Easy Allies Podcast #221 - July 3, 2020

Ian championing sonic fox to start a new tournament, you do realize he's a furry right?

A Joker Fan

Hey, I just want to provide some of my feedback on this new iteration of the podcast. I feel like it's become a bit clinical in its new direction. What used to be a podcast about what happened in the world of gaming this week, has turned into a podcast about what happened in the world of gaming marketing this week. For sure there used to be a focus on the way companies presented their products in the old podcast, but the focus was usually still ultimately on talking about the game or service in question, and your various opinions on it. The new podcast is instead laser focused on the that marketing angle, talking more about how something was revealed then what that thing is. While I don't think this is a bad thing on its own, I'm getting less enjoyment out of the podcast because it seems like this new angle isn't something a majority of the panel is passionate about, or more importantly particularly good at discussing. You guys are all really good at talking about the games you've played or are looking forward to, and I love listening to those conversations, but it feels like this new angle is leaving most people without as much to say. The new podcast feels a lot like Jones enthusiastically reading news headlines, asking the panelists what they thought X company was thinking by announcing whatever thing that way and then receiving mostly uninteresting replies that often don't stem into a discussion and end on a slightly awkward silence before Jones moves to the next point. If this had turned into an insightful podcast on the ins and outs of video game marketing and promotion, it could've been really cool, but (and I mean no disrespect when I say this) that doesn't really seem to be a facet of the industry a majority the allies have much to comment on. This is my first comment on Patreon, though I've been subbed for years, and I just wanted to write out my entirely subjective thoughts. It really feels like this fun podcast celebrating gaming has turned into a very average news bulletin rundown, and I'm finding myself losing interest in what used to be my favorite part of the Easy Allies and instead looking forward more to Frame Trap and Friend Code.

Tuna Bay

Additional infomration: Microsoft actually suspended its US advertising on Facebook and Instagram back in May. This was a move made when there were concerns what ads they may appear next to. Not anything to do with the policy itself, just that MS doesnt want it appearing next to things it doesnt want to be associated with https://www.axios.com/scoop-microsoft-has-been-pausing-spending-on-facebook-instagram-9fca2ee3-acd3-4b78-90c2-ed96846394e3.html Sony is also only suspending for a single month, per their words.

Ritz1906

Damiani, I mean this in the nicest way possible: Clear your head before you speak, buddy. The conversation on Evo and details surrounding the allegations deserve more than your general feelings without having read the actual apology from Mr. Wiz. We're all in a bad headspace after realizing how many predators are rubbing elbows with us, so I understand how you feel. I'm merely critiquing for the sake of the podcast feeling a bit rambley when you spoke on it. I'm not looking for a response, I really just want to provide some feedback. <3 Wholeheartedly, love and respect. I enjoyed the podcast, just as I do every week.

JLunaarS

Correction/Additional info: Discord did their homework and did studies on user usage. They found a large increase is usage of Discord that has NOTHING to do with gaming. They have grown by 47% since Feburary alone and that more than 30% of active users are not using it for gaming but only communication and sharing.

Ritz1906

Correction: reporting on allegations of bad behavior in the industry is not "talking politics"--it's simply reporting on news in the industry. Just my opinion: you erred the first time by going middle-of-the-road. Either 1) unpack and separate each case (serious allegations deserve serious discussions) or 2) refer listeners to primary reading sources linked in the video description. EZA is good at doing reaction videos; it's unfortunate a type of reaction video formula was applied to a straight news story.

The Velvet Underground & Niko Bellic

It's unknown how closely the Summer Game Fest demos will be tied to the Xbox Series X Showcase. They may not involve any of the big games shown there at all. Another wrinkle is that Microsoft's approach to next-gen may mean that they don't actually have next-gen exclusives and most games that come out for Series X will still be playable on Xbox One. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

In regards to the Xbox Showcase demos - does this mean they're not showing any Xbox Series X exclusives since all of these demos will be playable on the One? I was confused by the announcement because I had, perhaps wrongly, assumed this was going to be their equivalent of the PS5 reveal.

Great podcast this week, Jones!

ByWatterson

You probably know watson right the OG street fighter player who used to own super arcade, he's been alluding to this for awhile about Mr. Wiz so it wasn't really a big surprise to me.

A Joker Fan

Regarding the TLOU sales, I think it's important to highlight the time frame. It did this over 3 days I believe which makes it the fastest selling Playstation exclusive ever (passing Spiderman PS4). Just saying it sold 4mil doesn't really mean much without context

Randika

THIS! Also, lumping in issues that should never be considered "politics" in the first place, like whether or not someone is human, is the cowards way out.

Justin Greene

Pretty much all of the companies whose games were in the event pulled out. Ergo, the event can't happen. I'm not super familiar with EVO, but discussion in the podcast indicates that the guy and the company are very closely linked.

Jeremy Farbman

What just happened? I really don't understand. If there is "bad" person in the EVO organizers and this guy should be jail, then why should all of the event be canceled? Or have I missed something? Please explain.

Stepan Hakobyan

Hey Jones, in regards to your "sexual misconduct/politics in the podcast" correction in the beginning, please make NO concessions to the "politics out of muh video games" crowd. Those people are the absolute worst and just want to ignore uncomfortable subjects rather than confront the many minor and major issues in our medium and industry. I don't know if those were the types of comments you were saying, just want to voice my opinion on this undisirregardless.

Arnesh Nagavalli

Ian, your Jovial Penguins call is killing me.

RanchoCucamunga

I haven't watched yet, but it's really gross to throw out a creators name like Angry Joe without any context just lumped into a bunch of other very mixed bag claims. Because what I am sure EZA is a afraid of is sending any negative users to these ppl who might actually have done nothing wrong. Sadly no one actually reads and understands a situation before taking to twitter and it's a real problem. Accusations are just that, and anyone can make one, some can do it for fame or to be vindictive. So it's not that strange to maybe look before you leap and for eza to maybe not comment on someone they do not know 100% if they are guilty or not.

Jonsey...ya doin a GREAT JOB bud.

The Human Tornado

I don't know exactly how to phrase this and the back and forth should probably be dropped but that third correction made me feel really gross. The phrase "innocent until proven guilty" should never be used outside of a legal context. That's the kind of language that makes victims afraid to come forward without any real evidence. I think you need to be careful about backpedaling on subjects like that since all you ever reported on in the first place was that people were being accused of misconduct which is a fact. Maybe it was a bit sloppy, but, in my opinion, so is this.

Matt Lopez

I'm gonna try to keep the rage to a minimum, but bare with me. I went to Evo back in 2012. I haven't been back due to work and whatnot. Being surrounded by so many people that share the same passion for fighting games as you do, and to hear the crowd roar when something hype happens, it hits you and you feel that rawness. These after parties that go down are a real problem. Back then I never knew about them like that, but I was told there's a lot of drinking and more money matches that went down. Cool. Paid no attention to it and just tuned in to watch those money matches. Fast forward to 2020. You have your assholes everywhere that goes around touching and grabbing women inappropriately, and it's not excusable and I get that, but never in my wildest imagination would I thought I'd ever hear pedo and FGC in the same sentence. When I saw all of this going down yesterday after work (6:00am to 2:30pm) I stared at my computer screen for at least 20 mins in shock and the only thing I could say is WHAT THE FUCK for an additional 5 mins. I love fighting games. They are my go to. I don't go to live events like I want to because I have a family to take care of and I don't have the time for them. Usually I'd tell people to stay away from the online portion of the FGC because of how toxic it can be/get. But after this, I don't know. I'm glad that the victims are coming forth, but I'm disappointed to find out that the community was like this. I have 6 year old nephew that loves all things Mario, especially Smash Bros and I was gonna get him into the scene when he gets a little older, but at this point, nah. Definitely clean this shit up. Sorry everyone. Just heated right now.

BigBoss313

The Gashlycrumb Tinies, Edward Gorey. Someone buy it for Ian, i think it'd be right up his alley.

Sean Dupree