Cup of Jones - 12/31/16

Howdy! I was really sad I missed you visiting Seattle last year for PAX. Are there plans for an EZA presence in a more official capacity or will you still be attending as usual?

Dale Payne

#LUMBERJONES

Eric Jackson

Recess at high school? Man, wish I'd grown up in California.

Gan Khef

Can we get a bit more of Jones' Traffic Rant as a bit in Cup of Jones, if only once?

CJCW

For a merchandise suggestion I'd love to see an enamel logo pin. I'm a big pin collector, especially those Disney ones. Having a nice 1.5" metal pin would be awesome.

Hey Jones, I have a idea about gaming franchises and EZA. With some great gaming franchises getting the next game in there series, Mario, Zelda, Resident Evil, Mass Effect to name but a few. Would EZA consider maybe doing themed weeks leading up to these releases, this could involve streaming older titles from the franchise, maybe a Frame Trap or Podcast dedicated to that series, and maybe some other fun content based around the franchise, this would all leading up to the Review being released and Stream with the new game.

What plans are in place to increase the fan base and, therefore, revenue and if a part-time member of EZA were to become full-time due to an increased cashflow, who would it be? L&R

Dafydd Gape

Happy birthday for last week! How did you celebrate it?

Dafydd Gape

Howdy Mr. Jones! There have been joke references from allies about corporate sponsorships (latest few trap) and was wondering if there has been progress on this front? Is there a concern there would be backlash from the community or some sort of loss of independence? If it helps this patron gladly welcomes our Blue Apron, squarespace, and casper mattress overlords if it helps you guys in anyway.

Dale Payne

Hey Jones. This time I come in to thank you and the allies. I know Cup of Jones is not the right place to do so, but, i'll use it anyway. Thank you for all the work you guys do. Because of time zones I'm not able to watch any of the streams EZA usually does and even so I feel like part of this community. I think you guys to an amazing job of not letting any of the "twitch memes" invade the other shows, so, I never feel like a lost something. Thank you all, very much.

I apologize if this has been asked before; will we see a return or a successor to Full Playthrough Friday streams? Thanks much, TongueSurgery

Does EZA have, or would you consider creating a public Amazon wish list or registry which would allow anyone on the public to buy things for EZA that you actually need as a business supply and would maybe free up or relieve the stress on patron funds? Thanks - Matt

Matt Brookbank

Jeremy Ferris

Dafydd Gape

Anontastic

micspam

The Banana Forklift Killer

Rory McGuire

Have you or any of the other allies heard of/played Oxenfree? It's an indie game that came out early 2016, and I always felt a bit disappointed that I didn't hear it mentioned during the GOTY discussion, as it's my personal Game of the Year.

Nora Parón

"The sun rotates around the earth". You heard it here first - brought to you by bearded Jones. Happy New Year!

Do you have any vacation plans for 2017??? I'm going to new zealand, have you ever been there? Or generally any tips for a good vacation ??

Tim Bechen

Hi Brandon! Did you ever receive a postcard I sent at the end of November? I know it's not actually a present, but I was still kinda hoping it'd get 10 seconds in some group stream. It's from Finland with my name on it (also Sentinel Beach). Maybe it's at the bottom of your P.O. Box if you have no notion of it yet.

Ville Ranto

Thunerbirds shout out! Yes!

John Price

You were the first of the allies to join GT and who were the last?

Kian Jahromi

Happy New Years Brandon! Now that the Batman Telltale Series (Season 1?) has concluded, what did you think of it? Also, I noticed you in the Batman Unmasked: Episode 1 with Laura Bailey. How was that?

Ultimadrago

Bearded Jones is a wise man who has seen much in his days... Seriously, it's an awesome look that I hope you rock more often in the future! Maybe one day you can trim the beard I sent to you and wear it for a Cup of Jones episode :) Anyway, just out of curiosity, with your busy schedule and all, how often do you finish a game from beginning to end? How do you prioritize which games you aim to complete, excluding games you're reviewing? Ever since I got married, what would've taken a month at most for me to complete a game, now takes me a good few months minimum.

Stingray!

Wait no... buttons was a fake puppet all this time? ... I.... I need to be alone for a bit. :*(

Omega C.

those other shows you mentioned when talking about Thunderbirds would be "Captain Scarlet" and "Aquamarina".

Dog Egg

Don;t know about a video, but Brad and Damiani have been streaming some of the games, if you wanted to check them out on the Easy Allies Plays page on Youtube. :)

BeatenDownBrian

Personally I'm okay with it too, I see little difference between getting one, hour long COJ or four fifteen minute episodes, beside it being less work for Jones to shoot, which is a good thing imo. I also prefer to listen to this, as opposed to watching it, and so one hour long episode suits me better tbh. Maybe I'm wrong, but I’m not sure Game Sleuth was ever promised as an episode a month, and honestly I would be really surprised if that was the case. Even looking at the GTA episode it was fairly obvious that is must have taken months of work, between having to 100% the game, the research on on the myth itself, and then having to put it all together as well. Far from being disappointed with that, personally I was blown away by it.

BeatenDownBrian

Brandon Rocking the beard, I dig it.

Hey Brandon! I get it 100%. People thought and the Muppet Show was shot live, when it took a large amount time and a big and dedicated crew. One show took all day everyday for a week. Even at that Jim Hensen felt rushed. I guess what I meant by "here and there" is maybe once a year special, like the random spur of the moment content you talk about, not weekly or monthly series. I just wanted to let you guys know there is love of puppets in your audience, but forcing something is no good either. Being humorous one purpose is more work and can be really scary when it crafted, compare to natural things that happen between the allies, which is always great. Thanks for addressing my question, and especially thank you for keeping things clean. You and the rest of the allies are the best. All the Love and Respect, Tim Meagher

With the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 2.8 release and 1.5+2.5 rerelease, will Damiani or another of the allies do a quick video looking back on the series as a whole. Not a retrospective or timeline, but looking at the legacy of this series?

Dale Payne

I second this, I really feel like early January would be a better time for GOTY talks. Just to add a little of my own feedback, while I enjoyed the GOTY stream quite a bit, but despite it being a 3 hour stream, some of the categories felt a little rushed, and I felt like the need to tiptoe around spoilers, diluted people's arguments in some cases. Just personally, when it comes to GOTY talks especially, I like seeing people take a deep dive into the games/subjects they are discussing, and presenting as strong as case as they can for a game. I’m not suggesting you have to copy Giant Bombs format for GOTY talks, but ultimately I think that layout may suit you guys. One other thing is that, I would of really like to have seen the discussion for GOTY. I know you guys wanted to have the video for obvious reasons, but I wonder if maybe you could have it both ways. Shoot the podcasts and once the deliberations are finished, set to work on making the video/video’s. Then post the final podcast alongside the separate shorter video/videos with the category winners and the GOTY itself. That way the deep dive is there for those who want it and the shorter videos are there for those that don’t, which is basically what it felt like you were trying to do this year anyway. But as Tim said, in the end you need to do what suits you guys.

BeatenDownBrian

Hey Brandon, first off, happy year new man. So I meant to post this on the last COJ but just never got around to it. I know you have spoke on this topic on past episodes as well as the last one, but the thing I want to talk about is guests. Again, I know you’ve given your reasons for not wanting guests, or returning to a show like GT Live until you get a studio, and I totally get it, I do, but at the same time I can’t help but think that having guests from time to time, especially the right guests could be hugely beneficial for the growth of Easy Allies. Just throwing a random name out there, but let’s say it worked out that Danny O’Dwyer could come on an episode of Frame Trap or something. I feel like there would be a significant bump in views on that episode, due to Danny’s fans turning up to see him, and from that I would hope at least a small percentage of those people might go on to check out more of your video’s and maybe end up sticking around. Just even personally that has happened to me more than a few times, where I have checked out a podcast etc. because someone I like was on it, and I’ve ended up going on to watch a lot more of their stuff. Also I would be willing to argue that people are much more accepting of showing up to be a guest on a podcast etc. that’s shot in a garage or an apartment, rather than a nice studio now days, I look at Kinda Funny in their early days as proof of that. Of course if that fact that you don’t want to have people coming to your house for this stuff is a deal breaker, then none of this matters. I just feel, from the outside looking in, that the pro’s outweigh the con’s. Don’t feel obligated to respond to this Jones, as like I’ve said, it’s been covered. It’s just some food for thought for you to do with what you will. Also I was excited/curious to hear more about your plans to have drives for more subs etc. and wondered if you could elaborate on any of those plans, or is there anything we could do to maybe help?

BeatenDownBrian

Made me think of this old classic. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ffkDf0ol4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ffkDf0ol4</a>

Zugdar

I respect the decision to table Buttons. I believe the reason people keep asking for him to come back is that no replacement/other idea from him has been presented. On a related note, I know that bonus bits and their limitations were mentioned in the past but I see them as a much more tantalizing stretch Patreon goal to fill the 40-50k range. I really enjoyed them in the past and think that a regular return of them to be a much welcome addition and add variety to the EZA offerings. L&amp;R

Zugdar

Easy Allies could not fulfill some initial promises like producing Game Sleuth episode every month or Cup of Jones episode every week. I'm totally okay with that, but I wonder how other allies feel.

Alexander Zyryanov

The beard looks good!

Simón Carvajal Bobadilla

Hi Brandon! Great episode of Cup of Bearded Jones! Question for next time: I quite enjoy your friendly digs at Kyle Bosman across all the EZA shows when the opportunity arises. That kind of friendly ribbing often comes from when you come to disagreements with someone, but you still deeply respect their stance and reasons they stand by. That had me wondering: What was the biggest argument you ever had with Kyle? I'm curious if it was from a personal issue, a disagreement from a writer/producer perspective, or game related like a GOTY debate. Love and Respect, ~ Robert

Robert I.

Looks like Brandon could use a Cup of Shaving Cream~!

Anontastic

Idea for a $3 tier would be the Ben and Brad anime podcast if Huber does a Wrestling podcast or a Movies TV podcast could add premium value to become a patron. I think if you guys do topic specific podcast that aren't gaming they should be Patreon exclusive and entices people to become patrons to get more content that probably cost more of your time. Also giving an old episode of cup of jones for free could show what people have been missing out on.

Ibrahim Sozer

Just got to the end. Meeting Sophie at the beach! 2017 goal right there!

Tim O'Keeffe

Hey Brandon, On the GOTY stream and awards. I thought they were a lot of fun and loved how it was streamed and things were debated. The only thing I’d suggest is you do it in January instead. The main reasons for this is Christmas is a time where a lot of people tend to play some stuff they didn’t get around to. We can see this with Damiani doing the streams and Huber has tweeted about a few games he has completed. Also it gives you time to digest some of the late hitters instead of rushing through them just to have them involved in the GOTY talks. And January itself is generally a relatively quiet month so it’d make for some great content to kick off the year. Since views aren’t the be all they used to be at GT, I don’t think it’ll matter that much to miss out in getting an early GOTY award up. Anyway just a suggestion. Most important thing is that whatever you do, it suits you guys. Either way I really enjoyed it.

Tim O'Keeffe

Might I be so bold as to suggest, for a 46k goal, that Brandon grows a handlebar mustache? -Minamik-

Minamik

The return of Scruffy Jones

Brandon, I agree with you. I know everyone likes the beard, but I'm against it on keeping it for the long term. Maybe it's just me, but the beard makes me think that the Brandon Jones I know is gone and replaced by an impostor that Buttons admire. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing you keeping it for Halloween...as Joel from The Last of Us.

Keep that Beard plz

Calvin Delaney

Thank you, Brandon! 2017 will be awesome with you guys! :)

Ville Ranto

I'm happy to play a tiny part in helping the world continue to enjoy the endlessly entertaining EZA. Thank you all for the countless bright spots in my cloudy days of late. Your mere presence on my daily feeds is a shining reminder of the happiness life offers those of us in need of an occasional nudge and a wink. 😉

^bump

Rick Argomaniz

Hahaha, I just noticed that, too. =X

Any reason this isn't Patreon-exclusive?

Please become a beard !!!!!!!

Ian Patterson esquire.

oh man if you could just bring sophie up to san fran i'd be in your debt forever

Corrections: the Earth goes around the sun;)

David Barka

On the note of "Kick-ass T-Shirt" I wonder if the person asking meant your Star Wars font Easy Allies shirt. Which...as I recall someone else sent as a gift? Just guessing.

ZyloWolfBane

Great episode Brandon! Loved the ending message too. Happy New Year's!

Hey Mr. Jones! First and foremost: Digging the beard. Secondly: Charity suggestions - Extra Life, Make-a-Wish, St. Jude's Children's Hospital Third: I didn't know about the accolades trailer, so I paused Cup of Jones, watched it, and felt a great sense of pride EZA is getting recognition it derserves. Congratulations! Fourth: SO DOWN FOR A ROUGE ONE SPOILERCAST (and if you do, would you take questions?) Finally: A question for each resolution you have to help/challenge you to reach those goals - 1.) Trailers: It's incredibly TOO early, but would you be willing to have a best trailer category like you did at GT? I think it would be a fun category during an E3 awards wrap up in the style of how you did the GOTY stream this year. 2.) Reviews - If a game is delayed out of the year, would you stick to your three or four number, or would you use that time for other things (production, building the EZA brand, etc.)? 3.) Meet &amp; Greets - The most painful thing being a fan and patron of EZA is having circumstance hold me back from attending a meet and greet, so on behalf of everyone who can't make it, would all of you consider having one (and I'm thinking the one year anniversary because of its importance) recorded on video? Getting to see retweeted pics was great, I had a friend answer questions, and I can't begin to thank Mr. Hinck enough for his Easy Update for the slice he gave, but it would be really cool to see most of a M&amp;G with the official EZA stamp. Thanks for reading any of comments or take any of my questions if you do, and have a fantastic 2017. Love and Respect (Thumbs up emoji here)

Brandon K Gann

Brandon, dude, bro: the beard is great. Embrace it.

John Leitner

Thanks for all you guys do! Happy new year

I'd just like to extend a thank you to Michael Damiani for his amazing 12 days of Damianicus streams. His dedication to streaming almost every day throughout the break and even on Christmas. He helped hundreds of us stay entertained during what would have been a very content dry week. Even tho we essentially just watched him clear out his backlog, his streams would regularly go over 6 hours and he was committed to clearing almost every game and staying engaged with the chat. Jolliness and cheer from my fellow allies in chat made every stream a pleasure and a great place to get lost in for hours daily. Damiani is the holiday MVP in my book. Also while on the subject of Buttons; maybe it's time for a new puppet? Buttons is a staple of GT history and is beloved by many for that reason. He was an instant pick back at GT when Brandon first pulled him out of his collection and the rest of the puppets were shelved. Maybe it's time to give a new puppet a shot at the spotlight. God know's Brandon probably has some other great one's that could become as big as Button's. You guys could involve the allies in picking a new puppet on a stream or video and take a vote or something. Even if the puppet isn't used in videos or streams that often, it would still be a fun addition to the EZA cast that new and old fans can all get attached to. Just a silly idea, but all the Buttons hype lately got me thinking about it.

Ben Metal

Any Easy Allies baby merchandise coming out soon? Would love to get a onesies for my daughter!

You just gave Jones a great idea for Halloween in 2017.

A bearded Jones appears! Nice to see 1 more vid before 2016 retires. Couldn't have pictured this year without you guys. Thanks for making all the great content. Favorite EZA thing this year, of course, was Brandon Plays Pokemon. Talk about timeless. Happy New Year everybody. L&amp;R

NeO JD

Whoa you look like Joel from The Last of Us. Anyway, happy new years everyone. So glad I supported EZA since day 1. Here's to another year!

Andrew Chalmers

Got my hopes up for a bearded Jones in 2017

slick back hair with the beard. Mob Jones. Do it

Happy new year Jones and thanks for all the great work you guys do. I'm on call today in the hospital and just reading your email notification brings me a little joy to keep me going through the day.

All I have to say is great work so far, keep pushing. And I wish the best for EZA in 2017!

V8 Dave

Hey Brandon, if you are looking into charities, i'd highly recommend Take This.org and AbleGamers. You probably already have connections with these people, but if not, let me know.

The Hashtagonist

Oh and for the future, I wish for more morning/lunch time shows and streams for us across the pond. It feels like much of the fun stuff happens when I sleep and its not the same watching the day after! Maybe you can try to at least vary the times a bit more across the day? I love getting that twitch notification and just dive in with all the allies when it happens and it feels like that could happen a bit more often.

Benny Samuelsson

Seeing this I think, what would this year have been if the allies had just split up and I never got to see all those incredible videos? All the laughs I had for Fiasconauts just yesterday. Would've been a ton more boring that's for sure. I felt incredibly empty when GT just stopped that day last year. It was like I was losing a ton of good friends overnight. So thank you for making my year so much better and let's blow past 40k for real in 2017!

Benny Samuelsson

Would totally be down for an EZA hike, picnic, or even some type of beach day event.

Your greatest Evergreen content ever is Brandon Plays Pokemon. I think I've watched the whole series at least three times and it never gets old. Also, I've heard St Jude's Children's Hospital has a great charity drive each year that is specifically catered to Twitch streams. A suggestion for content for a new patreon tier could be weekly bonus segments of L&amp;R.

Olf Himself

Do a handlebar mustache!

Henry Ramirez

Suggestion: give Buttons his own blog on easyallies.com. No finger pain, no annoying takes, just that sweet puppet snark.

Bradley Spies

Jo(el)nes

Happy New Year Easy Allies

JONES HAS A BEARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joetown

Oh my god! Jones giving us Street Fighter V Sexy Ryu Realness!

Rick Argomaniz

Right on time for the New Years after party :)