes. I have an Animal Crossing question for you: when you play Animal Crossing, do you make sure to fill up the museum with the first fish, bugs, ect that you find or do you skip? I always have to drop things off to Blathers right away, while my mom (who shares my game), absolutely refuses to give any of her hard earned prizes or bells to anyone, and I was curious on where you fell. L&R, Davi_Lavonne

Howdy Jones! When you reach the goals for the new shows, will you be adding new sponsorship tiers for them? With the current sponsorships nearly maxed out we'll have to rely more on smaller pledges to reach them, which seems like a good thing. But when you do get there, having new sponsor tiers to help sustain them seems like it would be helpful. And who wouldn't want to sponsor Huber's Harebrained Hijinks? L&R, Andrew

RobBobWill

Morning Mr Jones During the GT time, the GT logo changed multiple times. What were the circumstances for it to change, and do you think it will happen with EZA? L&R Aurélien

Aurélien GRANIER

Hey Jones I'm currently counting down the days until I get my Spider-Man PS4 Pro Bundle, and I've been wondering if Sony is sending out early review copies for Spider-Man? and if so I'm not sure about what you're allowed to say about it, but do you have any information about when and if you'll receive it, or when you're expecting to drop your review? I'd be surprised if there won't be early reviews because of how they did it wtih God of War. Can't wait to play it and am looking forward to see how you like it! L&R ❤️

Alec Dyer

Hello, Jones I was wondering if you were planning or thinking about doing extra life this year, or if you are to focused on the studio right now and will put off thinking about that till the studio is settled.

Mr.V

Piggybacking on this comment

Joseph Field

Hey! I'm new here! I was wondering if there is any way to get this in audio only. Youtube uses too much data and I'd like to hear it while I'm on the bus to work. L&R from Chile :)

Zaths

Hello Mr. B Jones - new tiers are finally available! So happy these have been announced and I agree this will help attract more attention to our Patreon engagement. My question is regarding the first tier above 50k: full playthrough Friday’s. I believe this is the most important new tier because if reached, this will keep your company in a comfortable state to fund your studio moving forward. So with this is mind, I was wondering if you could be more specific as to what the tier is and what it gives us. For example: who will be playing these games? What allies will be attending these playthroughs? Can we expect lengthier games to be included (possible marathon status)? And maybe any other details to light a fire for this tier to be reached. L&R - Christian

Rammer

Hey Jones. Just wondering, with moving into a new studio and all the new shows that are being produced. Will you eventually be hiring new allies to the team? I remember back when you guys were at GT in the Viacom days, the whole crew use to be much larger and as time went on, the crew became smaller and smaller until GT shut down. Will we see the addition of new Allies in the foreseeable future? This would not only help with production, but it would be cool to see new personalities and ideas in the mix. Thanks so much Brandon. Love and Respect from Canada.

Babak Karimian

Hi Jones. One of my favorite things about Easy Allies is the way you cover press events. Like the ones recently in Gamescom. I love the pre-show predictions and post-show discussion, as well as your reactions. I recently found a video on Youtube of the Allies reacting to a shortened version of the infamous Konami E3 2010 press conference. I think the video was from 2 years ago, between the EA and Bethesda conference. I like the idea of doing this for older press conferences. It probably wouldn't be enough to create a new show but it could be a fun thing to do every once in a while. You revisit old games, why not revisit old press conferences. Love and respect.

Shoulderguy

I know I have been asking questions every week and this will be my last for a while just so you can get a break from me. But as you might have guessed from the gifts I mailed I love music almost as much as games. I have more plans to send tons of music to you and the allies! (some might even be on the way) Just wondering what is your favorite music genre and what do you like?

Megan Linart

Hey Mr. Jones! Super quick Trailer Jones question for you this time: When selecting trailers, do you make a note (Physical or mental) that you want to cover a trailer as soon as it releases, or do you sit down on the Tuesday you plan to record to make your selections to show the Allies who will be with you for the show? I couldn’t remember if you talked about your process when you relaunched the show, and this was just a small detail I was curious about. As always, thanks for taking my question. Have a great day and Cheers!

Brandon K Gann

Hi Jones! I'm very excited to see what studio location you have in mind, even more so now that we're above $50k again. My question is, what kind of *space* is the studio space? Are you looking at an empty office that you want to lease? Maybe you're renting a full apartment/house to retrofit into a studio? Is it going to be a surprise? Thanks!

kbhomes