Cup of Jones - May 25, 2020

s a f e t y p o s t

RanchoCucamunga

Mr. Jones (coincidentally also the title of an awesome Talking Heads song), with the state of California reopening, what does this mean for the Allies? Where do you feel your group exists among the 4 phases of reopening? If you have no idea or don't feel comfortable saying yet, then that's fine, simply curious. If all that comes from you reading my question is more people listening to the groovy genius that is the Talking Heads, I'm grateful for you acknowledging this question!

RanchoCucamunga

Dude, I love Rich Brown like a brother. It's been far too long. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

We're all okay. Thank you for checking in. - Jones

Easy Allies

Hey Jones! Had a quick question about the ACNH Community Island Hop. Is there any way for someone to know if they're on the list at all? Not that they're in the next Island Hop, but just that you've seen their post/DM/etc. and that you've added them to the infinite list. I only ask as I used the Twitter DMs method to send my Nintendo/Island info to you, and I don't know if you got it or not as I sent it almost a month and a half ago and never heard anything back. Is there a response you've been giving or just reading the notes and notifying people when their Island is up that week? Thanks for all you do and I can't wait to see more wacky travels in the next Island Hop stream. L&R Spongejay1 P.S. Gotta have the suits for the PS5 reveal. It feels right!

spongejay1

Are yall gonna wear suits for the ps5 reveal? You know you gotta. Dont disapoint us all. Love ya.

klastical

Personal question: I see on the news that there are some aggressive protests and the National Guard deployed in LA. Are you and the Allies okay? Is the studio okay? I'll be praying for everyone's safety, L&R.

Morgan Mohalla

Was about to post a similar thing. If not now, when?

Olf Himself

Be excited for next week.

Olf Himself

Hey Jones! Quick suggestion for the section of the podcast where you go quickly through minor news stories. On Jalen and Jacoby's ESPN show, they have a segment called "Keep it moving or hit the breaks" where Jacoby will read just the headline for a minor news story, and Jalen says "Keep it moving" or "Hit the breaks" based on whether he wants to stop and discuss that story or skip it and go to the next one. Maybe you could try something along these lines to improve the panel interaction for those minor news stories. You're doing great so far, keep it up! - Ian

Ian Barker

Hi Jones, I saw popular post that raised points that many people seem to agree with, in the interest of time I have edited it down, but this is the original if you are interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/UneasyAlliance/comments/gqmy6d/my_long_history_as_a_devout_gametrailers_fan_and/ First point is that they were hoping for more “Game Trailers”esque production styles with the new studio. And that pre quarantine the content is just what was in the garage, and they understand that you needed time, but the new focus on streaming is something they don’t like. They don’t mind edited content from streams like the Never too Late to Dreamcast series, will there be more content like that? They miss highly produced content like First 15. Where has Don’s design lab gone? Where have the betting specials disappeared to? (Will there be one for the PS5 reveal?) Is there a chance for Top 10’s to make a comeback? A couple of things from the comments, of course you can’t action them now, but there might be a plan on the backburner. The studio is way too sterile, they miss the “cozy” vibes of the garage, were there any plans to change this or are you happy with things as is? Here it comes again, many people still feel as if the Allies have grown into a pattern of comfort. A pattern of not pushing yourselves to go further and being content with “just enough”. “Stagnant” as I said in a previous question. Do you have any plan of addressing this maybe outside of this Cup of Jones? Because it seems to be a common sentiment, perhaps grown a bit due to Kyle’s MinnMax interview. Thank you, Varun Kachhwaha (Not my personal opinions, but I feel the questions should at least be answered before they just get parroted around again and again)

Varun Kachhwaha

L & R

Daniel Ribeiro

Hi, Jones. I put a very long text in a text hosting site, it's the context for my business questions. I apologize for making it so long and the number of questions. I felt the subject matter necessitated it, but you will be the judge of that. Either way, below is the link to the context and my business questions (if you feel the text is too long or don't have time to read, it's okay. Just answer them as best as you can): Context: https://freetexthost.net/OYWhIhu What do you believe are your social responsibilities as public figures and famous people in communicating with the public? What perception do you believe you create when you know all these horrible things are happening in the world and you hardly speak about it? Why are some issues talked about at length - like the Blizzard issues, while others are almost completely ignored - racism, sexual abuse and rape in the games industry? Finally, when do you believe it's okay to talk about issues beyond gaming, but that affect us all? L & R

Daniel Ribeiro

Morning Jones! I'm late on this but I wanted to toss in two cents regarding the May 22 podcast. There was a lot of speculation regarding Mafia, Resident Evil, and Tencent's System Shock 3, but I dare say there layed not a hotake in sight. Having a few hotakes, or loaded questions lined up would've captured my interest a bit more. I think you were on the right track with "Will code Veronica be overshadowed?", but perhaps this could've been spiced up with "What's in gonna take to make Veronica sing?". Hindsight is 20/20. You're doing an awesome job with the podcast, and I'm exciting to see it evolve with y'all even more in the new style! L&R St0mpz

St0mpz

Hey Brandon, I don't write in very often, but when I do it's usually about... what was its name again? Ah, Betting Specials. This is a very popular format among your fanbase (and beyond) and it has been missing in action for a long time now. The upcoming PS5 event is a great opportunity to bring it back. I understand that the production values won't be as high as the last ones due to the current situation, but it will be no less entertaining. Just some bets, some stakes and people will love it and play along. Since this is not the first time I wrote in about Betting Specials, here are some of the reasons you gave in the past why you couldn't or wouldn't do them and my reasoning why they don't apply this time. ;) - "The event is not big enough and/or too focused on the Asian market" The Sony event will be huge and for the global market. - "There was too short notice from announcement to the actual event" We knew for months an event was coming, but even a week should be enough for at least a small Betting Special. - "We are involved in the event (as judges, consultants etc.)" Not this time, you arent't. Unless you're hiding something... - "Coming up with bets is hard." Not for this one. The bets honestly write themselves. WIll we see the console? Price? Game X, Game Y? These questions plus some whacky ones and there should be more than enough for an entertaining video. A new reason could be that Kyle is gone and he was the driving force behind all of this, but when he left you said Huber and Don will be in charge of bets going forward, so this should be an exciting first Betting Special of the new era. :) I hope I don't come off as rude or condescending, I just try to do everything to get one of my favorite shows back. L&R Dennis

Dennis M.

Heya Jones, Oh, wow. Thank you so much! I've been looking everywhere for that. But if Easy Allies was the lead singer in a group similar to The Supremes and found out that it was being replaced both professionally and romantically, would it just go quietly or do very much the opposite?

Asbo Zappruder

Hey Jones, just a thought but are you, or any eza members considering doing a betting special for the ps5 event. This will probably be the or one of the biggest events Of the year that we have been anticipating for many months, so has the thought of doing a betting special come up atall? I understand that by Monday this will ovbiously be incredibly late notice to do a betting special but they are among your most popular content and a rarity that always engages the community, even if you don’t do a fan betting system again. Based on the Kyle farewell pod I’m under the impression that Huber and don are the people to go to for betting specials, but I thought I’d ask here since cup is the easiest way to get a definitive answer. Thanks for responding Jones take care

Gladiuswingzero

Hey Brandon, just wanted to thank you guys for tweeting out #blacklivesmatter. It means a lot to me, you guys really live true to "love and respect." I know speaking out on such topics can be viewed as controversial and is unwanted by some of the audience, however I appreciated it and I am encouraged by you guys not being silent. Love & Respect. -Tyreese

Come back to Wyoming. We have several awesome hot springs!

Hello jones just very quick question is Maximilian dood doing frame trap this coming week to talk about mk11 aftermath.I loved his take when mk11 first came out and that frame trap was one of my favorite eps from last year. I know frame trap is Ben’s show just what is if it’s still possible. L&R thejjuan1

thejjuan1

Now that the podcast is your baby, I may as well ask again how you'd feel about doing a small graphics package for the patreon plug. A snapshot of the patreon page, some B-roll of other shows and any other visual flourishes over top your spiel to help prop it up sounds like it would be a natural fit to me, assuming it doesn't add on that much more work for you once you've produced it the first time.

Kirbu

Hey Brandon, So the Zack Snyder version of Justice League is being released on HBOMax next year. Knowing that you are a big fan of Batman and DC Comics in general, I was wondering how you feel about that. I guess its safe to say that most of us were pretty disappointed with the theatrical cut of the movie, especially because of the out-of-place reshoots done by a different director, but I think this has a chance of being the better version of the movie (They even confirmed we'll get to see Darkseid!) I know that Zack Snyder movies are usually pretty divisive in terms of critical reception, but I personally think Man of Steel and Batman v Superman are flawed but enjoyable movies, so the announcement made me pretty excited. I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic. Are you excited for the re-release? Will you be watching? Love & Respect, Wesley de Waart

Wesley de Waart

Please suit up for the PlayStation and Xbox events

Ibrahim Sozer

Not only did we not change anything, it's the same file. And it wasn't a multi-channel recording so we couldn't have adjusted it. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

A: Sorry, but I am having a little trouble interpreting what you're actually graphing here. B: The upcoming reviews list is arranged by date, so I'm not how the title would have much influence. C: There's no first picks or anything. People either tell me when they want to put their name down for something randomly (Ben has put his name down for Paper Mario already) or we ask who wants to review a game when we go through the list in our monthly meeting. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

Hey Brandon, how are you doing. Just wanted to say that the next time you guys are doing reactions, please just crank the volume all the way up. It was pretty bad during the TLOU2 reactions (stream was too low and allies were very high). Thanks. Edit: Listening to the Youtube version the audio mix pretty good actually. I don't know if you guys have changed it or anything but watching live on Twitch, I could barely hear the game and Neil and you guys were too loud.

Business Question: The Allies are not in favor of hiring a full-time partner to replace Giles. When pastures get a little greener, would the Allies consider hiring an intern? I'm sure the group is sufficiently moral to give an intern a salary, but less than y'all make (not knowing the exact breakdown of your salaries and not needing to know). Maybe it would allow you to do more at a lower financial cost?

Corrigall

Hello Brandon. Out of curiosity I’ve looked at the first letter of game’s title (for example for “Anthem” it would be “a”), then counted how many of each ally’s reviews have a certain first letter in game’s title (for example, you’ve reviewed “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” and “Anthem”, so you have 2 for “a”) and then for each ally and for each letter I’ve counted a percentage of reviews that have this letter or an earlier letter in the alphabet as a first letter in game’s title. For example, for “b” you will have 4*100/21 = 19% because you’ve reviewed 4 games that starts with either “a” or “b” (“Animal Crossing: New Horizons”, “Anthem”, “Battleborn” and “Blood & Truth”), you have 21 reviews in total and we multiply everything by 100 to express the result in percent. Then I plotted these stats in graph and got this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ax634wlh2rn3vmv/eza_reviews_stats_20_05_26.png?dl=0 As you can see, while other’s reviews are more or less equally distributed, most of your games are near the top of the alphabetically sorted list (nearly half of the games you’ve reviewed has either “a”, “b”, “c” or “d” as a first letter of game’s title, and you’ve reviewed only 3 games past the middle letter “m”). I find this fascinating. P.S. If you decide to invite guests to the podcast, please consider inviting Geoff Keighley. I assume that now is the best time to get him, since he said that without travelling he now has more free time.

Alexander Zyryanov

Hey Jones. I, like many others, was excited by the prospect of patreon-exclusive limited run shows. "And For That Reason," was great, as was "Fancy Fifteen" and "Achieve it Yourself." However, each of those shows had 4-5 months between one show ending and the next one starting, but it's coming close to one year since the last one ended. Just makes me wonder what happened there. Obviously the last two months can't be helped, but there was still 9 or so months between Achieve it Yourself ending and the quarantine starting. Maybe this whole quarantine thing is just making me more cynical or depressed, but I wish I could feel more excited for the EZA Patreon.

Josh Read

Hi Jones! Business question. I have been rewatching for the nth time Brandon Plays Pokemon. And I wondered, wouldn't it be nice to watch this along with the community. The Chat community here is the best in my opinion. Kind of a watch party where Chat can enjoy old EZA Youtube only releases. I know you already replay old streams and I love that. What are your thoughts on including vids like Brandon Plays Pokemon?

LeeLore

Mr. Jones, a humble note from the past COJ, Though I am not sure it is official etiquette, wishing a "happy memorial day" is sometimes frowned upon. Traditionally, it is a somber day of remembrance for those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the armed forces and "happy" does not always fit the occasion. I know that many have come to see memorial day as the beginning of summer and a time for barbecue, but others are left to reflect on the loss of a loved one or close friend. Not a big deal, I thought it may be worth considering in the future as I have seen some become salty about that phrasing.

Morgan Mohalla

Safety Post

Happy Gaming

Hey there Jones, What is the etiquette regarding repeat postings for Patrons? It's something that I've thought about for a long time that may be completely insubstantial, but has honestly brought me a lot of anxiety. I like to try to leave a comment on every Love and Respect, Friend Code, Cup of Jones and Frame Trap. Sometimes those comments don't make it in, which isn't a big deal. From a podcast moderator's or even a community's perspective, is it considered a rude or lazy practice to leave that same comment that didn't make it in the following week if it is still relevant? If, for another example, I make a game one week, but am inspired to leave a comment for discussion the following week for Love and Respect, is it considered in any way unethical to post that same game the week after? This becomes more confusing for Frame Trap emails (I have not personally discussed this with Ben admittedly) because I'm unsure if emails are archived and saved for later dates, or if it's necessary to rewrite an email again for a following episode of this show like is necessary with Patreon posts. What are some respectful practices Patrons can follow in regards to leaving these comments for show segments every week? Thanks for taking the time, I know this may be a dumb question! Brian from Happy Gaming

Happy Gaming

Ashley Birch, Amanda Troope, Jessice Lyn Verde, Sophia Hariz, the two developers from Dreams are just a few examples of some of the women involved with EZA over the last few years, all making numerous appearances on EZA media. I think there have been more women then men as guests on Myesterious Monsters, if not, it has been very even (love this). To say they haven't had a minute of diversity is just uninformative. I agree that there should be a strong push to include much more diversity, ie more females, and non white ethnicities, but your post makes EZA sound like they have intentionally kept women away and they have done anything but that imo. Please understand, I don't want this to be seen as a flaming or arguing, I just don't like to see people get upset towards the allies if they don't deserve it.

Jeffrey Tessar

FYI for my safety post I would like to clarify I own the original Super Metroid, not a fan of piracy.

Jeffrey Tessar

Oh boy Jones I got a weird one for you. I was surfing around looking for random rom hacks after playing Hyper Metroid *(Highly recommended) and I came across this page on Digital Trends. https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/best-castlevania-games/ Pretty typical stuff for a gaming sight. I saw the video "top 10 nintendo games" was only a minute and said hey why not. Immediatly I tried to figure out what game the remixed music was from, and I realized it wasn't from a game at all. The music was a direct rip from the table top escapades song. Now I doubt this is a big deal at all, but I just figured I would mention it to you. I am not sure if the song wasn't originaly from something else to begin with, or if maybe this author, Jacob Roach, is a patron who submitted a remixed version as a community showcase, then just decided to use it in some online work.... or whatever. Again, just thought it was truly weird, that you should know, and if you guys are getting so big that you are now getting plagiarized, grats you made it. If you can let me know whats up with this thanks, but if not for whatever reason it is totally cool. LnR4L Heidern98

Jeffrey Tessar

I’m a huge fan and love you guys but on the topic of having some diversity on the channel sometime needs to a be a priority. If you guys have been here for 4 years and haven’t had the opportunity to have even one minute of some diversity in the industry/blogger anything on the show it’s getting to stand out for me and become an embarrassment. Not to be harsh but if I was part of this company I’d be a little embarrassed. My respect for at least having some female guests from time to time.

Hey Mr. Jones! I was looking at the Patreon page and noticed how Mr. Bosman is still listed as a current member, and going one step further, I decided to rewatch the intro video and couldn’t help but chuckle with just how quickly some of things discussed became out of date extremely quickly (You now being podcast moderater, Trailer Jones on an indefinite hiatus, etc.). It’s amusing because I know the video was an endeavor that took some effort to find the time to get produced. I know this video needed to replace the one prior by taking focus off the shows no longer in production (Game Sleuth, Easy Anime, etc.) while simultaneously being a more current description of Easy Allies, but I was curious: Does Easy Allies as a whole regularly take a look at itself to see if it ever needs to update information about the company? Is this something EZA considers when doing a monthly or yearly review? Or because EZA always is in the mode of needing to plan for upcoming content, is this the type of thing that is best left the way it is to direct people to things that will always be a part of Easy Allies, even if it isn’t current? Thanks for taking my question and as always, have a wonderful rest of your day! Cheers! QUESTION: Does Easy Allies regularly look at itself in an effort to update information about the company? Or because EZA always is in the mode of needing to plan for upcoming content, is this the type of thing best left the way it is to direct people to things that will always be a part of Easy Allies, even if it isn’t current?

Brandon K Gann

Hello Jones Speaking of your post-Kyle podcast. I thought id show my support by butting in & giving my 2-cents on how to proceed forward. I think that you guys should highlight your own personalities more, as Kyle sorta supplanted his comedic shenanigans as the default energy. Ian's sorta off-kilter & bizzare sense of humor would be welcomed... in short burst. Also, i actually sorta like the way you are doing things during the pandemic. It reminds me of hollywood squares, and i love the custom background. I also think it makes it easier to have guest, which is another element i think you should do in a post-Kyle podcast especially since it was an element he didnt want. Sorry Kyle... it aint your show anymore buddy! So, i think you should take advantage of your connections in the game and acting world. Speaking of which... why haven't i heard Brandon Jones in a Videogame or Cartoon yet? You have one of teh best, most smoothest voices in the biz. I assume with your connection with your wife, Amanda, that she could get you hooked up man. If its happened, or will happen... then i stand corrected. But i think it will complement what you do with EZA, and also gives you an avenue for future revenue (JIC). I am excited for you & your wife, because its showing different avenue in growth in what you do. Who knows?! Maybe you guys will eventually create a network for creatives, actors, and other things. Ian can branch out with his music through your extended network. And maybe you can even get involved with them directly. Albiet avoiding that scary improve stuff! I love couples that wokr together. It was always my dream, in addition to working as a concept artist/comic artist, to work in the film industry with my wife who edits. I got into doing extra work by complete happen stance. I was an extra on many exciting projects: and I ended up scoring some actual on screen time with the likes of MARVEL studios Captain-America: civil war. I went on to do more with Marvel, and similar studios, as well as some indie stuff, eventually getting to work with my wife. I guess what i am trying to say is... keep on doing what you do with EZA! But also branch off, and give yourself room to embrace who you are at your core. And from what i see here, you trully are a thespian & lover of performance in the arts! I hope your take my advice/suggestions in good spirits. L&R P.S: (this doesn't have to be included if it actually makes your show at all) But id just like to mention something brought up about diversity! As a black man, i like to see diversity. But my biggest draw to this channel is authentic. Dont bring in another member, no matter what they look like, unless it makes sense. If you are just a nerdy/silly group of white dudes who love games, just be the most authentic "nerdy/silly group of white guys" you can be, and we will love your regardless. Just allow the change to happen naturally. I do wonder what happened Rich Brown though. Hope you didn't eliminate the second GT voice, due to competition. Hahah! I can still remember his top 10 Kratos sounding voice. LOL!

Mr. Jones, When reviewing a game would you consider making two videos to increase exposure? One video could be the review itself and the other could be a "beginner's tip for the first few hours" video. It wouldn't be necessary for every video, but since the reviewer is capturing footage for the review and has insight from playing the game, would it be worth the extra effort to produce nearly double the content per reviewed game? L&R Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla