April Update

I think doing a patron-only raffle to bring one ally to E3 could help boost the Patreon numbers. Maybe not this year since it's already so close, but next year start say right after the new year. Any patron at $1 and above is able to enter (must be at least 18 years or older) and donations from the community can also be allowed to help pay for the trip. Plane tickets, hotel for the week, and E3 tickets all provided from the raffle but food, souvenirs, etc. would have to be paid for by the ally who wins. Maybe they could even be a guest on one of the EZA shows like Huber Syndrome or Easy Update, possibly even the podcast or Frame Trap if Jones is willing to invite them into his garage (completely understandable if not). There could also be raffles for other events, maybe even some game code giveaways or something to that extent. Could be an idea for the 3 year anniversary concert as well.

MistahShowtime

I don't know if I'm too late on this post but I wanted to offer one area I think Easy Allies needs to do more to address helping Patreon numbers and viewers in general: social media promotion! I'm not a big user of other platforms but Twitter is something I do and have used personally and professionally, and I'm surprised how little you guys use this medium to promote your shows and streams. I understand not wanting to spam your followers with constant stuff, but on most occasions you post something about a show once - usually with none or minimal related hashtags - and that is it. If someone is not on Twitter in that moment, or doesn't go on @EasyAllies specifically, there is a possibility a potential viewer will miss out on something altogether. Add to that, you are unlikely to attract new followers either this way. Take for instance the Huber Syndrome Wrestlemania preview. The only promotion for that was a retweet of Huber's initial post early on Friday morning. With no further postings of it you missed out on several opportunities to promote a couple of your personalities, the show and Easy Allies itself on the biggest wrestling weekend of the the year. I know the online wrestling crowd is not exactly the same as the gaming one, but through that promotion you may have attracted some people not previously familiar with Easy Allies who liked what they saw and subsequently got involved in your community. That is just one example, but I think you've got to look at promoting your output more often on Twitter and social media and to do it consistently. Doing so is a must in the modern media world, and for a bunch of intelligent, and seemingly tech-savvy guys, this seems like a huge oversight and a little lazy. Apologies if any of that comes off as too critical but I really like you guys and the work you do and hope more people get to discover the charm of Easy Allies too.

Thomas Cooper

I'm sure many have suggested it above but a $3 tier and $6 tier might be interesting to bump the small donations a little bit more!

Kevin

How much data do you guys have on where your Patrons are coming from? Do you have the ability to say "this week, here is exactly where all our patreon.com/easyallies visitors came from (and not just "from YouTube," you need to know the exact video they're coming from), and here's where all the people who actually pledged came from." EZA is basically a startup, and having this kind of data is par for the course for a startup.<br><br>Working with friends and family is tough, and having this kind of data makes it way easier to make hard decisions like cutting one of your shows (because the data speaks for itself). If you guys don't know how to set this kind of thing up, let me know and I'm happy to help.

John Peterson

Tons of advice for how to change on this thread, but as long as you guys remain passionate, you’ll be successful. You’re clearly taking on a lot and doing what it takes. Don’t stop.

Ryan Berry

Let me just start off by saying that I have been a fan for over 5 yars and I have loved most of what you put out. I am also not a business expert and I don't know how you guy's resources work so I'm not expecting you to heed my advice so easily. With that said I just want to echo the statements that "Let's all go to the trailers" was my favorite series on GT. It was so interesting to hear Brandon breakdown how and why a trailer works as a marketing tool and a piece of art. Combine that with the fact that reaction videos are popular and I think Trailer Jones could pull in a lot of fans.

Sare

I think q+a should be bumped up in price (25/30) with the new proviso that all qs will be at least addressed (if not answered) - might need to cap if too popular. Also I think community comments should be bumped to 15. And a new, more broadly appealing reward for $10 tier. I think this is an important tier that is currently under utilised that a lot could afford to move upto with the right incentive. Unfortunately I’m not sure what that is, hopefully the other comments can give you some ideas.

Dylan Wiggan

First let me preface this by saying that I love your tone and personalities, so don't change anything on that front. I'm really grateful you guys exist, so all of the following feedback comes from a place of love! Reviews - Awesome, don't change a thing (and shifting to a 10 point scale was probably a good call) EZA podcast - Very entertaining, love the format and the Kyle x-factor (the bits and bets), but it feels like you often miss out on breaking news because you record on Tuesday nights. A lot of game news come out on Wednesday and Thursday, so by the time you talk about those you're often a week late. Why not record on Thursday nights instead? That would allow you to recap the news of the week, make it available to patrons on Friday and non-patrons on Sunday. I realize Tuesdays are when you all get together for group stream night too, but is it crazy to consider moving all the Tuesday shoots to Thursdays? Frame Trap - Awesome too, probably my favourite podcast. I personally don't mind the long format but I agree it may be off-putting to a lot of people. So why not create shorter videos out of each Frame Trap episode? If there's a great 20-minute discussion about a recent game, like Far Cry 5 in the last episode, why not make a separate, shorter video out of this? Label those "EZA Discuss: Far Cry 5" or something, and that way you can throw them in together with other videos like the recent Blood reports from GDC. This feeds into my biggest complaint and therefore advice: I feel like you would gain a lot from labeling and normalizing your content in order to make it more appealing, engaging and clear to potential viewers. You tend to create a lot of one-off videos that get lost in the shuffle, and those would benefit from belonging to a "series" or at least a common banner. My "EZA Discuss" example above could be one of those labels. I became familiar with the Game Informer channel since you invited Ben Hanson on the podcast and noticed how they have clear names for all their content: Replay, New Gameplay Today, GI Show Highlights, GI Live for their streams. The Highlights idea in particular, you could use that from Frame Trap, the EZA Podcast, or any other "talk shows". I see that you just created the EZA Clips, which is a slightly different direction focused on the streams, and I fully support this idea! But think about isolating interesting discussions you have into smaller videos too, those will require minimal editing and help your content spread a lot more! Another related issue I have is with the overall naming and branding of your shows: several show names don't indicate what the show is about at all, which makes it feel daunting to newcomers. Frame Trap? Huber Syndrome? Easy Update? Friend Code? As an outsider, what am I supposed to expect from each of those? Again if you look at the Game Informer titles, they're all self-explanatory. So make sure you consider that if you create new shows in the future. Then there's what I would summarize as discipline or consistency. Several shows meant to be regular, such as Game Sleuth, Don't Skip or Retrospectives, suffer from very long draughts. Granted, Retrospectives are a different beast and nobody expects several of those every year, but the way the Souls Retro was handled was disappointing and a missed opportunity. I saw the first couple episodes gain traction on Reddit for example and then nothing. Something like Don't Skip was a good idea when it launched, but they're way too sparse. Maybe you'd benefit from fewer, more focused shows rather than spread yourselves thin between all these different ideas which ultimately fall flat because none of you has enough time to dedicate to them. Again, just my two cents, but something to consider if you're going to modify your show schedule. Finally, I think the Group Stream Selection Committee does more harm than good at this point. As far as I can tell by reading comments every week, a lot of people are unhappy with the results most of the time, and this week is another prime example with a tournament night where Don's Design Lab wins, which is not a tournament concept at all, and if you read the comments you'll see that many people are confused and opposed to the idea. You could argue that the majority voted for it, and some of these ideas did actually lead to great streams in the past, but lately there have been several streams where some Allies seemed uninterested and the concept just didn't work out. I've seen other comments suggesting to tone down the power of the Selection Committee and I agree: save a couple streams a month for your own ideas, the games you guys actually want to play. After all, you're the ones that came up with Don's Design Lab, First Fifteen, and all these other cool concepts in the first place. So don't be afraid of taking ownership back and having more editorial authority. Sorry if some of this sounds harsh, and if you don't agree with me, I hope you'll take into account all of the advice I've read in other comments above me, there's tons of great suggestions in there! Good luck!

Axel

I would love to see an interview show in the style of what Ian did in the early days of easyupdate. The episode with Kyle and Ian getting a burger, or the one where Ian talks to his friend AJ while they are playing badminton, or getting a juice with Ben. My point is to have that type of casual interview but with people from the industry. Have an Interview show structured around someting, maybe play a game with them while you’re talking, something that makes the guest let their guard down. I think EZA are in a position where they could pull something like that off, they are well known enough to attract interesting guests, but small enough to not have to rely on doing superseriuos interviews. And if you keep it simple enough the guests will not have to come to you, you can go to where they are and scout a location for a quick interview. An interview show, I think that would make more people tune in to watch and become patrons. And stream with other streamers, I found the one where Huber was playing Fortnite with SanchoWest to be a lot more fun than just a regular solo stream.

I’m curious to ask why so many commenters are so in favour of the return of Top 10’s? Is it simply just that you enjoy those lists? or why you think they would be such a benefit to EZA? I do agree that they may well bring in a large number of views, but I’m skeptical that many of those views would translate into actual Patrons. The reason I say this is because when I look at the comment section for just about any Top 10 video out there, it’s filled with a bunch of people saying “This list sucks”, or “why the hell is “X” not on this list” or “How the hell can you guys put “X” over “Y”, or just a bunch of people arguing amongst themselves over the list. Honestly, I feel they would bring in nothing but negativity, and toxicity for the most part. There is also the issue that some of the allies themselves have expressed a disinterest in ever returning to them, not to mention the sheer volume of work that’s needed to make them i.e. Thinking of a topic that hasn’t been done by 20 other outlets, researching potential candidates, deciding on the order of the list, writing/editing a script, recording VO, capturing gameplay, and then the editing of the final video. Granted I was never a huge fan of Top 10’s anyway, so I’m genuinely curious what it is that so many people like about them?

BeatenDownBrian

I think promoting patreon in a quick, concise manner can go a long way. Obviously you end most of your scripted shows/podcast with it, but you can sprinkle in a "patreon dot com" or "easy allies, funded by patreon" for a really snappy promotion early on. It won't seem like begging or bugging us if its just a second long.

I wondered whether a short news format would help. Rather than an hour long podcasts that mentions news, then Just discusses a few games at length. And I’m not saying instead of, but as well as. You have people here as fans of you, and fans of gaming etc. But there’s also the addition of the person that is just interested in learning about gaming news. So how about that? For example when Huber has his syndrome: quick and snappy, then he used to do Huber talk and go on for a longer time just shooting the breeze and talking. Just a thought.

You guys need to play more new games on stream/youtube. Playing new games of group streams is a train wreck. The Metal Gear Survive Stream was some of the worst content I've ever watched on Youtube. You should try playing new releases in a small group, maybe 2 or 3, max 4. It doesn't have to be a full playthrough like Huber likes to do, but just dedicating a couple of hours to a new game on release day would go a long way to increasing your presence on Youtube and improving your coverage. Frame Trap is a good way to give your opinion on new releases but not everyone enjoys that format of just listening to someone give their opinion on something. Seeing someone actually form their opinion on a game, and discuss it live with a couple of friends, is entertaining in its own right.

Harrison Holt-McHale

As others have said produced content will get repeat viewers imo. I saw the e3 betting special linked somewhere last year and the presentation and costumes were so nutty I just had to check out more and ended up loving thr podcast and frams trap

Joseph Field

That's why they should bring back Trailer Jones (Trailer Score) instead of resting it on a 45k goal.

RedVIII

Again, I see a lot of people saying more edited shorter videos. Trailer Score (Trailer Jones) would be the perfect fit for this void. It's a very interesting not too long show that would attract viewers weekly, because you can always watch it. It's short enough and you don't had to have to see the previous episode (like with shows like Tabletop). Especially today where reaction to trailers are more popular than ever, just bring back Trailer Jones.

RedVIII

i like to add that checkin out and previews are too different things. checkin out is like an IMPRESSION when playing the game for the first time while Previews is knowing the information before you guy that game.

Otoshigami

I think Friend Code was a good idea at a time when there was just a decent amount of content being put out. Being a Nintendo-specific show presents a few problems, though. If people don't feel like listening to Nintendo news they're not tuning in. If there's small Nintendo news they may not tune in. If there's big Nintendo news they may tune in, but they may not if that big news was discussed by 4 other Allies on a previous episode of the EZA Podcast. But I think the biggest issue, with Friend Code and EZA in general, is the length. To illustrate this I totalled up a week's worth of videos from last week's Easy Update to this week's Easy Update. This is strictly from the Easy Allies YouTube Channel (not Easy Allies Plays). About 10 and a half hours. The week before was nearly 8 hours. The last 5 days of Easy Allies Plays is over 41-and-a-half hours. Obviously the intent is not to have everyone watch everything, but that's a lot of stuff to put out. I've never been disappointed in anything I've watched from EZA (or GT). It's always good. But with work and relationships and other videos, shows, movies, games, etc. it feels like a lot of really great content is suffering. Easy Allies Podcast works because it's a current events discussion about games. Frame Trap works because it's every other week and heavily covers what the allies have been playing. I don't know if we need more than that on the podcast front. Huber Syndrome often comes in under 10 minutes and it feels like a complete show. When it's 20-30 minutes long it feels like a special event. Reviews are usually well under 10 minutes long. I would love to see new shows that fit within 10-15 minutes. Also I know it's newer, but Checkin' Out feels out of place with Previews on the main channel and entire streams on the Plays channel. Not sure how helpful this comment is but I felt I should give my two cents. Keep up the good work! L&amp;R -__caprica

Bells aka Caprica

WHAT!!! thats a missed opportunity for EZA to miss that. they better do it for high quality production. :)

Otoshigami

I think a good goal is to keep timing in mind for content. Like having reviews being released very close to a game's launch, and releasing serialized content at a consistent pace. Hopefully this will grow your audience and keep them engaged that they'll want to become a patron.

I think The Busted Trifecta was amazing and would love to see more creative content like that.

RobBobWill

I think more short form content would be great! For instance, something like Party Mode or the PSVR show that KindaFunny does. Also, short tournament vids like you see on UpUpDownDown. I'm not saying do those things exactly as they do, but maybe they could give some inspiration for something EZA can do. For streams, I think fewer solo streams might be better, especially if there are more multi-ally streams like the Sea of Thieves one a few weeks ago. I'd prefer more allies playing together and being able to see what each was doing like that rather than solo streams. I'm not saying drop solo streams altogether, but maybe replace some of them with multi-ally streams. Solo streams are great as I enjoy watching all of the allies, but every time there are two or more of you together the streams become so much more fun just because of the interaction and banter between the allies themselves! tl;dr More short form videos (5-20 minutes) More multi-ally streams

MistahShowtime

I don't have a huge amount to say but this post is exactly like something I've been hoping to see for a while. I feel like the communication at times can be pretty poor, and some nice little announcements might be mentioned in a stream or CoJ. Having a monthly type post, just to let your patrons know how things are going, updates on projects, things to look forward to, whatever. I think that helps a lot in maintaining users. That said, in terms of content, I'm a very happy patron and will hopefully have some better ideas in future!

Tim O'Keeffe

The highlight let's play videos are great. I wonder if EZA can get that work done by future interns?

i look forward to your announcement.

Prototype Jay

Random thought: I know you've joked about this a lot, but I'd actually love an 'Unpopular Opinion' show from Kyle ('Close to the Vest'). It could be monthly or even just 'whenever', maybe it could just be a short two person conversation rather than a scripted thing. Or what about 'EZA Debates' - like a polite Opinion Yell with 3 minute arguments for and against, with footage in the background and a quick conversation afterwards.

Samuel Cardwell

I really think produced content is the way to more viewers.. I can't imagine stumbling upon a random 2-4 hour podcast and deciding to listen to it.. but if you make something like the GT Top 10 lists.. people will give it a click.

David Curtis

But the reviews get *so many* views compared to the rest of their stuff (with the exception of reactions and Game Sleuth, which are both very irregular/occasional). The Ni No Kuni 2 review has got 145k views in 2 weeks. There are clearly a whole lot of people out there who basically only click on reviews and reaction vids. Reviews (and other 'Jones-VOed' videos) remain a unique selling point for EZA - why try to muscle in on formats that other channels already do better?

Samuel Cardwell

I would love to see something like "Pop-Block" come back where you break down the most popular trailers. Should be a great way to get some new Allies.

Andrew Malkin

L&amp;R. The following are what I hope to be constructive recommendations. 1. Stop Reviewing Games or Change Up the Format. (Amendment: I am retracting this comment as you do need the exposure via youtube views that reviews provide and you are very good at doing them in their current format). I just personally don't find them interesting and they are less relevant for me than they might be for other patrons or potential patrons. 2. Bring Back Let's All Go to the Trailers Watch trailers on camera, together, for the first time and react/respond in real time. After that, come up with an analysis on the fly. This is the formula of almost every successful reaction channel on Youtube. It is your easiest ticket by far to more views on Youtube and your existing patrons will love it as well. 3. Don't Hold Great Ideas Hostage to Higher Patreon Tiers See point #2. You can hurt your growth trajectory badly by doing that. 4. Spend Less Time on Solo Twitch Streams. (Amendment: I watched a few recent streams after I made this comment and you all have markedly improved at solo streaming compared to a year or two years ago.) Solo Streaming / LP'ing successfully is a skill that requires talking almost constantly in an engaging way about the game you're playing and/or random topics - when you are alone in a room and maybe nobody is watching. I don't know if this plays to the strengths of the allies (with a few possible exceptions). All the allies have a lot to contribute in group streams, but that doesn't necessarily translate to success as a solo streamer. 5. Use That Extra Time to Explore Your Creativity You are a vibrant, creative group of people. I know that Damiani can do even better than Pop Fiction. I know that Bosman can do even better than The Final Bosman. I know that Huber can outdo himself with Huber Syndrome (maybe less professional wrestling, though). I know that Ian can come up with something insanely imaginative. I know that Don is capable of incredible content. I know that Ben, Blood, Brad, and Brandon are all capable of doing deep, long-form analysis of games - the kind of analysis that would truly differentiate Easy Allies from other content creators. I hope that Easy Allies blows up and you get the support necessary to produce content you can only dream of making now. This may have sounded hyper-critical, but I love your work and only want to see it improve. L&amp;R

Israfel

This idea would really help Easy Allies grow

Just to throw a solution for top 10. Since once of the reason you weren't keen on doing it is because you don't have the huge library of game you had at GT, maybe you can change it so that you do Top 10 on specific games, or franchises. For exemple, you could do a top10 best/worst megaman bosses, or a top 10 best Chrono Cross (or suikoden, or any game really) characters, etc. Even easier, as someone else suggested, you can make them ally specific like "Kyle's top 10 pokemon" or "Damiani top 10 Zelda characters/items/bosses", etc, etc. You could have a rotation between all of the allies. That way, everyone would share the load of that new "show" and it should lesser the impact on everyone else's work. You could even make it biweekly and everyone would still be happy. It would honestly be very easy to do, in my opinion. People with far less ressources do it all the time on youtube. And that would bring a lot of new viewers, especially from youtube where those videos are really popular. Add a 10$ tier for people to vote on the next possible top 10 (either suggested by the patrons or by you) and I think you would easily reach 45k.

MaxVSTheGames

That's a neat idea!

MaxVSTheGames

For the record: I love TTE and Fiasconauts more than anything else you do. I know they don't pull massive numbers (although Fiascos usually end up doing pretty well actually), but the people who love them REALLY love them. Obviously I'm happy for you to mix it up - if you want to swap Fiasco for Once Upon a Time or some other similar game, or if Ben wants to hand DM duties over to Ian for a campaign then *Ian voice* thaaaat's cooool.

Samuel Cardwell

Yeah, that sounds cool. A way to introduce the Patreon thing in the podcast could be by doing like a game or a riddle and leaving the solution or the answer to their Patreon site. Like "if you want to know the answer/if you want to know more, go to Patreon..." and then they could talk about Patreon and explain what it is and why it's important. Ok, doing that in the podcast could be a little annoying to some people (and I'd understand why), but I think if they manage to do it well, it could be an interesting way to encourage people to support EZA here.

I have one idea, not sure if it's suited for a reward tier or stretch goal though. Changing out 1 maybe 2 group streams a month to a group stream where you all play a board or card game instead of a video game. I like to think that many people into video games are also into other kinds of games &amp; that's something that's mostly rare to find being played live &amp; on video. Not sure if it's feasible considering the hard time limit of the streams &amp; the fact that buying a physical game will be harder than downloading a video game &amp; a lot of times more expensive to buy. Not to mention what you'd do with them after your done since they'd have to be stored somewhere. Maybe have a drawing or something to give some of them away to a patreon after your done with them. They could even be signed by the Allies just to provide that personal touch. Mailing overseas though could make this a none starter as the cost to do so could be exorbitant &amp; having to do that possibly several times a month would be cost prohibitive. I know at least some sort of board game stream is something I would be willing to up my pledge for. Maybe it could be a $15 tier? Giving the patreons a vote on what would be played to might entice some. But maybe make it a pool of games they can pick from that has already been chosen by the Allies yourselves instead of letting them pick the games itself. Not sure if anyone echos these thoughts but that's the best I got right now.

NowHoldOnaMinute

I just want to know what you guys think is valuable content. We know that you guys don't consider youtube views to be your main source of income, but when there is a large chunk of main channel content simply not gaining any real views at all, is the point of it all to just maintain the current audience? Similar question regarding streams; there are hours upon hours of streams that you guys do, that seem to do around sub 100 views on twitch, and then follow it up with minuscule viewcounts on youtube on the archive channel. To what extent is the acceptable excuse behind doing so many of these unseen streams "Allies would be playing these games anyway"? I'm not stupid enough to think that doing long streams is 100% the reason behind less of the produced content that the fans are screaming for, but at the same time the perception it gives off is that those streams are taking priority over working on other things that could really benefit your creative output. That is why you're seeing a lot of fans pleading for the amount of streaming to be cut down. The checkin' out videos are very good ways to present these streams and i do believe you should continue this trend, but i dont think that's THE solution as there's still those monstrous streams to begin with, and then you'll be putting more work into cutting them down. I hope you guys announce more plans to do with tiers and shows for the future, and i really hope you're more open about what's on the horizon in the future as well. I've been a fan for over 11 years now and really I just want more stuff to love. also put out a google feedback form for the public already! Love ya a bunch Mr M

Mr M

I think one of the things you could try, and I know it's a weird idea. So you have that 50k studio goal. I have heard multiple times that Final Bosman, first 15 or Trailer Jones would all be better under a studio since you could have access to someone at a moments notice. What would be cool is to think of this like the more premium cooler pateron tier's, the B side of EZA. Where we can see future teir's that would exist after 50k goal was reached. Maybe you love final Bossman and at $10 you get access to the version with bonus bits or you love first 15, but there is a sinister extra 15 minutes of gameplay, where Kyle turns the lights off and comes back into the room hoodie up to play 15 more minutes and is all "yessss yesss" reveling in that extra 15 minutes. Just some ideas, nothing serious, I am not even sure how I feel about locking content away, but I just think if we could see the possibility of what the studio brings, it might get us there faster.

I’m a $7 patron who would gladly rearrange fun time monies to meet a pledge level for gated content, and I’m really surprised there haven’t been more exclusive incentives to date (comments and similar community incentives don’t matter to me). Three programming thoughts: I’d love a Playstation-only podcast with deep dives on main releases and conversation on smaller/indie titles. Also I think an increased effort for diversity might help attract new fans? I understand why EZA originated as nine white dudes (I’ve been following since early GT days), but an increased effort in hot takes from other genders/races would be rad. Ian already does this in his work - I would love to see a concentrated effort from other allies. Cup of Jones is often referred to as an “investors meeting,” which I feel is mislabeled given the regular length and personal questions. It’d be awesome if CoJ was 10-20 minutes of Jones updating patrons on what he perceives to be the most important updates related to the EZA Patreon, and all the Disney and Batman stuff could find a home elsewhere on a solo stream. Lastly: I’m a 30-something who listens to/watches all main EZA programming but is hesitant to recommend it to my peers (mostly folks who pay for Giant Bomb stuff). This is primarily due to the way situations like the Peach Beach Splash backlash and changes to systems (like the group stream voting in general) are handled. The amount of time placating shockingly immature (and in some cases toxic) members of the community makes EZA feel less like an established media outlet making authoritative decisions and more like a worried crew trying to save threatened pledges from entitled viewers. I see the value in hearing folks out and engaging audience members in worthwhile discussion, but it really feels like there’s no line here, and EZA is ready to roll over and address things that should not merit extensive audience discussion from a professional outlet. Thanks for the years of amazing shows - I’m a big fan of what you’ve done so far, and am excited to see the changes to come!

Stackhouse

Top 10 Countdowns will bring in viewers

Garrett Kuenzi

Streaming doesn't affect the amount of produced content. Not enough that someone not streaming for 2 hours a week would produce something as time consuming as a top 10.

Olf Himself

A lot of good points. And I also agree, I've never seen the value in having the podcast two days earlier. It's just my Friday night tradition as it is, been that way for two years. Well, the L&amp;R questions do work as a nice bonus, but I don't know. :/

Ville Ranto

Hi Allies, Having streams with at least 2 allies instead of just solo sounds like a good idea but I not sure how that would actually sell as a reward tier nor do I think most understand what that would actually mean. More duo streams would mean a dramatic decrease in the frequency streams are done. Right now since most are solo you can have weeks were you get 4 or 5 different streams a week but if it went to more duo it would probably be cut in half. Not to mention the wait between episodes if they are doing a full playthrough would also be much further apart. If the duo streams are something you end up deciding on then I these points should be stressed to all patreons as the sacrifice that would need to be made for them. Most of the comments I'm reading sound more like what changes in format current patreons want rather than ideas for goals that would entice new people to become patreons. On that front I'll have to think it more because I've got nothing right now.

NowHoldOnaMinute

Final Fantasy 9 group playthrough

Dalink28

I really want you guys to hit the studio goal... I feel like that is the step you really need to up your output/production values, and having more Allies together full time is bound to lead to more streams, shows and ideas, and hopefully it should be one happy snowball from there as your improved output should by rights lead to more fans/patrons... for now though, I think we really need to see a concerted effort to reach that goal, and if that means more plugs, more sponsors or whatever then so be it. Also at least for now I think it may help to offer more meaningful incentives for your different patreon tiers. What those rewards should be is for you guys to figure out but right now I am a $20 patron just because that's how much I can afford and I want to support you guys and see you grow, but honestly I could stop being a patron and I don't feel I would be missing out on much... I get that putting too much content behind a paywall feels dirty and for sure it's a very delicate balancing act, but yeah, I think stronger incentives may be in order.

Bynoe

Personally i think 2 podcasts, reviews and 2 shows (e.g don't skip/spoiler mode/ checking out) is enough for you guys at the moment. I feel like you guys are putting way too much on your plate. I think having a consistent scheduled would be more beneficial than just putting out new things left,right and centre. Just don't want you guys getting fatigued and start to lose sanity. Focus on the stuff that's getting the attention whilst keeping the patreons happy is a hard balance. I know nothing about business but i thought i'd try and give you an insight on how i personally feel. Good luck guys L&amp;R

Prototype Jay

I'd love to see more industry guests. Someone mentioned Keighley and Barlog who would both be great. I think that would help generate more interest from the gaming community at large as well. Keep up the great work!

Ian Barker

Since half a year I am 2-3 months behind your produced content, constantly trying to catch up because I don't want to miss a thing. But because there is so much long form content it is like an impossible feat for me, having to work and also wanting to do other stuff in my free time than listening to EZA. So I guess I share the sentiment of some comments here that instead of adding more long form shows some shorter additional content is needed, that is focusing on creativity and production value. You had many of them back at GT, maybe it is time to bring them back. Regarding the streams I also share the sentiment that solo streams are most of the time not interesting, while your group streams are almost always a highlight. I disagree with the sentiments though that shows like TT or Fiasconauts are not needed, for me it is one of the most entertaining content you have. Anyway, I am not too worried and I'm sure we will be on an upwards trend soon enough again! :) L&amp;R

My 2 cents. $5,000 USD GAP between goals is too big. Maybe put Trailer Jones at 43K and then something else at 47K. The question is what to put there. We all know the 2 most popular request, and we all know the perfect valid reasons why Top10s &amp; Bosman's show are not produced. Given the success of the "and for that reason" segment, maybe have a show around that at 47k? Someone else mentioned a tier at $15 could help; and I agree, but then the problem becomes what to link to it. Ever since the $7 tier was created; I thought it could be trouble to have a goal and a tier linked to the same thing. At this moment the $7 patreons will get no reward for the extra $2 they gave, compared to the $5 tier; and while I'm pretty sure most will say "I'm not worried about not the reward, I'm at $7 because I could afford more than $5 but couldn't get to $10", it reflects badly to have a tier that could get no reward is the numbers dip, IMO. Having said that, if you don't agree with that latest statement; maybe have a "and for that reason" tier at $15 could help grow the numbers, and at the same time, make the number of entries more manageable for the show. Maybe try a "an for that reason" goal at 42.5k; keep trailer jones at 45k, see how that goes; and think for something to put at 47.5K. Try to reduce those gaps.

César Villa

I agree that more group streams (2+ allies) would be nice. The solo streams are great, but can be a little low energy. Understandably this is hard to arrange because of potential scheduling conflicts, however it’s something I hope you guys will consider. Personally, some of my favorite streams are Huber and Kyle’s full playthroughs (RE7, EW2, Injustice 2, etc..), the Knack 2 stream, and the entire archive of Easy Living. The Allies have great group chemistry-take advantage of that! I also agree that the group stream selection committee is a great idea in spirit, but not so great in practice. If the allies aren’t excited about the game you guys are playing, the group stream is less interesting to watch. Also, it’s true that it has become a vote over 3 Mario/Nintendo games and one weird, complicated idea. I realize this is a difficult thing to offer and then take away from patrons, so maybe you could do 2 group streams a month using the group stream selection committee, the tournament stream poll choices be selected by the allies, and one allies choice stream. That would keep things fresh, keep patrons involved, and also give opportunity for the allies to play games they’re excited about and potentially cover new games as well. This may also prevent some technical difficulties. Lastly, this may be an unpopular opinion, and maybe someone can explain to me the pros of this arrangement, but I think getting the podcast two days early is not the best idea as a reward for $5 patrons. I now just listen to the podcast every Wednesday and instead of every Friday, so I’m waiting the same amount of days for it to come out, and if I want to discuss it with a friend who is not a patron or is a lower tier patron, I can’t. Maybe there are some benefits to others with this arrangement that I personally am not reaping? Anyway, just a few thoughts! Love to see you guys being proactive and excited to see all the great ideas that come out of this effort! L&amp;R

I've been procrastinating increasing my pledge for a while now so hopefully am extra bump from my end does its part to help. You guys work so hard and really deserve it. Its inspiring to see you all produce so much content that brings others happiness in such a genuine way. I think that more 2-3 person streams would do a lot to help since these can still have fun conversations and interactions but don't get bogged down by the distractions that inevitably come with the whole group being there (the recent smash tournament is a good example of this). This will allow for more tight shows like brandon plays Pokemon or the time Kyle and Huber played evil within 2. These are always my favourites anyway as they let your individual personalities shine while still having some fun interactions!

It’s unfortunate but this is the reality. I really think you need to lean on more duo/more people streams. Solo streams are fine but consistency is the key to that. Having more events streams like settle it or full playthroughs is way more exciting. If you can’t compete with streamers who are regulars 9-5 kinda thing then fill s new role. Blood and Kyle. Ben and Huber, etc.

I will echo the suggestions of other allies. More Patron exclusive shows and focus on bringing in new people.

LeeLore

I know you’ve mentioned how difficult it would be to do them but I really think doing Top 10s again would really help bring people in. Maybe instead of making them a group discussion you can make it more personal such as Huber’s top 10 shotguns or Ian’s top 10 souls bosses.

Even though I don't agree with you about Friend code, I'll say this, you shouldn't feel bad for offering criticism, it's what leads to improvement. :)

BeatenDownBrian

I read through all of the previous comments and liked the ones I agreed with. Some thoughts: - Less solo streams, please. If possible, try to have at least two or three people involved. If they're physically in the same room, all the better. - The group stream selection committee should stop, I feel. It's 70% of time just a Mario or Nintendo game. There's really no coverage of brand new games anymore gameplay-wise, with the whole group seeing it, hasn't been in a good while. - Give people a $15 tier. When it jumps from 10 to 20, it's too heavy to many. Five dollars more would be easier. - Checkin Out is the king, please continue. Ben's Far Cry 5 video edited like that was just awesome, really liked it.

Ville Ranto

Agree with more exclusive content to bring in new people. I also agree that getting shows a few days in advance is not an incentive. To me at least. I am patient. If I only have to wait a few days to get free content, why pay at all? Cup of Jones definitely was one of the factors for me becoming a Patreon. Much as I like Bosman, getting the podcast early, was not enough.

LeeLore

1. Bring.Back.Final.Bosman (or any editorial show) I know Bosman hates it for reasons and may be a huge timesink, but that small bit content was GREAT. 2. More Byte Sized Content It's a common meme that the Podcast is constantly outdated news. Create a Byte Sized Podcast on Thursday on Fridays to talk about quick news. Like rapidfire. It could be satirical, Mandatory Update style. 3. Promote, Promote, Promote Kyle saying they could sign in and then cancel was dumb. That's standard Kyle-ism but a dick move for the rest of the team that's more committed to EZA. 4. Revamp Reaction Shots I upped my pledge for Reaction Shots and it was dissapointing. I love Ian and Huber but the content was disperse and the talk was not focused. It was more of them reading the comments in patreon. Dropped my pledge after 3 episodes. 5. E3 it's your shot. Invite people! You live in LA and you cannot get guests in your shows.Come on bros.

I wonder why you never invited Geoff Keighley on to a show after he expressed his interest on a reddit AMA (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5fxwt2/iama_geoff_keighley_producerhost_of_the_game/danuurp/." rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5fxwt2/iama_geoff_keighley_producerhost_of_the_game/danuurp/</a>). I also sincerely hope you do something with Cory Barlog after his recent Tweet about being an Easy Allies Fanboy. You really should use these kinds of opportunities if you want to expand your reach.

This is time consuming for the allies. If we could have a biweekly top ten, I would be all in for it, but I would say that if they do it weekly it may be too much in terms of time

LiquidEnder

I said it before, but I'll say it again. Bring back top 10 and have a 10$ tier be the ones who suggest/vote on the subject of the top10. Guaranteed to reach that new goal.

MaxVSTheGames

I embrace the optimism Jonesy, Refocus on the shows and tiers over 40k and mae things that really can punch up the patreon drive. I guess people see a successful patreon and they say welp, they are doing fine without my support. How about instead of long time goals, you guys do more things in the vein of Box Peek, meaning a year long project or goal Patreon users could be extra motivated to finance? Either way we will be there for you guys every step of the way. Greetings from Spain bois love u all, L&amp;R

LiquidEnder

Greetings Allies. I've been a patron since day one and probably always will be. Heck, I'm a patron of SIFTD even though I don't really use the site just because I've got love for Shane as an old fan of GT. If you keep doing what you're passionate about I'll stick around. I guess my only idea, which may be a dumb one, is to maybe have more one-off temporary goals? When Kyle said "If we hit ______ amount at the end of the month we'll make Box Peak" you had no trouble hitting that number. So, for example, if you said "If we hit $42,000 this month we'll get Don on a podcast" I for sure would up my pledge. I dunno. I'm not creative. I just love Don. I get the most important thing is to bring in more patreons rather than fewer patrons giving more money, but I don't know what kids want to see these days!

Marble Match

I am the opposite, I work at the computer or if I am playing a game. I turn them on in the background and there is honestly never enough, at least on the weekend I feel the absence. Going to miss friend code as a Nintendo fan

This might be a slightly unpopular opinion but “better production values” is something I see mentioned a lot, and sure, some shows could potentially look or sound a little better, and that stuff helps make things look a little more professional. However, I’m not so confident that this would have any great impact when it comes to bringing in more new people. If I wanted high production values I’d be watching IGN or Gamespot, but at the end of the day I’d rather watch the people recording in a garage, but with actual interesting things to say, much more than I’d want to watch people on a fancy set regurgitate the news headlines in the most basic manner possible. Again I understand that people want stuff to look as good as possible, and that every little bit helps, but I also sorta worry that it might end up being wasted effort to a degree.

BeatenDownBrian

I’m bummed about losing the podcasts this month, as your podcasts and long form content tends to be my favourite. Something I’ve wondered is have you guys thought about how you will communicate the loss of these show, for this month, to your Youtube audience? I think this is something worth thinking about, as this dip could potentially be a blessing in disguise. If people that were fans of Friend Code and Reaction Shots are told the shows didn’t meet their funding goal, it may encourage those fans to become Patron’s so that they can get them back.

BeatenDownBrian

They've actually done more stream highlights under the title Checkin Out

Olf Himself

Happy to see people suggesting new things, but personally I don't feel like you guys should do something that is a copy of a show at another outlet. You guys are unique and I think that is what appeals to a lot of viewers. If you just take ideas for shows elsewhere I don't think that will help at all. It clearly seems like people want shorter video content and I think your focus on don't skips in the future would help that. I'm not really sure what you guys could do to add more patrons. I watch most of your produced content besides tabletop escapades and only occasionally watch easy update. Streams I tend to watch on YouTube so I do appreciate that. Maybe what you guys could do is send out a survey to patrons and see what shows they like and don't like and why. A uniform way of collecting data may give you a better way to analyze what you could do differently.

Anthony Russo

Very sad that there is no reaction shots this month, but I am sure it will be back soon. I am very happy with the videos you produce and while there are many other things that I would like to see you tackle, the stuff you do that interests me is more than enough "content" for me to handle. The thing you currently do that interests me the least are your single person live streams. I can rarely tune in live and the only ones I watched the recordings of were Kyle's Tetris streams. I think it would be possible, with not much added effort, to produce something from all that unwatched content. Your one "stream highlights" video (Kyle's "Checkin' Out Digimon...") was great, but I guess it was too much work for how much it got viewed? Watching how other successful streamers manage their stream highlights, the person streaming should always mark the timestamp for highlight worthy stuff and maybe you can create something out of that. For attracting new viewers a short "Ally X meets game Y"-Video or, for the existing viewers, a weekly video with your best moments or something. Also I would be very Happy if you'd bring back something along the lines of "Brandon plays Pokemon" / "Brandon Sun, Kyle Moon", and - though I know Kyle hates those Youtuber's reaction videos - the "watch-along" you did for pokemon origins was also fun. There should be more than enough "short", "nerdy" and widely available content, like "the gamers" movies or the netflix castlevania, to do some more of these with people that haven't watched it. Maybe it turns out boring but I think its worth another shot.

David

I think I tend to agree with you Jan, another Patreon exclusive show could be the answer, but I'm curious, you're not at all interested in submitting a question or item in the Community Showcase each month or having your question answered in the Monthly Q &amp; A? (The current $10 and $20 perks)

Alex Castellanos

I also like spoiler mode and would be happy to trade something off if it meant it could be a more regular show.

Matt Brookbank

I watch another show on YouTube and they have a segment where they say "and now for our patreon exclusive bonus story" and they play a little song and come back and say something like "that was fun, you can listen to our bonus story by supporting us on patreon". Maybe you could try something like this on a podcast?

Matt Brookbank

Jones talked about this on the last COJ, and while they had some success with it, they found that many people didn't follow through with their pledges. i.e people pledged $100 etc. to have their name read on stream, but then dropped out before the money went through.

BeatenDownBrian

Wouldn't a daily news show kinda defeat the point of having a news focused podcast though? Also, and this is only my opinion but I don't really find Kinda Funny's one to be all that interesting, as it tends to be only 20 mins of news and 40 minutes of filler.

BeatenDownBrian

I would love to get more shorter, scripted content.

I don't mind the allies streaming - it seems like a lot of people like that. That said, I'm all about the podcasts and produced videos. Anything that feeds those endeavors would make me happy. In the land of streaming, inviting/ having competitions to play against / with the Allies could be fun too.

Steven Jenner

Keep in mind, it is a podcast as well, which you have no insight into the viewership of, and only costs 4 of the allies a single 4 hour session a month to produce.

Brandon Patton

Would love to see more full playtroughs with allies team ups (like Kyle and Huber), also adore stuff like Gundam building, specials (hall of greats, betting, E3 coverage) and jolly one-offs like the Trial of Kyle. Don't care that much for big efforts outside of gaming like wrestling and movies, anime. What I don't enjoy about the streams is the heavy focus on chat, with every 20 seconds a shout out to subs sometimes. While it's cool that billybop342 and figgygoggy decided to join twitch it's a bit stale to watch back later on youtube when it's not live. Also when the group is complete it can get get really loud and screamy. I guess I enjoy it more when it's just 3 to 5 allies at once on screen.

Johan

i’ll miss reaction shots and when they deep dive into directs on friend code but you could do both those things on frame trap

sam

was good to see brad and huber doing a full play through together rather than solo, way more interesting

sam

id sacrifice most if not all solo twitch streams for another one or two group streams (or multi person, doesn’t have to be all) i think kyle is the only solo streamer i watch consistently, the rest don’t seem to hold interest alone.

sam

Safety reply

Olf Himself

In my opinion you need to focus on bringing in new patrons rather than trying to get existing patrons to pledge more. You already have a very high pledge average among patrons. I feel like pledge goals and higher tier rewards only incentivizes people who already love EZA. However it is not feasible to expect your average joe to be able to pledge $100+ each month for an extended amount of time. Please consider new and exclusive rewards for the 1-5 dollar tiers. Don't remove existing rewards just add to them. People who don't care about Trailer Jones or if you ever get a studio need reasons to support you, even if it's just a single dollar.

Olf Himself

I'm also going to reply here to keep my post viewable ha.

Richard G Flowers

So, I was thinking about what would bring new viewers and patrons in, and I think the best answer is to have an answer to what IGN do with their little 5 minute videos that cover breaking news. The beauty of this is that it doesn't really need to be an opinion piece, it's just a case of reporting what the rumours and news are for a few minutes, and ultimately doing the one thing that will get eyes on you - attaching yourself to a headline! Basically, being a news anchor for a minute or two, because people want to know what the latest is, constantly. I know that one difficulty here is that Jones' garage is the best place to film, considering the equipment needed, and to jump on a rumour, it's a case of whoever's there at the time, but I think it would pay massive dividends. I know some Allies have voiced concern over the idea that reaction videos are some of the highest viewer traffic, but honestly there's no shame in that. Take your E3 or Nintendo Direct coverage, for examples. Granted, it's a reaction stream but more than that it is a news stream and people are watching it in realtime. It is 'what's dropping, right NOW'. It doesn't get much fresher than that for news, and I think that is the key to the views more than the reactions, because people who come to EZA for reactions are already repeat customers, whether they are patrons or free viewers on Youtube and Twitch. So that's kind of a secondary phase. When people go on to Youtube to find out about something and validate what they've heard, they'll search for gaming news first, and then attach themselves or 'subscribe' to groups they trust second with repeated viewing of these reports. If EZA had their own 'Naomi Kyle segment' where one of the guys simply greenscreens in front of some footage and talks about the 'buzz', I think EZA would keep their finger on the pulse of what's happening and therefore be seen by a lot more people. People will hear a rumour that 'Microsoft may get VR' or whatever, and they don't go to written word articles anymore, they'll ho to Youtube, search 'Microsoft VR' to see what's there and see whoever's reporrting it. That headline is key. I know that the podcast has a news deep dive, and Frametrap and Huber Syndrome and other shows will follow similar trains of thought, but if there were frequent short videos like 'Is this PS5 news leak to be trusted?' etc, it's going to put a lot more eyes on EZA, and that will lead to expansion. It'll mean keeping abreast of the horizon, but I honestly think that NEWS NEWS NEWS is what people want to look for on Youtube more than anything. Further developing long form shows would naturally come after that, with expansion. After all, Gametrailers grew because it was news (in the form of new trailers) reviews and whatever was current first, and additional content followed suit. Somewhere, Bellamy Newsman is tightening his tie and shuffling his papers. In the meantime however, I would like to express that I will miss Reaction Shots and Friend Code for any months they miss, and I appreciate the work that Damiani, Ian and Huber (and others that were behind the scenes, or guest appearing) put in to them.

Richard G Flowers

I'm sure around E3 the people will rush back in. And maybe have Blood do his "Just give a buck" challenge on the podcast again?

Star Tsurugi

You probably should evaluate what is effective time- and work-wise. Maybe a few 15-20 min discussions focusing on a single game would work better than a 3+ hours podcast, that often retreads the same topics (love you Ben).

One suggestion; cut the amount of streaming and bring back Top 10. Top 10's are a easy way to get more viewers.

I have the feeling you guys need another Patreon-exclusive show, but at a higher tier (like $20). I´ m at $7 now, but not that interested in Reaction Shots and Friend Code, just for the support. If pledging $20 meant that i have access to some exclusive and desireable content of yours, even once or twice a month, i´ d gladly up my pledge. It may hurt, that maybe some highly produced content won´t get that many views, but i think to make your Patrons even more happy to support you, you have to give them a bit more exclusivity. Being a Patron should be even more special than it is right now. I know that contradicts your approach of not separating the community to much, but i think you can figure out a sweet spot, that makes everybody happy! L&amp;R

Jan Hildebrandt

Personally I don't think Tabletop is a show that Easy allies needs right now. The number of people viewing is low and it doesn't attract new people.

I'll consider this post as an opportunity for brainstorming so I'm planning to edit this message within the next couple of days with more considered opinions. But whilst I'm firing up ideas I just wanted to say that despite what this temporary dip may suggest to some, I've never felt more confident as a patron and an ally that you nine gentlemen are worth spending time with to celebrate everything that makes videogames great. L&amp;R

Christian Thomas

There definitely should be a better incentive for those higher earning goals. I would love to see more fun, shorter, more produced content. Something along the lines of Don's shows or Mandatory Update. More episodes of Game Sleuth would also be nice.

I really think it's time to move closer to shorter and tighter videos with production value behind them. I'm all in for you guys talking in front of the table for a couple hours, but let's face it, the big audience isn't. Therefore, just go for the Top 10 lists. Make that a goal and advertise it hard, maybe show some GT era material too, I don't know. But those kind of videos tend to get CRAZY numbers in YouTube, you'd get so many new people that have never even heard of you. I agree with some of the above comments concerning Reaction Shots, that it's somehow just too artistic and obscure right now. Maybe turn it into a more regular movie review show with some cool EZA angle still in there. I've got the sense that both Ian and Huber go to the movies very frequently, so let them talk about the newest stuff if they want. Way more viewers that way.

Ville Ranto

I find myself recalling LeveL, the show you guys used to do at GT. While I'm not suggest you guys do a carbon copy of that, but maybe an evolution of it? Where two or more allies sit down and go through one persons favourite mission or level in any particular game. It could be a stream and cut down later like Checkin' Out. Or if you want, it could have a bit more production value. I agree with others here that Trailer Jones isn't really a strong enough incentive for 45k. I think moving it up a bit in the goal list would be for the best and I think Brandon has said as much. I would encourage you to try something similar to Box Peek, meaning a more produced and scripted show. However seeing how much that is taking out of Kyle I'm not sure how you guys would feel about that. It would probably have to have to be something much different than Box Peek to make it work. Can't wait to see what you have planned. L&amp;R

+1 to this suggestion right here, if there was ever a series that I've been missing to check in with each week it would be the "Allie plays a nostalgic game" format that worked beautifully with Brandon plays pokemon. The 15-20 minute exploratory nature of their walk through each episode was a structure I found incredibly engaging, informative but also quite a heartwarming trip down memory lane. Just off the top of my head one suggestion for a a fresh season might be Michael Huber playing Final Fantasy VI (free time permitting ) for the first time with Brandon being the host. :)

Christian Thomas

Last comment! Looking at the tiers, there's no real inventive to move up for content specifically, as nothing gets locked out. If you subscribe for one dollar you get practically all produced content. I would hate if things were locked out, as I want as much content as possible but can't afford to pledge more, however maybe you could add a small exclusive incentive alongside each tier? For example, if the $20 tier was that you produce Tabletop, then alongside that you could exclusively for patrons of that level get a lore blog each episode. Whatever the small thing is, it could be enough to push someone to spend a little more.

Super fun idea!

After reading the comments I've noticed that people are concerned with people not being able to jump into Tabletop, in fears that they've missed too much. For now this may be too much work, but the podcast D&amp;D is for Nerds edits a 30 second recap at the beginning of each episode. It's work, but it could help new viewers connect.

Well done guys for keeping so high for so long, you should all be really proud of what you have done as a team, and I'm sure you'll be hitting 50k in no time. My only hope for the coming years is that we see a steady increase in production value, from cameras to set dressings. A bigger focus on produced content and different avenues of communication with the community other than streaming might help push your content to further audiences who may not have as much time to delve into streams. NoClip's Danny O'Dwyer has recently posted about how burnt out he has felt this last year, and I'm sure that you guys feel in a similar way sometimes. So take some advice from him, work smarter not harder in some respects. Try some new things and push forward with that which works and move away from which doesn't. Discover small ways to make the jobs you do easier and faster, as I'm sure you already do. I think I'm just rambling at this point, but to close I just want to say thank you for all that you guys do and I can't wait to see where you go next, especially with E3 coming up. And, when I can afford to pledge more I'll be right there to help you get back up to 40k. L&amp;R

See now you joke. However if you were to offer a video series where you chuck a go pro on Sophie for a day, i'd buy that for an extra dollar. Sounds like EZ-money for patreon :P

Christian Thomas

Let’s copy Seinfeld and have Gamers in Cars Getting Coffee. I believe back in the GT days the crew took the van out for the day and talked gaming. Now they can even bring a Switch and play games on the road or Coffee shop.

Marco Hernandez

So I didn’t watch either friend code or reaction shots so am not too broken up that they’re gone. If you are looking at new ideas something along the Brandon plays Pokemon lines but with gameplay might work. A two person stream. I don’t know if you’ve seen Eurogamers Late To The Party, but one person plays a game that the other (who loves it) guides them through. Maybe try a full play through of a shorter game? And then hand the show to two other allies to play through a different game. Or you could play and cut highlights out into a more produced show?

John Price

I agree with the general sentiment that more produced content and less streaming would appeal to me personally but on the other hand I'm at the limits of what I can pledge right now anyway so you can pretty much ignore my feelings. I didn't really watch Reaction Shots but I am going to miss Friend Code this month... :-(

Simon Wallace

I’d absolutely pay for a virtual seat at the table: Get a 360° camera and offer a reward where people can watch podcasts, frame traps etc. in VR!

Volker Bach

Maybe it's just me, but I would move Trailer Jones up as a goal (and the studio as well, if possible). Because we already have 2 podcasts and Trailer Jones is an interesting and more different show than another podcast. I'd rather see Trailer Jones return than Reaction Shots or Friend Code. (A real studio would also be great of course...) Trailer Jones would especially be great to have once E3 comes.

RedVIII

I mean absolutely no ill will when I say this, but Reaction Shots and Friend Code don’t work for me, personally. Whilst I enjoy Ian and Huber’s insight into movie magic, sometimes the thing they cover are so obscure that they hold no interest for me. It might sound awful to some but I would enjoy a more simple “movie review show” where they review the latest new releases. More generic, yes...but also more relevant and also more likely to higher views on YouTube, which could attract new patrons. Friend Code is a strange beast for me. EZA already has two excellent gaming podcasts and Friend Code feels a little.....narrow minded. I understand that Damiani is a big Nintendo fan, but dedicating a whole podcast just to Nintendo feels very restricting, especially when the Switch and Nintendo games are often discussed on the EZA podcast and Frame Trap. Maybe Friend Code could be changed into a ‘Nintendo Direct’-style show - shorter, more focused and covering the latest Nintendo news. Again, I feel very bad criticising you guys, but these are just my personal thoughts and feel free to ignore them! L&amp;R, Adam

Adam Mullany

Personally I think that less streaming and more produced content would be nice. My personal big loves are for the EZA podcast, Frame Trap and TTE. I suspect that there are a lot of people like me who listen to all of these shows purely as podcasts, so I hope we’re not letting YouTube views skew the conversation too much. To be honest I’ve never watched a single episode of any of those shows, only listened to them as podcasts. L&amp;R to the group, I’m sure the positive vibes and fresh ideas will keep things going strong.

Otawong

The positivity is very inspiring :) . Keep up the great work

Sven Van Lathem

Less streaming, more produced content.

With the excellent anniversary concert &amp; new merch I'm confident EZA has something else up their sleeves and can't wait for those new announcement !!! L&amp;R

tahitianwarrior

I, personally, like the numbered scores and having watched Cup of Jones over the past year it's apparently been an internal struggle. Most of the allies have been asking for the change and they finally did it. I enjoyed the stars too, but I think a 20 point system is better in my opinion. As for the out-of-date merch I'd say that it's early subscriber problems! It always happens when we buy a console or game and then a new version comes out. It does suck though, but it lets others know you're OG which is cool. I do kind of agree on the weekly group selection committee. They've chosen some great games to play like Pokemon Snap/TCG, Don's Design Challenge, or even this past weeks WiiWare games, but I wish they went back to them choosing. Maybe do the community selection 1 or 2 times a month instead of every week. I also think playing the hot new game on the Tuesday night group stream the week they come out would help bring in more viewers.

I’ve been a Patreon of EZA from the very beginning at the $1 tier and in all honesty I can easily stretch it to $5 a month but I find your content either too long or streamed versions of previous shows like Cup of Jones which I used to love. I’ve read all the comments so far and I agree with many of the constructive criticism which is more bite size produced content. Box Peek: yes, Don’t Skip: yes etc. I listen to the two main podcasts while I’m at work, Kyles and Bens and love them both. I’m not too keen on Michael’s Friend Code due to how by the numbers it seems. Couldn’t you do what Game Informer does and have gameplay of what your talking about maybe?. I work 40hr hour weeks and any free time I have I game and watch your content but it dawned on me that I don’t really watch many of your content but Kyles pocast of Huber Syndrome. I’m dabbling on at this point but more bite sized produced stuff, trim the fat.

I have to point out that telling them to play what they want to play (but only multiplayer!) doesn’t make much sense. I could go either way on the selection committee but would be said I never got Sonic the Fighters through to a group stream.

I know it takes more work.. but more short form content please! I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I don’t think you need more than two podcasts. The EZA Podcast and Frame Trap are more than enough. People are always asking for stuff like Don’s Design Lab for group stream selection, but honestly... level editor games would be better off showcased in a fairly low-cost, short form show that could be filmed in batches. It wouldn’t have to be Mario Maker specific, or even necessarily always be a show presented by Don. If it were just called Design Lab, it could showcase Ian’s Torture Chambers or Brandon’s building obsession of the day. Squirrel Town was a highlight this week. I’d love to see you open that show format up and make it bigger and better. Checkin’ Out, Reactions, Don’t Skip are all great. Keep ‘em going. ...also I still miss The Final Bosman (I know that ones probably not happening). Looking forward to the E(ZA)volution. E3 soon! Love and Respect! Vince Pavey

i love the idea of chopping things like reaction shots altogether, and instead subbing in more creative goals that are a change of pace from the super long podcast conversation style videos we get so frequently. i'm along for the ride either way, but would love to see you guys branch out and grow, and it doesn't seem like the current slate of shows is going to achieve that. love and respect as always!

rrice64

Before I provide what will hopefully be received as constructive feedback and criticism, I want to stress my absolute respect for the work you all do. The below feedback is not to suggest for a moment I am anything but grateful to have you all as virtual “friends”. My primary feedback has always been an ask for additional lower $ tiers. I’ve been at $10 since day 1 of EZA, but I would have been $15 since day 1 had the tier been available. This tier needs to be added. Additionally, add me to the group of patrons who fell off the group steams HARD once patron recommendations / voting was introduced. It felt like, and still feels like, an idea that was forced just to have “something” for the $2 tier. I’ve tried tuning in multiple times, and it just hasn’t been the same. I honestly ended up losing interest. Yet, I would be right back on board with group streams if patron recommendations were removed, or if it was replaced with patrons voting among a subset of EZA choices. One item I can’t stress enough, you all saw a Patreon dip as soon as you swapped from stars to numbers. I was among those greatly frustrated by how this change was handled, and for the first time in 2 years I considered lowering my pledge. Stars were a part of the EZA identity, no different than the Kinda Funny smiley face, and removing this left the impression that the EZA ship was flying on auto pilot without any real cohesive group intention or goal. Making this change without involving patrons in any way was poor form. You created the stars, but the community took them and ran with them. Then without any notice, items such as “half star boyfriend” were taken from the community. Not to mention literal actual merchandise with the symbol fans had purchased. Also, a rather blunt message specifically to Kyle. Please stop trying to dissuade podcast viewers/listeners from subscribing to Patreon when Blood encourages $1 subs. It’s happened a handful of times, and while we know it can be uncomfortable asking for money, it’s necessary. Maybe trying to make it an ever changing fun scripted segment would make it easier? Well, take it or leave it, hopefully my feedback was received knowing it was provided with the best intentions and love. Wish you all the best, and I look forward to seeing the upcoming changes. -Brandon Patton @thumblister

Brandon Patton

I Disagree. Tune into games daily if that's what you like. Frame trap is one of my favorites due to its long format.

umryan

Not really suggesting borrowing formats, but I'm finding Kinda Funny's more 'bite sized' content like Games Daily easier to tune into. Its daunting to see a 3 1/2 hour Frame Trap and wonder when I'm gonna have time to listen. A nicely produced shorter daily news show (or twice weekly) might fill a nice gap and keep your discussions more timely. Just some thoughts. L&amp;R

Honestly, bring back things like Full Playthrough Friday. Streams where there are more than one Ally are always more popular than solo streams (aside from Kyle streams.) The Allies work best when they have other people to work off of. That's why we have so many Ben and Damiani streams with under 2k views. Get Ben, Huber and Brad playing a game together and I guarantee the views go up.

Jordan Brown

As per my previous comment (regarding analyzing your youtube playlists views). After looking at one example playlist; Tabletop Escapades Season 2. The views are dropping on a weekly basis. Beginning at 15k views, and now most recently, 3k views. And it seems to be dropping linearly (though I haven't actually graphed this and looked at it). One explanation for this is that due to the nature of this show, you simply can't jump into a random episode. It *requires* you to watch from the very beginning. If you can have a way of alleviating this, I think it may help the playlist quite a bit. For example, in Season 1, you had a "recap episode". The problem with this was that it happened like, once maybe twice. This is simply not enough. If you can have a way of recapping important events that's accessible to the general public, you may be able to maintain a higher view count throughout the season. Anyway, that's just one playlist. I'm sure you could do some basic analysis throughout all your playlists as a way of gaining insight on where you need improvement.

Andrew Chalmers

To echo many thoughts above, I think EZA is firing on all cylinders right now, and the content you’ve been producing has been better than ever. I think there is still some work to be done at the $2 tier to help convert more $1 patrons. One thing I have considered is coming up with a known theme for the upcoming group stream and make it a highly anticipated moment at the end of the stream. For example, you create a wheel containing different consoles, genres or eras of games. You could make the wheel a sponsored segment. At the end of the stream, Kyle or Jones would announce the wheel sponsor, and give it a spin. It lands on “PS2 Games” and Kyle could remind the audience that for just a measly two dollars you can now submit PS2 games for the gang to play for next week’s group stream on Patreon. You could still designate certain weeks for off-the-wall suggestions so as to keep them fresh. Anyway, this is just one dumb suggestion! Thanks for reading, L&amp;R!

Jon White

Patreon Exclusive Content

Rosamune

How about expanding early access for patrons to shows other than the podcast, like Fiasconauts, Tabletop, or Frame Trap in particular? Add it to existing tiers or make a new one.

I'd recommend doing some analytics on your youtube playlists. Look at what's working, what's not working. It doesn't necessarily mean dropping the poor youtube playlists (or maybe it does), but instead, improving them by looking at the ones that are doing well as examples.

Andrew Chalmers

Any thoughts on having more patron only shows? Even an extra 15-20 minutes of L&amp;R questions recorded after the podcast and put in it's own video only for patrons as an incentive to get more patrons or to get others to up their pledges. This is also a great excuse for me to get more L&amp;R discussions.

More group streams a week even if they aren't the full group I think would help get the name out there. Starting earlier if possible for the east coast people or going longer and not shooting the podcast after. Just shooting ideas. L&amp;R!

Once again, I'm excited and curious what your plans are. Have been a Patron since day one, and will be until my money runs dry (so, hopefully, permanently). Keep up the great work.

Brandon K Gann

I don't personally want guests, but it may be a good way to expand their reach.

Tyler Travis

I think Brandon Plays Pokémon was kind of a special thing and could see it return for the Switch Pokémon game but don’t expect it to for another game. It was lightning in a bottle. I would however love more Settle It. The Zelda one we got was fantastic and I loved the brief Dishonored one we got during the Easy Livin stream.

You guys are putting out too much content that isn't appealing enough to everyone. I love most of what you guys are putting out but no one is watching Huber Syndrome, Checkin' Out, Tabletop Escapades or Fiasconauts. Huber Syndrome is fine because they're low budget fun videos that don't require too much but the others, especially the latter two, are way too time consuming for you guys to continuously crank out just for no one to watch. Dont take away Friend Code completely which was actually attracting viewers. Keep putting out content like Retrospectives, Box Peek, and Game Sleuth, quality content everyone is loving. As for your podcasts, i love the Allies but you need more guests and less podcasts. I'd think there should only be 1 permanent seat, 2 seats for rotating Allies and 1 guest per week. Keep the main gaming podcast and turn Frame Trap into an all around entertainment podcast tv, anime, movies, games, maybe even try and turn Friend Code and EZAnime into segments of FrameTrap. I know my feedback is a jumbled wall of text and may have some odd suggestions but i do wanna see EZA grow and I've definitely noticed the plateau on Patreon for a while so i hope for the best.

Kaleb

Thanks for the update. I wont bargain or make excuses how to improve the show. this is just the nature of the Patreon/pledge beast. Keep doing what you're doing. guys!

Thanks for the update - looking forward to hearing about new stuff! Fundamentally, I support you because I want you to have the freedom to stay together and be your delightful selves. As long as you're continuing to challenge yourselves and do interesting things, I'm sure you'll find support.

Samuel Cardwell

Sophie Cam

MBUN

Friend code needs to be reworked imo. It's too similar to frame trap but limited to Nintendo. I notice sometimes topics will be saved for friend code which feels forced. Nintendo podcast may need to be monthly or changed is all. Love what you guys did with the stream highlights this month. Your group streams have been dipping lately. Need to get rid of the patrons choosing bit and go with what you want to play. Also sticking to multiplayer unless it's a big exception. Most people would rather see you all playing.

More exclusive content-we get the shows early, but I would pay more to get some shows exclusives. The only full exclusive Patreon show I believe is Cup of Jones. I think maybe like a For That Reason exclusive Patreon show once a month, or even an exclusive L&amp;R easy allies version of the podcast would cool too. Maybe the getting the shows a little early isn’t enough for most to jump in.

Colton Berry

For me, what I like about Kinda Funny is they do patron exclusive live recording of their podcasts. I would like that to be watch the shows as they are being recorded-I like we get them early but to watch them live would be nice too. They also therefore do a little pre and post show banter during the live stream- the stuff that doesn’t make it to the public YouTube recording.

Colton Berry

Yeah, we aren't talking about a hard reboot. Just looking to add new goals above $40K, new ideas for rewards, etc. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

The EZA Podcast, reviews, group streams, reactions, and the occasional Easy Update episode are definitely the most important content for me. If you guys need to take a look at the content you're producing and the Patreon tiers in order to ensure that Easy Allies continues to grow, then that's fine by me as long as some of the cornerstones remain.

I listen to all of the podcasts and love them! They get me through the day. But I encourage you guys to do whatever you think is best You guys have been on a roll so far in 2018 and even though the numbers are down, IMO the value is better than ever. I think that the problem is that your best stuff is all free or relatively inexpensive, and that you guys don't get to answer enough L&amp;R or Q&amp;As so people might drop out from there. The Showcase is IMO a pretty great thing in it's current format, though. And I love me some Cup of Jones

VGJunky

I love podcasts, but when there are too many it's impossible to listen to all of them and have a feeling that I'm missing out, and I feel other people could feel the same, and may be shorter content it's better, so things like the first fifteen, some of Don's shows, and the final bosman work better for people that don't have a lot of free time in the day.

Eric Estrada

Love you guys. Happy to have been a patron for almost a year. Hope with E3 coming up new folks will discover Easy Allies, becoming enamored with the different personalities and the professionalism like I did. L&amp;R

Castno

Thanks for the feedback. I have from time to time, and reached out to some with declined payments at the beginning of this month. At the same time, declines aren't a major factor as they are currently below 1% of total pledges. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

The gaming podcasts are what I care about most, so losing Friend Code is pretty bad to me. The anniversary show was something I didn't watch in March and it took away from a lot of other shows. I could see a lot of people dropping their pledge in March for that reason. I'm sure it's fun to branch out and try new things, but i hope that doesn't come at the expense of what you guys do best.

Ian Alexander

I'd recommend reaching out patrons with expired credit cards. Many probably simply don't know which card was on file. I went three months before I found out I was no longer paying. L&amp;R

Tyler Travis

It's so upsetting for me that there will be no friend code this month. I really, really hope we can sustain 40k for the next month. I don't really get why the money is dropping, i personally feel EZA is better than ever!

Johannes Bretz

Keep up! Looking forward to yours future plans.

I think that we love the banter. The back and forth of ideas and fun topics. I love the podcast and frame trap because they're filled with interesting conversations and wild guesses of what's to come. I'd honestly love to see a series like Brandon Plays Pokémon comeback but with any two or more allies about any game they may not have played. Honestly, I just watching you guys enjoy the hype and news is why I'm here. Keep up all of the amazing work. L&amp;R

Grazooka

They don't have the old library of games. The charm of the old show was looking for the weird games. I guess a "Quick Look"-like could work, but I don't think we'll get something quite similar to First 15.

Eric Grynberg

I wonder what your thoughts are on doing another Patreon drive stream. I know it's kind of a weird time, since we're on the tail end of anniversary celebrations and on the edge of E3 preparations, but I think a marathon stream with embedded Patreon goals - similar to last time - is something that can work well. It kind of needs to be a rare thing, though, so I get wanting to hold off to make sure you're not doing it so often it dilutes the value of the Patreon drive stream. Still, it might be something to think about if you're not already. L&amp;R!

Input One

Final Bosman But Also Still Box Peek (the Clone Kyle option). Sorry not sorry Kyle.

iconmaster

While I'll miss the podcasts, just keep doing what you guys want to do and you'll always have my support. Keep being entertaining. Love and Respect.

The Banana Forklift Killer

As a fellow patreon I can’t wait to read of your plans

The people are speaking: Bring back First 15! Doesn't take long to film and cut (compared to most produced content). There's not much produced, short-form content containing more than one ally (shout-out to Ian's Torture Chambers, though) – and the Patrons are clearly hungry for it. Twice now we've had 'Fancy Fifteen' for a group stream. Give us the patch for the regular dose.

Louis Sandiford

Keep up the great work, team! Content has been killing it lately!

Trey Thompson

it be interesting to see the changes in the tiers! I will miss friend code

Tyler

Brandon Jones. Best in the biz.

Brian Denu

Love and Respect!

ZatVunDoot