Cup of Jones - June 26, 2018

Regarding the question about rewarding your twitch audience (since Patreon supporters get all the goodies). In my opinion, the Twitch audience does get a lot given back to them from the Allies. Sure it's not "exclusive", but there's a large portion of your audience that does not like live streaming, and prefers produced content. So the fact that you guys stream so much, or even do Cup of Jones live now, is serving that audience. They also get name shoutouts, talk to the allies directly, and stickers or whatever they use in the chatroom. So for those who support you on Twitch, their biggest reward is that you continue to stream. So I'm personally happy with the balance you guys do with rewarding Patrons and Twitch users. Sure you can't pay back those who donated a lot during your equipment drive, but I think people are okay with that and don't expect anything in return for those sorts of things.

Andrew Chalmers

Would you consider hosting your own conversation podcast? I’m thinking something similar to Fireside chats or the Joe Rogan podcast. It could be something like only once a month or as often as you would like. I think this would be a great addition to what you do. P.S. just found out my cat has cancer so appreciate any and all positivity

Hey Jones, MEGA64 have just moved to a different studio which is much bigger and better than the previous one they had, which lead me to the realisation that I would love to see you collab with them, maybe just for a Cup of Jones talking about Patreon like you did with Greg Miller and potentially give tips about studios, sponsorships and share general experiences in the YouTube /Patreon space They are also partially Patreon funded and have a very dedicated fanbase similar to that of EZA Thoughts? P.S - They are huge Disney fans and have collaborated with other YouTubers many times

Steven Vella

Mr Jones, How would you feel about more reoccurring segments for Cup of Jones? Currently we have an update, business questions, personal questions, and sometimes and editorial. Would you be against additional segments like "Best Batman pitch" "Theme Park Tip of the Week" "Ask an Ally" "Brandon's Life Advice" "Recommended Game for this Month" etc.? Maybe just anounce a single segment of your choice to include in the next Cup of Jones so you stay in control. I know that Cup of Jones is primarily for communicating with Patrons, but I find it very entertaining as well and wonder if you would be interested in engaging the audience in additional ways. Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla

Hello from England! (Which is currently undergoing an insane heatwave which really sucks). I was wondering if you guys would ever consider adding an Extra Life element to Easy Livin'? I've noticed a lot of outlets and groups recently announcing or doing their annual Extra Life charity streams and Easy Livin' could be perfect for it I feel.

Karlos

Business Question: during your last CoJ I you talked a lot about the studio and clarified many things which is good. When you set the goal as 50K my assumption was always that this is for rent only and if that is true would that mean you may have a fund drive again to maybe fill out the new studio/office with things you need? or are you going to take a bit out of your budget and fund it that way?

Christophe Fettouhi

Hey Mr Jones, I'll be at work when you'll be reading this but I've noticed that the master volume for the podcast has been very inconsistent these last few months. It's still OK on the PC cause I can max out everything but I used to be able to watch your podcast on my tablet without the need to plug headphones in. The master volume is so low, I can't even hear Rufus !! Maybe bump it a little ??? L&R

tahitianwarrior

Business advice/request: don't become like Wisecrack. They used to be interesting, but lately are just ads upon memes upon ads as quality topics dwindle. I don't know what happened over there, or if it is symptoms of the impending death of YouTube, but looking at their video on Bo Burnham is a great way of learning what not to do. I use 'looking at' intentionally, because it feels like looking at a billboard, not watching something I feel invested in. I am hard out of their future content. I fear this is the inevitable end-point for Patreons that get too big, and would hate to see something like the following scenario at EZA: 'Time for bets, but first, this podcast is brought to you by squarespace, where you can get a [barf, vomit, wasted 20 seconds, flow killed].' Your American patrons would be used to this, because you have dealt with it your entire lives with sports broadcasting, but in Europe vocalised ads outside of the designated ad space is unheard of and gross. I bailed on Madden when they brought 'stat-box sponsored by snickers' into the game.

Jones, hope you are having a day I can never watch these live, so I am raising my cup with you metaphorically. My questing this week is with Friend Code being a Nintendo focused podcast, has there been any thought on doing a Sony or Microsoft specific podcast? As a Nintendo fan, Friend Code is one of my favorite shows that you do.

strawhatninja

Hello. It's funny asking questions here, getting left behind, forgetting what I asked, then seeing my question pop up a couple of weeks later as I catch up. I am up to June 5 at the moment, which is why I have to say I share your enthusiasm for safe driving. I ride a big-engine motorcycle and am appalled by the things I see on the roads. Like in Cali, lane-splitting is legal in Europe, which is safe as it allows me to escape from unskilled drivers. I've seen people texting on the motorway at 120km/h. It scares me to see that. He could easily cause my death before he even knew what happened. Anyway, my point is I would love to see your driving safety video, as an easy update or something. It is off-brand, but important enough to justify. A gaming community might never seek out such advice by themselves so there is good reason for you to provide it. L&R & all that jazz.

No question, just a comment. I’m glad to hear that if you plan on doing any sort of daily show that it’s not going to be news based like Kinda Funny. From the handful of times I’ve watched their one, it seems like there is rarely enough news to fill an hour anyway, and it usually ends up being 20 minutes of news, that’s padded out with 40 minutes of filler. Plus it would make the main podcast, and even Friend Code kinda irrivalaint IMO. I get that reactions are big for you guys, and I don’t need you to be in a small window in the corner, but it could absolutely stand to be a small bit bigger, which is all I think most people want anyway. Last year it felt like you had a fairly decent split, but this years felt super cramped. For instance you had that banner with subs etc. on the bottom that could have easily been at the top, and while you argument of needing headroom is valid to a degree, I’d argue that since you all know reactions are such a big deal, then I don’t see as a big ask to tell people to remember to stay sitting. There also hasn’t been one single instance, in any of Easy Allies clipped out reactions videos, in which any of you have stood up in. This might not even be an issue if you’re in a studio next year, but with regard to this years coverage, I think there definitely was some room for compromise.

BeatenDownBrian

How close are you to putting up new goals beyond 50K?

mikkel hervel nemmøe

I need to know. Is the primary jazz song from The Sims? It heavily gives me Sims nostalgia.

I hope you're doing well today

Hey Julien, some people in the YouTube comments on the latest podcast want to read this. I posted a link to here but maybe you would post these Smash Tips there directly for them to read?

Aaron Kirk - Kurxx

Question: Alot of ppl seem to be commenting about the how your e3 coverage is laid out (big conference vs big allies). I prefer it is how it is now because I put the conference on my TV and watch you guys on my phone... but I can't help but wonder if for a big event like E3 if you could just bring in an extra PC and just have a simalcast on a second channel in the other mode for those that prefer that version? Just a thought, L&R Matt

Matt Brookbank

Studio talk: it seems to me that once studio achievement happens maybe the goals should be reshuffled so that if you dip below 50k instead of moving back to the garage (not feasible once rent contentment made and equipment purchased for that space) you would drop top 10, then trailer Jones, then at some lower level if things were to go horribly wrong you could go back to just a podcast in a garage plan. Anyway, just my 2 cents, not a question for next time. L&R&congratulations!

Matt Brookbank

Hiya Jones. Have you considered a different restriction on Hall of Greats arguments beyond just a time limit? The issue with the time limit is that everyone is basically vomiting out the words of their argument as fast as possible. I get you want to keep things moving, but so much about public speaking is about pauses, points of emphasis, etc., and that doesn't seem to jive well with the time limit.

Josh Bossie

Hello Jones! Watching the Hall of Greats stream, and that explanation at the beginning was good! But it made me think you will have to do that every six months. Would you consider making a Hall of Greats explanation video that you play at the start of every HoG stream so you don't have to explain it every time or worry about forgetting something?

Parasitepaladin

Any chance you'd consider going back to scoring one trailer and retaining a Jones, Blood, Kyle format for Trailer Jones? Don't want to eat up too much time, so please feel free to skip anything I've written past the above question, but I just feel that with a rotating cast and long runtime, Trailer Jones runs the risk of feeling a lot like other existing EZA content. i.e: 3-4 rotating allies speaking on something or another for 45 minutes to an hour feels sorta tired, and one thing I continue to miss from EZA that GT did so well is the low commitment weekly shows that were like 10-15 minutes long and easily digestible. Also, I love all the other Allies to death, but Trailer Score having a set cast made the scores feel more consistent and "official." As of now it sorta feels like a trailer's score is at the whim of whoever is in the seat that episode. PS. Killer job with the first Top Ten. Extremely well-edited, efficient relay of information, and effortless to watch and enjoy. And congrats on 50k!

beep boop.

Benny Samuelsson

Hey Jones, I'm curious, have you analyzed what has been the most effective measure you took that caused the surge of new patrons and especially money? I know the pre-E3 stream and the E3 coverage itself helped a lot. But it has increased A LOT lately. Was it the additional videos on Youtube explaining what's happenging with equipment and studio? Do you think much of it is due to the Patreon tier revamp? People upping their pledges (and starting at) $5 due to locking early access to many shows? Which tiers gained the most patrons the past couple months? This could be very important information going forward as to what works when you need that extra boost in the future and I'm very curious to hear which conclusions you've drawn from the data you have.

Benny Samuelsson

As an editor, I often find myself getting burned out. Once every week or two weeks, I’ll just feel ground down and start hating the video I’m working on. I definitely get up and go outside and think about other things when I can but sometimes, that’s just not possible. I’d really like to ask your advice, as someone who is constantly editing multiple projects and hitting frequent deadlines, how do you help yourself power through and stay on top of the editing burnout??

hellsfoxes

I think that has a whole lot less to do with "sexual expression" and a LOT more to do with the objectification of women. One is a good thing; the other is a pretty crappy aspect of too many games. I guess the question is if Easy Allies should try to sidestep all potentially controversial topics, and stifle their own personalities, for the sake of not offending others. Personally, I would prefer if they didn't try to cater to the people who were deeply offended by Damiani's comments...

James Kennedy

Just a little extra feedback - think y'all could be a little more respectful about how you address games with sexually suggestive content and the people that buy/enjoy them. Might seem like an old topic but it looks like a nerve was struck based on the latest podcast comments. Some people were not down with the SNK Heroines dig from the latest podcast. I've got zero interest in the game but also don't want to hear fans belittled for liking what they like. Seems like it's still a sore subject for part of your fanbase I push for more tolerance and inclusiveness in general and freedom of sexual expression (outside of committing any crimes) is a big one that I feel is kind of a weak point in American culture, personally. I get it when Huber is into meaningful kills and also get it when people are into M (or even T)-rated stuff of a different sort Anyway this is probably another flash in the pan but I don't want it to become a thing down the line, the previous incident was a big downer It's still a sore subject for people so if he's just making fun of things off the cuff he's gotta be verrryy specific about it and the wording he uses so that it targets the games and not the fans that are just trying to watch or listen to the content to have a good time

VGJunky

Hey Brandon, where do you stand on pre-ordering games? Since Boogie2988 made a really good case for not pre-ordering games roughly five years ago, Ive been firm on not pre-ordering games. However, in numerous easyallies streams, you (and other allies) have hyped up RDR2 (which I was always going to buy) and Spiderman (which I previously had zero hype on) and now Im craving the pre-order. The main reason I want to pre-order is so I can pre-load the game onto my PS4 as Australia has terrible internet speeds, but I also dont want to give studios money before the reviews start coming in and I know that they deserve the money. Help me Brandon, you're my only hope.

I've noticed this too actually, the EZA Podcast in particular often dedicates 2/3rds of the show to things like Game Announcements, Rank the Significance, NPDs, Desire Index, which are fine, but it means they miss the chance to give their hot takes on industry headlines. I feel like's it's definitely an area they could focus on more.\

Cash

Is there a reason why the audio-only version is not up yet?

Zkarts

That crotch shot. lmao

Minamik

Hi Brandon, congrats on reaching the dream goal. This is super exciting and i cant wait to see how things will change with the new studio. Btw, please consider spending the $50k on building the studio from Lego. Now, to the point. I love the content you guys are making and the reason why me and most of the people are watching and supporting you is because of your personalities, allies, i am aware of that. But, eventho i enjoy listening to your opinions and watching shows which are revolving rather around passion than information, i am personally missing a bit more factual content. I would want to watch only EZA, but many times if i want to get updated on most recent stuff and all that is happening in the "biz" i have to turn to other outlets. If there are some big news, i would want to see an update from allies, if there is a new game release, i would want to see you talk about it, if even briefly. For example, only one ally could cover the news he is interested in or falls in his area of interest. So there could be small segment, where random ally appears and covers recent news. In any case, perhaps focusing on factual/informative content is not what you want to do as much and i respect that, this is just something i would like to see more of, so that EZA could be the only place i can get all the info as well as your great shows. But thats just a personal wish. All hail the Easy Allies, your Sherif Wigum.

80 and 100 tier would be good. Discord is just a chat/voice service. There was a server that they have separated themselves from since it probably got too big and unmanageable to have in an official capacity

VGJunky

Keep your reaction framing the way it is. The egotistical reasons you stated are why I started watching EZA after 2016 Easy Allies specifically calls their videos ____ Reactions. Giantbomb and Kinda Funny call it "We talk over ____" Going to get a little disrespectful - Giantbomb is OK with framing their E3 reactions the way that they do because they react to everything like dead fish. For the most part they are older, more cynical, and more stoic than the Allies in basically every respect. You would be hard pressed to see them get visibly excited about ANYTHING. Kinda Funny spends most of their time looking at their phones or laptops in silence in front of them instead of watching the screen together, so it's also fine for them to frame stuff the way they do. I say this as somebody that still listens to the Giantbomb Cast on a weekly basis and has fallen off from KF but used to watch every episode of KFGD

VGJunky

Suggestion (my question for this week) - How about cross-promoting the most recent and upcoming exclusive content more in your free stuff? As in making a point or habit of doing it You could make a short, updated list of exclusive content for the month like the topic of the new Spoiler Mode or And For That Reason and make sure that it gets mentioned as a perk of supporting on your most popular stuff like the Easy Allies Podcast and Frame Trap. You guys only cross-promote one video of your choice as a perk of winning a bet but I think that you need to get out the messaging for exclusive stuff a little more.

VGJunky

Hi Jones, I have a question/suggestion for the Hall of Greats. It always strikes me as being arbitrarily unfair to a game and it's presenter when the time runs out midway through their response to a question or right after a new question has been asked during the Q/A phase. This creates a sometimes unfair effect on the game, since if the last thing said of the game is someone asking a good question and the ally doesn't get to address it, it can leave a negative vibe to the game as a valid critique was brought up, but not addressed in any way. Contrast this with if the time runs out right as an ally is finishing their response which lets the game end on a positive note. I think this is unfair, as it is out of the presenting ally's control when time runs out for this phase. For the initial presentation, the allies know exactly how long they have, and therefore if they run out of time while presenting, that's on them, however if time runs out when responding to criticism, it's not directly their fault, but can have a meaningful effect on the lasting impression for their presentation. For this reason, I think that the rule should be adjusted such that after time runs out in the cross-examination phase, the presenting ally is allowed to finish addressing whatever question was last asked, BUT no new questions can be asked or answered. This allows for every game to have a fair treatment and equally address all criticism thrown at it, but still respects the time limit. Thoughts? L&R, Nick

I'm sure my gift went longer than they anticipated

VGJunky

"Not a news show cause Kinda Funny does it already", I find it weird to think that way. EZA could have a different news show, with different segments, and with the EZA "mood" that everyone loves here. Kinda Funny Daily wouldn't be successful if it wasn't for Greg's personnality for example. And an EZA news shows wouldn't be a copy cause you don't have a Greg, you have an Huber, you have a Ben... You already do "Spoiler Mode", which Kinda FUnny does too, in a pretty similar way. But your personnalities is the difference, and the mood of the discussion.

Térence Caron

The cam used in Easy Update is Ian's personal camera. That camera is not the FS5 camera from the groupstream. Ian's camera might look better but its just another setting where he gives more Depth Of Field. Its an artistic choice (that looks great i have to agree).

Sven Van Lathem

Hi Jones, last name is pronounced like Lan - Jill. :) Once the new Easy Allies studio is going, do you think the Allies will be assembling more often, and will the intention be for the Allies to work at the studio on edits and other projects that aren't on camera? As much as I love you all individually, the best moments are always when you are working off of one another and teaming up so having Allies around the studio would provide more opportunities for that. I would also feel a little let down if the studio was just sort of an upgrading filming set and nothing else because it is a lot of money for what is essentially a background. From this fan's perspective, the studio goal has always been more about the changes in what is possible in terms of content and not so much about production quality or appearances. Regardless, I am happy to see such fantastic growth and I hope things just keep getting better!

Yui

Hi, Jones! Congrats to all of you for the 50k! Here's to a healthy retention rate of patrons! What do you plan to do to incentivize people to either remain on the patreon or join, now that the largest goal has been hit? Even with the most consistent output, patron numbers could dwindle if they don't feel like they are continuing to march towards a larger goal. If, after the studio is obtained and the allies move in, the number dips below 50k, what will you do? While the lower rewards are more flexible, a studio is a long term commitment, and will be hard to just turn off for a month like the other goals.

AC

Is the garage floor cement? You could you tape on the floor to mark optimal locations for furniture legs placement and orientation. That could help keep things consistent.

Gerred Evatt

Hey Jones, Quick suggestion for you: during the Hall of Greats, would it be possible to have a monitor up displaying the remaining time for the presenter/questioners? Would also be nice if it could be displayed on stream as well so everybody knew how much time there was remaining. Seemed like this came up a few times on the most recent one and this would prevent moments like Don not realizing how little time he had left or Huber not being able to get a question in. Not sure if this is feasible in the current garage setup, but if not, I'd definitely like to see it when you guys move in to the studio. Congrats again on that! L&R, Link

Hey Jones, I know you've highlighted again and again the importance of not rushing into anything in terms of changing the Patreon and you've asked for patience every week, but I really do feel that the community needs new Patreon goals ASAP. It's not something that should be put off any longer. At least set yourselves a reasonable deadline to get them finalized by. L&R

Cash

During hall of greats you guys decided to open all of the presents before releasing the winning games. I understand the intention of opening the presents at this time is to help fill time while the votes are being counted but as someone who's staying up late to see the results of the votes it's frustrating to see you guys continue to open presents well after the votes have been counted. I love watching you guys open presents, it's just bad timing to insert all of them in the middle of the show when your already running an hour over when you normally end your streams. L&R klastical

klastical

What do the Allies do for a living who aren't a full time worker for EasyAllies (yet)?

Stefan Bien

I don't know about Port reports, but Ben has said that their aim is to do at least one Don't skip a month.

BeatenDownBrian

Hi Jones! Watching Ians E3 Easy Update made it really clear how good that new camera is. Its bonkers. I don't know much about cameras but I'm pretty sure its the lens. I feel like you guys really need to leverage that thing and get as much possible out of it, its one of the things from the fundraiser you can easily shove right in our faces and its immediately clear how big an improvement it is. My point/suggestion is, have you thought about a cameraman role for groupstreams? You guys have the main camera, salad cam, the two side camera, correct? I'd suggest experimenting with having someone behind the scenes work one of the side cameras to make them feel more distinct and less redundant. A camera that can pan around and zoom in on people at the back of the room when they're talking. I initially thought of this for your E3 coverage (just picture a 4K snap zoom on Hubers face) but there would be no where to actually put it on screen. Just wanted to bring this up since just having a slow moving pan/zoom can make stuff feel way more snazzy, could suit Easy Living well too. PS I just stumbled across the Cup of Buttons (12/09/16) and wanted to say that intro was absolutely hilarious. If you do the Patreon promo/stinger idea, you have to include a clip of that completely out of context :D

Lee

100% agree. I don't understand people that complain about not feeling the same or getting the same "rewards" for giving money elsewhere when each way of giving money clearly states what you will get. Not to mention EZA frequently promoties Patreon as the main and preferred way in almost every video. And it's like people still don't understand. Or they just don't care.

It depends on whether or not EZA selects the option to charge upfront for payment or not through Patreon. To my understanding, they wait until the first of the month to charge, so there are some people who can abuse this for exclusive content. This was a problem with another Patreon, What's Good Games, and they eventually switched over to the pay immediately method. That method has advantages and disadvantages.

Professor Metal Gear

Hey Jones, I feel that we need a tier in the range of 70-100 dollars and I had some ideas I’d love for you too look at. 1. Playing with the allies. In this tier you and the other people will get to suggest and then vote and what game and console to play a game on. (Monthly) 2. Discord chat. Here you get to chat with the allies on discord! Ps: I’m not quite sure how discord works (Monthly) 3. Voting committee. In this tier you can vote and suggest the 10 tens for the month, trailers for trailer jones and game/movie for spoiler mode (credit to Daniel Fuchs) also submit comments and questions to the spoiler mode as well. (Spoiler mode is monthly) 4. Physical mail. I’m pretty sure kinda funny does this. (Monthly) Keep in mind they are just suggestions and could absolutely be changed to work for easy allies better. I hope you liked at least one of them enough to add it or discuss it! Love you jones!

Jones, when a person submit his $40 pledge at the 20th of the month, do you get that $40 at the time or just add the amount to patreon? i wonder if only the 5th of every month you get that money and you could have people backing out just to have the exclusive content without giving any money

Daniel Garza Andrade

With the insane amount quality games coming out and the limits of how a person can work. Do you plan on doing more don't skips, port reports, etc. in the future.

Mr.V

Hey Mr. Jones! A couple of times during the last episode, for different topics, you said, "That's the number one feedback, critique, etc." for said topic. Now that EZA has gone two years plus and on the cusp of getting a studio, what do you believe is the overall number one piece of feedback you have heard, both in terms of importance and amount, and is it the same from when EZA started? And tangentially, what has been the one (or more if you like) thing EZA has answered, accomplished, or able to overcome as a result of feedback, critique, requests, etc from your various audiences? As always, thanks for taking my questions. Cheers!

Brandon K Gann

Regarding somebody's previous comments about contributing to EZA through Twitch or donations or spreading awareness and feeling like the reward is inadequate compared to just dropping a dollar on Patreon - Everybody should be 100% clear on what their money goes to and the rewards for that thing when they make that particular contribution. Patreon - tiers are clearly laid out along with their cost. EZA frequently gives reminders that Patreon is the avenue you want to take for their exclusive content, and it makes up the bulk of their support. The fact that it is easier to do than donate a one time chunk of $100 and you get more out of it should be considered an asset to the fans and not a liability. Twitch - you get a neat badge and Sophie. Donation drives/fundraisers - These go towards specific targets/goals and are clearly labeled as such. You get the special stuff on stream like Blood art and Kyle music videos, but more importantly it goes to unique and specific goals outside of the norm that will end up giving better content anyway. Spreading awareness - you get more viewers on board, if they become supporters, then EZA grows. With growth comes more opportunity and content So if you care more about one particular thing than another then pick that avenue of support.

VGJunky