Cup of Jones - April 11th, 2016

Well done Jones. Well done

Tim Harrington

Hello Brandon, hello allies! Im so happy to be able to be a part of this. Gt has been a huuuuge part of my gaming's life. I got all my content from there since high school and now that I graduated from college and working full time, Im so happy to be able to contribute. Now....there is something that i have not seen mentioned annyyyywherreee heeere. And its something I awaited every year with alot of anticipation....yes...the GOTY awards!! The only awards I ever cared about....even till today whenever I'm into a new genre or get a new console I jump back years to see the nominees and winners to always find something new and interesting. So... are there plans?? Am I getting ahead of myself?? Thank you all, for all this years of jurnalism and entertainment!! Cheers!

Eduardo Ortiz

Great stuff as always guys! Just a question, but do you guys ever see yourself partnering with a bigger company again in the future? Where do you hope to see EZA in a few years time? I know Patreon helps a lot, but at the end of the day, do you need the capital of a large company to grow EZA to where you want it to be?

Michael Rymar

So proud to be part of this.

See You When I Get There

I really enjoyed this episode! Especially your explanation of the inner workings of Easy Allies and what we can expect from you guys. Great stuff! I think you should ask our community for help if it makes your lives easier and allows you to work even more on the foundation of this community; your great shows. Help with things like the new website, 'spreading the word' to further built the audience, news articles for your website and such. It will get those interested in helping out even more involved and feel as an integral part of Easy Allies.

Robbert Roodzand

I've been watching you guys since the early GT days with Shane Satterfield and invisible walls and all that good stuff and I'll say this, I wouldn't worry too much about expectations when you're doing something with your life that you love and you're passionate about it the expectations will always be met cause we'll know it's genuine so instead of doing a hundred shows and countdowns to facilitate everyone requests just do the couple you can handle with your schedule and do them well. I'd rather have a couple amazing podcast and shows then a bunch of "meh" shows. So keep up the good work you guys are doing amazing and I'm proud to be a part of it and help you guys out.

Finally gotten around to watch this week's Cup of Jones and just felt inclined to state one thing: I'm currently paying the same amount of money per month for my Netflix account and my Easy Allies Patreon. And honestly, I feel like I'm getting more value from you guys; sure, awesome shows and movies and Netflix, but just looking at the time per week spend on your content versus theirs, well, you certainly win. //edit: Yeah, and pressing enter sends the message on here; learned that now, too. The one line missing before: I really enjoy the quality and, even more, the atmosphere of the content. It's the old gang, but the more casual demeanor that the change from GT zu EZA brought to you, I think it benefits the content, especially editorial / podcast kind of material. Reviews are as professional as ever. So, from my end here in Germany: Just keep the good work up =)

I think that you guys have put out a ton of content in a bug hurry. My expectations are pretty well satisfied. I really don't want you guys to worry too much about not doing everything the exact same way as before, or satisfying all of the patrons requests, or even answering all of our questions if you don't feel they are appropriate. I trust you'll make the right decisions and I support any of the allies who want to spend less or more of their time on what they want.

Matt Jura

I appreciate the honesty. I'm actually very pleased with the amount of content that is being put out on this channel. And totally think it's worth the money I pay for. SO I'm definitely satisfied with Easy Allies. That said, I would by lying if I didn't say it's a bummer, that some (if not all of you) will be getting other jobs while doing this. It was never realistic to expect the entire 9 person crew to have enough to do full time. And I think most are understanding about you guys doing production work on top of the Easy Allies (to make ends meet). But I think the real worry, is someone like Kyle Bosman getting picked up by a site like IGN, or some other major outlet, and then seeing his show get taken over there. That is what I'm personally afraid of. I really hope that things can stay the way they are, and that we don't see any of the main people leave, or stop being as frequent on Easy Allies. A possible suggestion: have you considered hiring 4 people full time, and giving them a comparative salary to their GT salaray? That way Easy Allies at least has a future "core" to it, and will be full time. And then using the rest of the money to pay the rest of the 5 people that aren't full time for their "freelance" work with the Easy Allies? I hate saying that, because I love everyone equally. And think every single person is pivotal. But at the same time, the current way things are being done is: everyone is basically doing freelance for Easy Allies, and everyone is going to be doing other jobs. Just a thought. I would never want to tell you how to run your business. And I'm 100% happy with the Allies. But I really hope the future of the company is secure, and it becomes a full time company at some point. Because I strongly believe that it will grow over time (especially with ads + sponsorships).

Jones! Bummed that top 10s may not be coming back soon... But maybe you guys could do a top 10 debate in a podcast or even a live stream. I've always wanted to see how you collectively draw your conclusions. Drawing the line between expectations and what you're capable of!

Thank you for your splendid candor, Mr. Jones. I'm curious, do you guys have other revenue streams aside from Patreon (for example, are the Halftime sponsors just large patrons included in the total on Patreon, or do sponsors provide non-Patreon revenue for the group?

Doug S

Absolutely love cup of jones. It does sincerely feel like we are chatting face to face on the couch. Keep on keeping on gentleman, you guys are doing the right thing. Just one thing, I really miss the top 10 countdowns you used to do and I feel like it wouldnt be that hard to repeat if you didnt cut a video for it. Just pick a category and provide 15-20 options for that and talk it out until its settled. You could even have a "tie breaker seat" decide the ties. Put it all up on a white board as you go through and bam! you end with a snapshot of the official EZA countdown on that category. I dont need the videos (even though they were nice), I would just want to hear your opinions and reasons for why you rank things a certain way.

Great show Brandon, I really liked the episodes so far. I understand that a big struggle for you guys is the commute to each other (also finding a common free spot in your schedules). Wouldn't it be an option to do some irregular shows (such as Trailer Score) via Skype or other video calling software? It doesn't need to be weekly but just when movie/game trailers come out that gets you hyped (Rogue One trailer maybe). Anyway love what you all have been doing with EZA so far, keep up the good work!

Brandon, are you able to divulge into this year E3 plans? • Are you going to stream like last year? or post presser discussions? • Will any of the staff be eligible to go to E3 this year and if so are you able to interview anyone?

Jordan Buitendyk

Can't we use some form of Firefox/Chrome plugin?

Jordan Buitendyk

The last one doesnt make me laugh that hard, his wife is a champ!

Hi Brandon, as a follow-up for the question regarding downloading episodes I believe registering for YOUTUBE RED lets you download videos.

I wonder if there's too much emphasis on making sure it's all strictly scheduled? If shows that are more tricky or time consuming to produce appeared randomly, whenever possible, people would still appreciate and enjoy them.

Kif

I really enjoy your show, Brandon! A couple questions though: You said that you wouldn't be able to have everyone go back to full time working with the money you've been receiving from Patreon, so my question is what stretch goal is it for everyone to work full time again? Next, would you consider/be able to adopt/incorporate a system that relied on views for money again? And finally, how does your wife feel about you doing all of this out of your house? The last one makes me laugh, but the other two I'm really curious about.

Joseph La Russa

In Jones we trust!

Something about the intro reminds me of Mr. Rogers

Gray Thomas-Sowers

brandon, thank you as always for the great content you guys have made week after week, month after month, year after year. The love, passion, and dedication you all have for what you do will never go unnoticed!

Jeremy Ferris

Great show this week Brandon!

Hey Brandon, is it possible for you guys to inform us of your intended posting schedule for shows? I know a lot of the shows are in flux right now but I'm just trying to get a handle on the general time to expect shows to post along with the streaming schedule. I know it's a lot of work trying to straighten things out and we love you for all that you do.

Just keep sticking your faces into my YouTube steam a few times a week and it will be worth my $5... but I could increase my pledge if you want to buy an Easy Allies van for solving crimes in.

CrumbEyes

Hey Brandon, Easy Allies is just as addicting as Gametrailers i subscribed (something i have never done for anyone or any company before) just so i can get ALL content. My only question will we be seeing merchandise with not just EZA on it but also show specific merchadise. Because man would I love to wear a Frame Trap, Easy Update, Table Top Escapades, or even a Cup of Jones shirt, hoodie, and hat.

Bryan Flynn for the Win!

Love it. Keep up the great work. I personally, can not drink out of any type of ceramic cup. Plastic or glass.

Pet Rent is So Dumb

Very nice episode. I'm very afraid that in time you will lose some patreons. This kind o show is tricky to do because the budget may vary, and because everyone is doing something else to support themselves could result to an lack of content. I like what your doing and hoping to see you on my monitor for years from now but we must be realistic, this costs money and time. Try to do some collaborations. My opinion is if you guys don 't get to do this for primary job you will not last. I hope i m wrong but in time you guys will don't have time for this ( life can change very quickly). Try to grow, get income from other sources. Best regards and sorry for my english, not my native language. Wish you all the best.

Never thought I'd say this but I also wouldn't mind ads if it helps realize the EZA dream. Maybe something to consider to help offset the office cost when you reach that $50k threshold?

Brandon, with not commitment, just out of curiosity, what kind of budget would be needed to match what you guys had before? On Another topic, all I wanted if being provided or is planned for the near future so the world is right again

Hi Brandon, I'm curious why Easy Allies isn't monetizing the videos with ads. I can't speak for all Patrons, but I would be willing to watch an ad or two per video if it helps Easy Allies be more successful. Was this a creative decision to make sure you weren't tailoring show content based on how much traffic they get (ala top ten countdowns)? Keep up the good work, Corbin Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere

Brandon, no need to sound so apologetic,you guys are doing a superb job. Take your time to build a strong foundation, as you seem to be doing, and then work on solidifying your products.

Rui Fidalgo

I was also curious if you guys could talk about either the new suicide squad trailer or the doctor strange teaser. Thanks!

Another great episode! I'm still waiting for somebody at EZA to talk about Batman V Superman though. I'm curious to see what you guys thought of it. One show that could possibly be the 40,000 dollar stretch goal is a show with Brad. I love Brad and think that he's so awesome. I've loved all of the extra overwatch that we've gotten and it would be cool if he got a show. Or maybe he could just get a little mini-series where he talks about overwatch or something. I don't know it's just an idea but like I said this was a great episode and I can't wait for more!

The pre and post production are the time suck. Sure, it may take 30 minutes to shoot, but you don't see the many hours to make the rest happen.

Tyler Travis

It's scary to have 4500 bosses. Seriously, please do what you guys do best and don't change things based on the worry of people pulling funding. Keep up the great work!

Tyler Travis

This is all great! so much content in 3 weeks pretty much have to section my days to shows/streams its awesome well done my friends well done!

Don't worry, Brandon you're all doing great! It's been only a couple of weeks and you're already rolling out lots of quality content, with even more on the way. As long as you keep the jollyness in everything you guys do, I don't think you'll dissapoint the community. Take your time, figure how to work everything out, and I'm sure you'll make Easy Allies something to be proud of.

You guys have definitely delivered more than I was expecting, so I'm super happy about that! :)

Brandon, how much do you need to have everyone fully employed without compromising your lifestyle?

Alexander Zyryanov

The $40,000 goal should be a grand piano so Ian can sit behind you and play the background music live.

Allard

Yep, loving the garage. No need to pay obscene rents for some fancy office space without any windows and put a sterile studio plus some anonymous cubicles in there. Keep it easy, allies.

Camian

I would really, really love to see Trailer Score back. It is type of content that would get you views and i think that you can find 30 minutes on Tuesday to talk about trailer or two :D

Honestly long as the Podcast keeps going im happy, everything else is icing on the cake!

Good episode length this week Jones. Covered all the bases there. EZA crew getting better every day!

Hi Brandon. Thanks for all honest answers, I think your show is really important. I have a question myself: what are EAZ plans for E3 coverage? Because of my job and different time zones, I usually can't watch live conferences so GT's summaries and shows were always great help. Thanks.

In regards to expectations, I was just really glad you guys where back together making stuff and streaming, so was happy to help a little via Patreon after watching content for years on GT. Now that the Podcast and other shows are on their way I didn't realise how good they would actually be, very impressed. Keep it up guys!

Ryan Hegarty

I just hope Trailer Score comes back sooner or later. It was my favorite show and it fits you guys so well.

RedVIII

I noticed in the background a Yellow Submarine poster and am always noticing the the neat things in the background, how about a tour of the garage?

We all love you Jones, calm down! I am not sad about the things we are jot getting, only happy and very satisfied with what you have been making so far and just happy you guys can do this at all. I could watch you each talk about your morning poops and I would be please, I love you guys so much!!!!

As many have said, I appreciate your honesty about your apprehensions around our expectations for EZA. For me, I'm looking for insightful conversation about games and the industry served up will jolliness and humor, which all of you just do naturally. Although I respect you taking time to respond back to our questions, I hope you can reserve more time on editorial for Cup of Jones as EZA finds a steady rhythm.

Shane Riczu

Hey Brandon some of what you said got me thinking about what you or the allies' goals are for EZA in the coming years. I'm sure you've probably been so busy getting this off the ground that you haven't necessarily thought about it but if I could take a minute to ask; "Where do you see EZA in 1 year from now? in 5 years? etc.

Mango

Hi Brandon, great show. Is there any chance that Huber and Bosman are going to continue with the betting specials? They were fantastic.

I know a lot of shows wont be coming from GT, I really hope that you have GOTY awards at the end of the year though.

Love the show, Easy Allies is really up and running now and it's great to see. Do you think at this stage E3 coverage in some form is realistic?

Hi, Brandon! You mentioned a show like GT Live would be doable with the 50K goal, but even without the studio, would it be possible for you guys to have guests every once in a while? It doesn't even need to be in the garage, it could be something more casual like what Ian did driving around with Bosman or sitting at a coffee shop. (Gamers in cars getting coffee...lol). You always had really interesting people on GT Live and I would just love to see that kind of thing again.

Great episode Brandon, I felt the sincerity. Just seeing you guys together, talking about games is more than I could have hoped for! (Plus the second podcast was really well put together!) Only thing missing right now is your thoughts on the Rogue One trailer :)

I totally get it takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Hopefully other do too.

Love the updates! Your website should be call www.eza.com It's easy to type and sounds cool.

Love me my cup of Jones. Every EZA video I watch makes me want to contribute more money.

HYPE was my favourite name, ha.

You guys should treat it more like band practice. 3 times a week everyone meets at the practice spot and records...if you guys make the sacrifice and record more shows together then you get more fans and the payday comes later down the road.

Is there actually Jones in that cup of Jones, Jones? The way you grab it and recklessly put it on flimsy tables makes me think it's actually empty. Please clarify.

bymanus

Mr. Jones I would like to encourage you and the allies to not feel obligated to do GT lite. EasyAllies is like everything I loved at GT put into a really relaxing, casual get togethers. I really enjoy the all the content and frankly just seeing all of your personalities mesh is a blast. Love what you guys do.

Revalow

Brandon, you have easily assembled very loyal allies!

Hey Brandon, I really like your honest answers. I am really curious about how much you guys need to support everyone full time. I know LA is expensive, but with those 50000$ each of you would get at least 5000$ after the first couple of months in which you have to get all the equipment etc. Maybe that's not the best, but I imagine for an average person it would be enough. Or let's say half of you do full time, then it might be even 6000$ or 7000$. So what I actually want to say: I would prefer it if that 50000$ goal goes into supporting more of you full time rather than a new studio which eats a crazy amount of the money. Somehow I like the cozyness of your garage, it also has that nice flair of a secret Easy Allies HQ (though I could understand if you don't want to have so many guys lurking around in it all the time). I don't know if a new stage would really benefit you guys (views, patrons). But having more of you produce more quality content would most certainly benefit you (more views/patrons) and us.

I'm the opposite, I find it hard to bother with a 5 minute piece, I want 30 mins or an hour or two. If I'm looking for content about a subject why would I want a few minutes, it takes Ben that long to shake his head at Kyle ;-)

... as I watched this video I had similar thoughts, missing trailer score (where are their thoughts on rouge one?) couldn't it be solved with hangouts and the trailer playing on loop (production is simple when you are ignorant ;-) ) but I miss the opinion pieces as well, when you are in an office you can grab the room and film a chat about the PS4K but when spread around a city this is hard. Hangouts could solve this problem..? We like your voices, opinions and personalities and personally I am less concerned about the production values, I really enjoy your diverse views on a subject and if I can listen to a podcast while running even better... by the way iTunes is like never useful to rest of the non apple using people on the planet ;-)

It's always nice to hear Brandon's voice

Exactly! Watching GT Time I always wished they'd do more podcasts, but I never imagined they will have to close Game Trailers for this to happen :D This exceeded my expectations too!:)

Hi Brandon, love your honesty and the work from the crew so far! Enjoying everything so far but I have one concern with regards the part time element and how this could affect content. I understand that the budget may not support everyone full time but I fear that if some of the guys wind up taking full time jobs at other gaming outlets that their new profile could overshadow what they do on EZA. I'd feel really disappointed if EZA became viewed as a side project for your gaming interests rather than the main deal and worry it'd affect the quality of content if their A-grade material went into their full time job. Hope you can ally my fears!

Hi Brandon, love your honesty and the work from the crew so far! Enjoying everything so far but I have one concern with regards the part time element and how this could affect content. I understand that the budget may not support everyone full time but I fear that if some of the guys wind up taking full time jobs at other gaming outlets that their new profile could overshadow what they do on EZA. I'd feel really disappointed if EZA became viewed as a side project for your gaming interests rather than the main deal and worry it'd affect the quality of content if their A-grade material went into their full time job. Hope you can ally my fears!

Just great!! You guys have exceeded my expectations!! Keep up the good work!!

Great episode. I think I speak for the patrons when I say everyone appreciates the honesty and frankness of your posts. I sense some anxiety around this issue and would tell you to take it wasy Brandon, be prousld of what youve done so far and the work you guys arw doing. I think it's testament to you guys that people want more content, I'm sure you guys will continue to strive, I'd personall love more shows, particularly a version of let's all go to the trailers and appreciate the allies will do all in there power to keep creating as much quality content as possible with quality being the key word. Thanks again and take it Easy Allies!

Regarding what you said about the shows/stream tradeoff: Sounds like you're doing the right thing. However, I'm the kind of viewer who doesn't have that much time to watch your longer format streams *or* shows. I love them, but I rarely have time for them. I understand your bite-sized content like Reviews or Just Played or Top 10 takes a lot longer to produce, but maybe there are other kinds of shorter-format-content you can produce (like highlights of a stream or a five-minute power-talk on a hot subject) that don't take as many resources to make. When I go to your Youtube page, there's a ton of content, but they all have running times over an hour! I'd LOVE it if there was more stuff that I actually had the time to watch. Either way, EZA is still a dream come true for me. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart Brandon.

Domino Hurley

I really like these Cup of Jones eps. Thanks Brandon!

selfconfessedcynic

Brandon your frankness and humility is as always so great to see. With regards to expectations - I don't think for a second any of you guys have been insincere or misled your audience in anyway. In my opinion you've clearly delivered on your stretch goals and are keeping us updated constantly about when things will be out. I know some people want certain things but I for one totally trust you guys creatively and it's actually part of your appeal. If I could afford to pledge more I would - how much to get you all back full time? Haha

Hey Brandon. Won’t you guys make a ‘promotional video’ for the Easy Allies. The content that you guys create are in a different league than anything else - and so naturally, I want to share it with my friends, on Facebook, on Twitter or just show them on my smartphone while out for a beer. However - giving the full breakdown of what and who you guys are exactly can be a bit tricky. Even if they’re into games (which a lot of my friends aren’t) it can be fairly difficult to explain in words, without actually showing it. I’ll usually send a review and people will love that part, but you guys are so much more. I’ve been following you guys for 10 years and could easily lecture my friends for hours about the greatness of GT/EZA. But really what I need is like a turbo charged slice of EZA awesomeness in a carefully constructed trailer package. Awesomeness that capture what the easy allies are in a minute or 2. Awesomeness that I can share on facebook and have my friends go - “Wow - I can really see what you mean these guys are great”. Awesomeness that makes a simple explanation out of the otherwise fairly cumbersome backstory of “they used to be GT, but then they shut down, and now they’re EZA and it’s the same, but not the same, but it’s still awesome”. I basically want the EZA trailer that gives me the same chills that your best content does every time I watch it. I want the EZA allies trailer that I can pull out of my pocket and show to anyone - gamer or not - and hear them say “Wow - they really make great content”. Because that’s exactly what you guys do. And I want to tell people that. So give us a trailer so we can preach the message - and we shall give you followers in return ;) Cheers Jonathan Trier Ps: I know at this stage - everything is still new and there isn’t much content to take from since you can’t dig into the GT trove. But one day. When the content it there aplenty. Please make it happen.

Wouldn't using Google Hangouts more make a lot of things easier for you and allow a show like Trailer Score, Game of Thrones talk or something spontaneous like that down the road? I'm sure as a professional in the video production field you scoff at calling such a thing a "show" in the first place, but in reality that seems the way a lot of group content is done these days on Youtube etc.. It would make coordination easier, eliminate drives to other people's homes and save time because almost no editing is required. To me it seems even easier than haosting a Twitch stream. By all means I appreciate when you guys are all in the same room for the "big" shows like the podcasts, but video conference calls might be an alternative for smaller stuff.

Andreas Köther

Excellent episode Brandon, the honesty in your answers is appreciated.

Andreas Köther

Ever since you guys began I've been curious about show titles. Are the names of the shows you guys used to do at GT owned/copyrighted by DEFY Media? The reason I ask is it seems like you guys are trying to move away from those old show titles and do something new. In the D-Files update, Michael Damiani seemed almost hesitant to mention the name "Pop Fiction." Is this solely because you guys have a new company and want to make a new name for yourself? Or are there legal implications tied to the name changes as well?

Do you know if tabletop escapades can be longer? An hour is really short for a session of d&d, especially when the crew get off road often (meaning that they sometime stop playing to tell a anecdote/joke or just linger on a moment of something that just happened)?

havik

Really a big fan of this show, tackling the tough questions. Very much appreciate the direct, honest transparency. Great work, Brandon.

I'm not the biggest fan of countdowns but I always watched them. Maybe if it wouldn't take too much time doing it monthly and get you guys more views then great! But I really like that you can now focus on things you want to do oppose to those you had to.

Mikko Koponen

Can you guys stream through Youtube too? It works way better for me than Twitch!

How are you guys going to handle E3? It's getting close.

Though I see where you're coming from, we can't realistically expect them to use Jones' garage every day like they will be using the studio every day if they reach 50k. Even though it's his garage he still needs to live there and have his privacy without people going in and out every day of the week. Let's get that 50k goal before we draw any premature conclusions :)

mjw

I believe Ben and Brad had said that they'd eat Taco Pizza when we hit 40k :)

mjw

Great job Jones! As far as I'm concerned you are all doing more then I expected at this point. I understand ppl's curiosity on the financials but I really hope that this episode can put some of those conversations that I see way to much of to rest. Easy Allies is essentially a new business and you got to let it grow slowly. I think the scariest part for me as a supporter is seeing backlash from ppl that have over zealous expectations that aren't being met and unsubscribing. Seeing that most the community is very supportive and positive I hope this is never the case, but I've read some pretty heated discussions on this topic, especially on GAF. Anyways, keep up the great work.

Question for next week's show: Rogue One trailer... GO! Fine, that's not a question. Have you played the Battlefront Outer Rim DLC and if so, mini review?

Shane Sanders

Glad you're being so transparent Brandon, good to know what's going on behind the scenes with regards to the amount of time needed for all of these projects. Keep up the hard work and I hope that you guys reach $40,000 soon!

Brandon Robinson

I would love to see countdowns come back, but i get that it was a lot of work and the convenience of having everyone in an office made that possible. But maybe you can do a monthly countdown that the patrons vote on? Just post a poll saying "What is you top ten..." And then patrons vote and comment on it, the cut together some video and VO for what we vote on. I get that would still be a lot of work and you guys are already busy as it is, but i think it would be a great way to involve the community. Once a month would be cool, not all shows need to be weekly. And since Countdown was you most successful show in the past, it would be a great way to bring in more people! I know i really want to see this grow into something really big for you guys, so something like that may be a good way to bring in more viewers.

I know your not asking me, but my take on it is that easy allies is a set thing as long as ppl support. Some of the ppl involved could potentially be contributing full time as they bring in more revenue. Meaning that some if the easy allies will contribute content part time. I would imagine it's all based on revenue, time commitment, skill set and content being created that will decide those factors.

My expectations were that you guys might come back and do a podcast once a week. So you have completely exceeded my expectations!

Honestly for me you guys have exceeded my expectations especially since its only been like what, three weeks since Patreon launch? And you guys barely got equipment last week? I honestly only expected the podcast for a bit as you guys were setting up everything then shows later on.

Eric C.

Frame Trap just started so it's not iTunes yet, but coming soon. Easy Allies Podcast already is on iTunes, and both are on Soundcloud. -Blood

Easy Allies

Oh Jones, my hero.

One of the things I miss from the streams back then was random people from the office showing up. You are watching Dumb Game Monday and suddenly, Don appears, the chat goes crazy, he stays for a while and then goes back to work. It made things more dynamic. I understand the obvious reasons why that is gone, I just wanted to share. I AM kind of disappointed that it doesn't seem to be a full time thing for any of you guys (yet) and the fact that you're focusing more on streams is fine, as long as you keep producing great shows (D-Files hype). I love the fact that you guys can focus on the things you like and not just blindly produce content for the view count. Keep it up!

That was another mighty fine Cup of Jones. Thanks for answering all of those questions. I'll admit to having wondered about the "Mr. Bosman" situation, as well as how the streaming balances with the production of shows. It is fantastic to have such an honest discussion about the decisions you guys are making and the reasons behind them. Cup of Jones is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the week.

Neale Genereux

I'm very happy with this show. Brandon, you are great. Of course it hurts we can't have you all full-time, working away like little magical video game playing elves, creating mountains of beautiful and entertaining content every week. I'm glad you are being realistic. It is not the loss of any particular show that concerns me. I am happy to see you grow and explore organically. My support is not contingent on a certain set of shows (as I'm sure most of my fellow patrons would agree). I understand why countdown doesn't work, but isn't the same thing true about most strong editorial content that requires pooling the combined resources of the entire team (game of the year awards, E3 analysis, etc.)? Do you see editorial journalism as a mission critical pursuit for Easy Allies?

Isaac King

I wanted to know what is the appropriate channel to voice issues to be discussed in cup of jones. Is it in the comments here? If so, do you guys fear having to leave eza once you get full time jobs? I can't imagine having to balance two big jobs and stay sane. Not considering eza as a full time thing has me worried that this may not be set for long, sadly.

How about "Close Talk with Michael Huber"?

Tanner Rienhart

That Patron would be me :) He did say what he quoted was just a small part of my whole message, and it was. In my full comment, I did acknowledge the fact that there are countless EZA fans out there who don't share my opinion, as people are obviously tuning into the streams and enjoying them. I am not saying the streams are bad, I am just saying watching streams in general is not my cup of tea and that I'd rather have 1 additional video a week over 5 streams if it was up to me, but it isn't and I fully understand that, I just wanted to let Brandon and the EZA crew know how I felt.

Ahlgreen

Bump, pretty much what I think now.

I still want a cooking show with Ben. In fact, all I need is one episode with the Taco Pizza and the Walking Taco.

Do you aspire greater things with Eazy Allies? In other words, are you looking into other ways than Patreon and Twitch for making money to make EZA a solid company?

Henk Groenendijk

Brandon, I just wanted to say that Cup of Jones has been my favorite show from EZA so far. Being privy to what's happening behind the scenes is such a treat. Thank you!

Michael Tucci

So sad we're not getting the same ammount of scripted shows, but just to have you all back is fricking great!

Love me a cup of Jones

The Hashtagonist

Probably need people to use the channel and feeds for now, so they can get an idea of audience size if the plan is to make this a full time commercial venture.

Steve S

I love the openess of Easy Allies, it makes me feel like a part of the process. Keep up the good work, Mr. Jones!

My initial thoughts on what was explained in this weeks episode got me slight disappointment until I realized the truthfulness and candor of Jones. It's a shame to now know we won't get things back to how they were, even when hitting the £50,000 mark but.... I guess expectations are now realistically put into place for us all.

Brandon, I could set up video and mp3 downloads for the non-Patreon / YouTube content on the ezafan.site (not publishing anything Patreon exclusive). I haven't done so because I didn't want to take any potential ad revenue or Analytics you guys might be receiving from native YouTube traffic. Let me know via message if that's okay or even desirable for you guys and I'll add it to the automated stuff that pulls data from your YouTube channels. Bandwidth is pennies these days and there are some creative ways to make large downloads like videos cheaper (and even DDoS resistant), so I'm not worried.

Thank you for the update Brandon. I really wish I had more time to watch some streams, but I usually end up just watching the shorter content. Very happy with it so far though, so no complaints.

Christoph Zürcher

Really appreciated the candor in this episode; I will admit I wasn't fully aware of the intent to basically keep EZA perpetually part-time for all you guys. Not that it's a problem, but it makes me curious if you guys have any aspirations to *make* it a full-time gig again? Any plans to reach out to someone like Midroll for podcast sponsorships or to seek additional funding on top of the Patreon? Become official Bud Light spokesmen, etc? I think I can speak for most patrons when I say we'd love to see you guys get back to where you were. Love and respect!

Everything is in flux All of the time. You guys just keep putting your best foot forward in all that you do and everything will settle out as it should. You're all doing a fantastic job. Brandon, i understand that you're trying to keep the Patrons in the loop with all the background information. Keep in mind that for many people this whole thing is a magic trick. Be careful not to give away the mechanics of the trick for the sake of transparency. It won't make anyone love the magic any MORE but it will give foothold for people who know nothing about 'magic' to critique it. Keep us "in the loop" but don't pull back the curtains and flip over the top hat and tell us how many times you have to feed your rabbit per day. Not because it isn't interesting but because it washes away the wonder. I say all this with love and good intent. I hope it isn't taken as an insult. -Jon

Impact93 (Jon)

I'm a college student without a lot of extra cash, so its really cool to hear you specifically address expectations/reality and what exactly my money is going towards. I really love all the content you guys have made so far, and while it can be disappointing to lose shows like top 10, the stuff that you guys do have time to work on has been excellent. Thanks, Brandon and the crew.

Oh there was actually one other thing I wanted to say, I love huber! I really really do, but I'm also really really not feeling the name "Huber Syndrome" , I'm crap at making up names but there has to be something better like, "Hypemaster Huber" or "Huber Raw" like I said I'm crap at this, but I'm sure the community would help come up with something. :)

BeatenDownBrian

Great episode! It's good to get some behind-the-scenes info on how things are working out. I absolutely understand why somethings won't happen (yet), but it's still quite early in both the campaign and the life of EZA. For all we know, things might happen months or years down the line that could enable you all to go full time. Or not. You can never know, but what I do know is that I'm happy to have you back and doing what you're doing, and you all seem pretty happy to be doing it. That's all I really needed.

VIV_ID

will you do reactions streams for E3 this year or will time issues get in the way

Thank you for being so open about what you're working on! I have two questions: 1) if full time EZA would be of interest to the crew, what would be the stretch goal to get full employment for all of you? Would you put it up on Patreon st some point? 2) are you looking into additional sponsors for the videos that are published publicly on YouTube, eg at the end of a video or in between the podcast? Can't wait for the upcoming shows!

Richard Goetz

Hearing Brandon Jones read my name at the 8 minute mark really caught me off guard while attempting to do some work. I had my tag "Darth Smurf X" read by Brandon on one of the final GT videos ever, featuring users most anticipated games of 2016, and now this. That made my day. Possibly my week.

Shane Sanders

Wow, you guys really are killing it on Patreon. Way to go! <a href="https://graphtreon.com/top-patreon-creators" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://graphtreon.com/top-patreon-creators</a> I personally would like to see more short-form shows in the vein of Huber Hype, Final Bosman and Trailer Score. I'd love to get in to the tabletop stuff, but I just don't have the time. Give me something I can consume in 10-15 minutes over lunch. Streams are not really my thing, but as long as they're not taking time/resources away from making content, they are fine.

Tanner Rienhart

Also please more dog in cup of Jones, if possible. 40,000 "dog in cup" stretch goal?

Ahh, this is uncomfortable to write. I understand you declared this to be mainly a streaming network, and depending on funding, who knows what may happen. But keep a few things in mind: Your Patreon would not be even half as successful, I believe, if your GT work in the past was a Podcast and guys streaming games alone. You probably know that. In the announcement video, we saw you wanting to talk about Trailers, but you couldn't, hence you assembled the Allies. Now you still can't talk about Trailers. The whole theme of "Allies assemble!" is weird, considering you guys assemble once a week and then once a month for Pen&amp;Paper, and, as you declared, you do things alone because it's so much easier. As it is right now, the Allies assemble rather rarely. Now don't get me wrong, I will continue to pay, if just for Huber's and your show, as well as the group streams/podcast, but not everyone might. You know people want shows. Just an example: I encountered Kyle's latest episode of his show on 4chan and Neogaf. I'm sure networks and websites that I don't visit spread it as well. I have not seen a stream linked anywhere. I am convinced more new people will find you through shows, as we all did back in GT days. It is also abundantly clear to me that a studio would be a great quality of life improvement for you, since you can then use your garage that you paid for after all, for things outside work. On the other hand, I vastly prefer the garage set up to the rather sad looking small, cheap, stages during the final GT months, and I'm worried a good chunk of money will be spend on something that's actually worse for viewers. BUT I understand your position and will not withdraw my contribution. Just something to think about. I'll say it flat out: I really hope at least 2 of the prominent figures, and it totally sucks to talk about you bunch of alles like that, like You, Kyle and Huber are getting a full time job. I just can't watch these streams, I am, as well as most of your audience, I suspect, way too old for the "I've got a few hours of time to watch this slow stream!" type of content. But Brandon I understand. It's very difficult and the pressure was clear to see. Thank you for being so open. Just keep in mind this TLDR: In this show you both said "We want to make content that we ourselves want to watch!" and "I don't watch our streams.". But believe me, I get it.

Wow... Depressing... So 50k wouldn't mean we'd get everyone back fulltime either. I honestly don't really want a new studio if it'll still be one person streams from home. To me the easy allies podcast for example would only be slightly if at all better when shot in a studio. Not nearly enough to be worth the money spent. I'd suggest you invest that money in getting more allies fulltime instead of a studio.

I am really enjoying all the content =). Keep it up guys.

<a href="http://youtu.be/GWJx2dcNSDI" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/GWJx2dcNSDI</a> Bosman didn't want the show to cost the EZA anything and is posting it online for free

Civ

I agree. Rather than a new studio, I'd like to see 2-3 Allies working full time. That would make producing new shows like Trailer Score and Countdowns much easier. But that's just my opinion, keep up the good work. Love and respect!

the_finnish_ally

The community needs to stay positive and supportive. The more entitled people get about what's delivered is the fastest way to cannibalize EZA from the inside.

Civ

The stuff you guys have produced so far has been stellar considering you're a group with no set, office, and only get together ONCE A WEEK. I hate to think back to that 6 week period of no GT/EZA and would rather have half of what you guys are doing instead of none of it. Keep up the good work.

Civ

I love the honesty and the inside scoop vibe of CoJ. I know we can get a bit "fanboy/fangirl" and expect a bit much but I think that your launch was so amazing, we think anything is possible. Keep it up!

we don't have countdowns but we DO have cup of jones now! and second podcast! and you guys are working together which - to me - still seems like a miracle! just try and 'have a good time dude!' :)

Monika

Brandon i love all the easy allies , my concern is if you are making use of patreon as a main source forever to obtain your income or if it the platform to gather all the resources to make a self sustainable enterprise? I'm saying this because if 36000 dlls is not enough to sustain everything now, it would be a posible time in wich $200 dls y $500 dls patreon might not be able to suport you and i really want you as long as you want to make content so please consider things like a site with adds in combination with patreon and maybe the site just be a platform with just youtube videos so you wouldnt spend a lot of money on the server and make use of some adds carefully selected by you or nothing of that and something new you do but please dont depend just of this platform . Love everything you have done so far with easy allies .

i don't share the opinion of the patron that was worried streaming so often might be compromising quality of shows.

Vary well structured your episodes are. My only complaint is that it's too long. The length can grow on me sure, but I was ok with the 10 minute time. For some reason I love that you say cheers.

Danni-H4

I don't know who had the idea for this show but it's great! I keep looking forward to the next episode. I hope you guys can reach 50k soon! You definitely have the potential!

Kenny Montenegro

Polygon had a story centering around the "kinda funny" patreon campaign a while ago - and they basically figured that roughly 100k per year and full-time employee could be "workable budget" (<a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/9/7520193/ign-greg-miller-indie)." rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/9/7520193/ign-greg-miller-indie).</a> I reckon there'd be some tax benefits involved in actually paying regular salaries to some allies, too - but in order for all that to work and be sustainable, you probably need to build up reasonable reserves and pay for the fundamental equipment etc. first. It would indeed be interesting if Brandon could go a bit deeper into this business side of their campaign. Given that hardly anyone talks about this (you mentioned it being kind of "taboo"), there seem to be many misconceptions regarding how much it would actually cost to support self-sustaining creative work through patreon at this level.

Camian

Brandon, I appreciate this weekly update of Easy Allies and what the allies are up to. I also like that you take the time to read these comments and receive the feedback. I think the streams are great and I agree the ease of production makes them easy to continue. I love listening/watching the archived streams in the background as I do work. Longplays of games are very entertaining especially with the commentary that the allies provide. The shows are very enjoyable. The discussions in the podcast are top notch and I look forward to the new shows coming in the future. Countdowns would be nice but I completely understand the reasoning why you guys can't put it together for the foreseeable future. User created Top 10s would be cool too. It would seem easy enough to just generate a quick 20-choice vote for a given topic and then just use user comments to create the discussion points on why they have their ranking. It is similar to what you guys did at GameTrailers with user-Top 10s or rankings for game of the year. Keep up the good work.

You addressed the table! Love that white and black pillow and the couch vibe in general. Clipboard is relaxed and functional. The length of the show feels good, and you covered really important questions with an air of transparency. Basically, this is the best Cup of Jones yet. Feel free to keep experimenting with it if you'd like, but I'll happily down a cup of this every week. Really great job Brandon. Pat yourself on the back.

MBUN

Mr. Jones, my comment for this week involves financials. Now I understand that is taboo to some degree so please allow two quick points. First is about self-sustaining full time employment. What would be the bar for someone to be completely supported through Easy Allies? And if there is such a number, have you, the Allies, considered making it a stretch goal (albeit a VEERRYYY far off stretch goal)? My second point is volunteering. From this episode, you have made it sound that while enjoyable and difficult, it would alleviate pressure if there was more help in place in terms of production and cutting. I'm completely across the country and in no way (other than the fine service of Patreon) could figure out how I could help, but have you all considered looking local to bring somebody in who is willing to do so without payment to help you guys out with all of things going on? I would love to help for free, but with the obvious barriers, I understand not only how, but why you are in the current format. Outside of that, keep up the great work and as requested, if there are any critiques that I can spot, I will try and assist the Allies the best I can. Until then, stay Easy fellow Ally.

Brandon K Gann

1. This show is great! I understand how busy you are and whatnot, but it would be fantastic if it was actually uploaded on Mondays so I would have a reason to look forward to Mondays. 2. Where did you get the piano theme from or who plays the piano segment that you have looping? 3. I would LOVE it if you showed off the PC somehow, either through several pictures or a quick video of it. I'm a huge fan of building PCs in my spare time. Can you also post the full specs you have for it? :) 4. The more serious and important question I have is, where do YOU, Sir Brandon Jones, see Easy Allies a year from now? Do you think it will be (hopefully) more organized than what it is now with set scheduled times for when shows are recorded and uploaded? Maybe even more shows? More staff possibly? Do you feel like any of that is a possibility? Do you have any specific goals for EZA to achieve within a year from now, other than Patreon pledges? I'm sorry if it's a lot of questions, but I really want to know your thoughts about EZA in the future of about a year, as opposed to just the upcoming week/month. I hope you will answer these questions either in a Cup of Jones or even in a podcast, but I'm interested in your thoughts than anyone else's. Thanks, usak90 P.S. please don't let Huber call it Huber Syndrome. That name is just terrible in my opinion.

Honesty :) You can't imagine how it concurs my heart to see it at this level from you guys. I think to really find out our expectations and balance them, we can get surveyed on the things we want. I think you can come up with a format. Don't get me wrong, I am not telling you to do what we want. I am just pointing a way to understand where to strike the balance between reality and expectations. Personally, streams without any flair or essence; I don't care at all. (Bosman v Wozniak is a creative gem though, I can't believe I watch a guy doing TETS for hours, weekly) They waste too much time and feel like ritz bitz biscuits. What I mean is we can get streams of real play anywhere. No matter how little, I do not think it is a good usage of resources. I may be on the minority in this but you are too precious for me to see you do that. About the studio; yes it is nice to have higher production values but I do not think anybody cared that Ian shot the third episode on phone camera. It was great content wise and honestly one of the best EZA productions so far. I'd rather have you guys focus on the essence and also, maybe this way more EZA people can be funded by the money pool. But then again, I only care about the gameplay, not graphics and that maybe only me. Oh and I watch the bonus bits :)

What I think Jones said is that there will always be SOMEONE at the office to answer the phone etc, not just ONE person. That could just as well mean two, three or even nine people spread out over the week being there and probably often at the same time as well. Just my two cents.

mjw

How much would you need to employ everybody full time? Also, is Kyle doing anything besides the podcast and streams?

Jones is PATRIARCH

Maxim Pugo

That cushion and that Kermit are fantastic. You referred to making a show called Tabletop Adventures, though -- what's that? ;) Great episode this week, Jones. I would just like to say two things about expectations. It probably comes as no surprise that the biggest appeal of EZA remains the same as it was at GT -- the group dynamic. Basically, as jolly as each of you are streaming on your own, any time two or more of you share a camera, it's already dramatically more entertaining and insightful (and if Huber is there, explosive!) As extraordinarily difficult as it is to organise, I would hope that you would all do as much as you can to give us as much group content as you possibly could. You've done a pretty great job so far in the circumstances -- we not only have a weekly podcast and group stream, but now we have a bi-weekly longform show as well. I can imagine a $50,000 studio would help with producing more, but in the meantime, I would just like to stress how significant this type of content is for the appeal of the channel for me. I love all you've put together so far, and Cup of Jones is going from strength-to-strength, but I say this because there's a big event coming up in 61 days called E3, which has a lot of press conferences! I'm sure you're already throwing around plans, but I'd let you know that, as far as expectations are concerned, I hope that you'll all be able to put together a substantial amount of group content for at least the press conference days. Even without the office and the stage, I hope telling you that I anticipate that you will be able to put together something comparable to last year's coverage doesn't sent an icy shiver down your spine! Would having four of you turn up in your garage at 09:30am to watch Microsoft's and Nintendo's conferences with us be a big ask? Would having you streaming for six-or-more hours afterwards discussing all the games and hardware that has been announced be too much? Would you be able to get the Allies into the convention centre and record shows there like the old days? Essentially, would some of the Allies be able to take holiday time off work (if they had to) to devote themselves to being present for the event? Is this a priority, or a hopeful aspiration for you? I don't expect answers to those questions so early, but it's something that I hope you guys will think about. E3 could be huge not only for itself, but for the Allies and the growth of the channel. You guys could be part of another game's in-engine footage debut at PSX, but as part of the venture you own! My second point regards scheduling. I know that you're still starting up and finding your feet, and there's two new shows debuting this week, but the way the shows are going out winds up being a bit of a feast-or-a-famine situation. It's great in the early week -- Easy Update on Sunday, Cup of Jones and (bi-weekly) Frame Trap on Monday. Group Stream on Tuesday (not a show, but it sorta is), Podcast on Wednesday for Patrons, Tabletop Escapades on Wednesday...but from there, show-wise, it gets a bit bare until Sunday again. Maybe Huber Syndrome will fill that gap a bit, and Kyle will drop his show whenever, but from Thursday to Saturday, there's only streams rather than shows. I'm certain there are plenty of reasons for that, but, as an outside viewer, it's a bit of dearth in programming to have no edited footage over a three-day, mid-week period. This may just be a criticism that's soon to be out-of-date, but just something I thought I'd share. Even having Tabletop Escapades go up on a Thursday and Huber's show on a Friday would do a lot to negate the effect -- you have a lot of shows as it is! I guess I'd just like to see them spread out better.

Maybe I picked it up worng but I think when they said live show, I think that person was talking about a panel at events etc. :)

BeatenDownBrian

Loved the episode, Brandon. The mood and flow of the show is just perfect, really enjoyable and entertaining. Keep up the good work! Also, I am more than happy with the stuff you guys have delivered so far. Frankly, it has even exceeded my expectations, knowing that you all must have a lot on your table right now. Thanks so much for everything!

Expectations be damned. The fact that you all are back at all is a testament to how much we value what you have to say. Would I like things to be the way they were, sure, but I'm more excited to see what you can bring to the table now that you have more freedom to do what you want and not be under the thumb of some company that thinks they know what the people want.

Thanks for the great Episode, Brandon. I'm not gonna lie: I don't care about the streams. As easy as they are for you to produce, for me these kind of streams are just too time cunsuming. But so far the shows have been great and I know there is more to come. :) I really like the idea of the individual Top 10s someone in the comments suggested here. I'd defenitly watch that.

Markus Huppert

You are doing great. To those asking for downloads just type download from YouTube into Google. We need to find ways to make it easier for the allies. Asking them to upload to vimeo as well as YouTube and patreon and twitch sounds easy but when you multiply all the videos and the uploading time etc. it wastes their time. We need to support them by making this stuff easier. If people submit art with disclaimers to say the allies can use it free of cost then that could be a solution to copyright/royalty problem?

Estaban

I am curious too and the way I understand is, Easy Allies is the side job for some of them.

Great episode Brandon, I think you answered a lot of the most common questions I have seeen. tbh what we have gotten from the allies has probably exceeded my expectations so far, although I'd love to have to shows like countdown's,trailer score and just played's back, I don't feel let down that we are not getting them because you never promised them really. The one thing I've been confused/concerned about since the patreon launched is the new studio, I mean yes, the backdrop for GT Time was certainly a lovely setting, but I don't tune in for the setting tbh. I guess what I'm really getting at here is that I'm kinda confused why you even want a new studio? If we look at other operations like Kinda Funny, Funhaus or Toatal Buiscuit, all of these people pull in massive views each week even though they don't shoot their podcasts etc. on a fancy set, maybe there are other benfit's I'm just not seeing, but I just kind of feel that if you guys got to 50K, that the money would be better spent maybe getting more than 1 person full time or something. I hope this does not come off like I'm telling you how you should spent your money or anything, but I just feel like maybe a table and a few fake walls or something could achieve the same results as a studio for the most part. As always I only sahre this concern because I want what's best for the allies. &lt;3

BeatenDownBrian

I love cup of Jones! I really wish it came out before Frame Trap, tho :(

Eduardo

I like Huber's Queue better than syndrome. But i'm excited to see what he's new show will be.

Consider me in queue to get hyped for Huber Syndrome.

iconmaster

Brandon, you sir are a first class man. Great show.

Michael Rielly

Hey Brandon, this was a nice episode and I appreciate the transparency and honesty a lot. What I really like is that you have no real 40k goal and that you explained in more depth what it will mean to hit the 50k goal. Contentwise I am happy with the things you do so far and I feel that I get a lot out of my monthly pledge. As I am from Germany I mostly watch the shows that you upload here and I am totally fine with that. The idea that you might invite EZA fans from all over the world to one of your shows/podcasts is really great I am sure you will do this one day. One last thing that came to my mind after your show is that it would make sense for you to make a survey about what things your followers/patrons want to see most. Maybe this would help you guys to figure out if you are heading in the right directions on the long run. Hope you have a nice day, love and respect.

Sounds good on paper but I think that one of the reasons top 10's are so good is the accompanying video, which requires a lot of time and effort to edit. Sure, I'd love to hear some personal opinions but I'm not sure how engaging it would be if it's just one Ally talking in front of a camera, especially if it's not a subject I'm strongly familiar with - you need visual examples to know what they're talking about.

Joseph Caruso

I will miss Trailer Score for sure but I understand you guys have to make it all work as best you can. Loving everything so far!

DancingElk

Thanks for being so honest, Brandon. There's lots to love about the EZA crew but I think sincerity is the main attribute. Of course I'd love more shows but personally, I'd still be absolutely thrilled if we only got podcasts and the return of final bets, everything else is just nice extras. My only suggestion is that, for the more simple editorials without much editing and it's just two or more people talking, I wonder if a remote streaming option would be more viable than having all participates have to come into the garage. I know that might mean lower quality audio/video but just throwing it out there.

Joseph Caruso

They do have ads, have you turned off your ad blocker?

Dale Payne

I'm really happy about (and grateful for) any show you produce and any effort you put in for the fans, but I've got to be honest, too: If that Patreon-money stabilizes somewhere around 40-50k USD for a few months (plus twitch subscriptions plus mechandise money etc.), I'd actually kind of hope for at least a hard CORE of you guys committing to this full time so you can establish a more regular work flow, have more regular meetings etc. Please don't get me wrong: I do understand that 40-50k is not remotely enough to employ nine people full-time (plus it's not the most secure source of income etc.), but the way you talk about "probably having ONE guy working full-time in the new studio answering mails" once you hit 50k seems, well, a little at the more lavish end of resource management. Just cut down on making a potential new studio looking all shiny and have a few more guys actually working together like in the old gametrailers.com days instead. That's just my personal dream-scenario, though - and maybe not what you guys actually WANT to do. Pretty sure you will work out what is best for you and the group - but since you asked for feedback on those milestone plans / expectations ... :)

Camian

Hi Brandon. I was wondering why you don't have adds on your youtube channel? I'm not sure how exactly add implementation works on youtube and maybe I'm an exception, but I really find youtube adds quite unobtrusive. I guess in 2016 adds for free content really feels like a fair trade for me. The money might be financially insignificant, but is it not kind of an every little helps situation?

I love all of the new shows. One thing that I really think could help drive EZA forward are some thought provoking interviews with various developers, media, etc. This is something Kinda Funny Games does well (as you should know being a recent interviewee). One of my all time favorite GT shows that ended a long time ago was The Bonus Round. I could be wrong, but interviews seem pretty easy to produce when compared to some of the other content. With all of the connections you have made over the years, I would think you could get a number of really good interviews a month. Is this something you have considered? Keep it up, EZA. Great job so far.

So much yes!

Hey Brandon, Could you upload the videos to Vimeo? This would let people download them and wouldn't have a massive cost I don't think?

We'd love to see a live show in the form of KindaFunny....that's truly a great idea. Even if it isn't daily, maybe an hour 1/2 show every Monday, Wed, Friday? That'd be absolutely stellar! Especially if it's in the evening and not at fricken 2pm ET like they do. #Justmytwocents

Expectations? Pfftt... I'm just happy to have the members of EZA back in my life. It was a dark couple of months without you all.

Mitchell Collier

Silly questions for the next CoJ: How many cups do you have?... XD Will some cup reappear later or you'll keep buying a new one until the end of times?... XD Thanks and congratulations for the success of this project. :)

Cup of Jones is the most genuine gaming podcast on the internet today. An authentic conversation with a real authority.

Thanks for answering a bunch of questions, even/especially the slightly off base ones, and clarifying the $50,000 goal. People get a little intense about this stuff, but it just goes to show that they care I guess :D I hope people can be patient and realise that Rome wasn't built in a day, and give you guys a chance to keep on keeping on.

Tygre

Comfy show Jones! Want to say that it makes me happy when I hear that everyone is doing something else with their time other than Easy Allies. All of you guys are super talented people, and it might even detract a little bit from the channel if I thought this was all everyone was doing. Keep up the good work!

confusedhulk

Great show! Any chance your dog might join you from time to time?

Kearn Grisdale

When can we start getting audio versions of the podcasts? I don't transport video podcasts around at all with me and those folks that commute / work out / etc. have zero need for the video. Plus it's much easier to maintain a history of what I have and haven't seen in my podcast app.

Brandon Shipe

I'm loving the openness and honesty here! Love and respect on full display

Jones! What's in the cup we need to no every week lol

I am very jealous of your garage, haha!

Would it be possible to get all of these different podcasts on a single RSS feed?

Kevin Bender

Tabletop Adventures? What's that? :P

Pascal Kleine

This is a really entertaining and cozy show, thank you for the updates.

Love this show - you;re a flipping legend Mr Jones! Keep up the awesomeness!

The honesty is strong on this one.

Thank you, Brandon! Great show and excellent work so far on everything about EZA. Since you mentioned that Just Played was a lot easier to produce, how about bring that old show back? You guys are basically the only YT channel that I watch regularly and I wish there was at least one video per day from you, so maybe something like JP could be that. Thanks!

I want all those things that you say are unlikely to happen (at least in the near future). However, I want you to know that you guys are killing it. The shows have just been excellent. Also, this show is fantastic. The fact that you let us know exactly what is going on is super refreshing. Once again... Absolutely killing it.

James Kennedy

On the topic of top tens, why not transform them to fit better into EZA? Examples: Kyle's top 10 Pokemon Ben's top 10 Persona characters Jone's top 10 infinity figures Ian's top 10 soul's bosses Each month one ally could be tasked with a personal top 10... You can get some sweet sweet traffic without the constraints of an office or tieing everyone up debating a list.

Matt Brookbank

Have you guys considered additional sponsorships from other companies? A lot of your peers on Patreon and YouTube have multiple sponsors from companies like Loot Crate, Crunchyroll, Etc. Do you have any interest in seeking additional money outside of Patreon? Would that extra income be enough to support more allies full time?

Ben Metal

Just thought I'd quickly comment and say thank you so much for everything thay you do, personally that's all my expectations ever were, to just hear you great guys again because quite frankly I've seen what else the Internet has to offer without you and it just doesn't FILL THE VOID! :-p I wish you all could be doing this full time and today only made me realise the reality of you all needing work and how things will continue to change onwards. From my perspective everything has felt like it was at GT but better , which makes me appreciate just some of what you had in those days but also what you've doing atm to keep up with that standard, and as a part-time project it's really phenomenonal. Also, i think all the current shows you're doing is great and deserve the priority in the limited times that you have. The only thing i would like to see return is 'let's all go to the trailers' and 'just played' and i think both could eventually work in the schedule that you set up, they just need to adapt/evolve (E.g LAGttT could perhaps be done in a Skype chat instead of meeting up IRL. And just played could be a mini 15min segment that each allies can self-direct and record once a week just to vlog themselves or discuss with someone else what they've been playing, new or old. What do you think?

Hey Brandon, I love all the streaming content EZA has been doing. Is there a possibility of more group streams even if it's just 3 or 4 of the allies? I love you guys all individually but when you guys come together it is something undeniably special and probably the thing I miss the most from the old GT. Also, is Damiani ever going to do something with the other allies like skype into a podcast? Keep up the great work.

Michael Eaton

Hey Jones, if you want to enable the ability for fans to download your shows for viewing offline the solution is simple. Just make a EZA account on Vimeo. They allow you to toggle user downloads of your videos on or off.

Saugerdees

Awesome stuff Jones. You may have to release Kermit. Looks like he's in a bit of trouble.

Dizcrowell

Thank You Brandon, I think this show is very important in terms of having a patreon. Do exactly this, every week, be sincere and upfront, I appreciate it alot.

@8:45, it's Tabletop Escapades, not Adventures :P

Andrew Chalmers

I just thought of this. In order to do countdowns and retrospectives, you need to have a LOT of footage from a lot of different games. All of the footage that you had during the Viacom and Defy years, did you get to keep all of that? Or was that also the property of those companies?

Backlog Crusader

If anything I appreciate the Easy Allies format and the Patreon to the old format. It is far more personal, and really, I signed up for the personalities. Good stuff, Dykesy.

Thanks for the update. It is amazing how quickly everything is coming together, so can't complain. if anything I just want more of what EZA is already doing.

Dai Nguyen

Kermit throwing up the horns in the back.

Michael Eaton

Brandon, it's amazing how this show has come along in just 3 weeks, easily the best ep yet. You have a great knack for explaining things in a really clear and concise way and make subjects I didn't have an interest in really worthwhile listening too. Only note this week is that it's a bit long for an editorial show, the questions kind of drown everything else out, less is more I think. Anyway great stuff, can't wait for the next episode.

Rhys Simons

I love how you're actually replying to fan feedback right in the video. I agree with the comment on there's more streams than shows but I appreciate you guys doing your best to get content out. Frame Trap and Huber Syndrome though? Those names bug me. lol

NeO JD

Brandon, I really appreciate your honestly in regards to the budget not being able to support yourself on $50,000. Could you ever get into closer details on what sort of jobs you do on the side to support yourselves?

Different cup every week so far I think...

Also, re the download to mobile issue, I think if ppl have youtube red you can do that through that avenue. Obviously that's more than some ppl will want to spend, but for those who can it is a solution. Blood said on twitter that you guys do see some benefit from that so I just look at it as another twitch-like sub.

Bradley Spies

Thanks Jones! It has been awesome to get to be a small part in the beginning of Easy Allies. You guys will continue to have my support!

Brandon/EZA - re the countdowns issue, I wonder if you could ever bring back one that's like the "top 10 games that ****ed us" as a recent example. Not a straight top 10 ranking (of whatever topic), but just each Ally listing their personal top example of whatever that they write or record on their own. With 9 allies, maybe you could open up the 10th spot to fans/patrons/etc. to just contribute snippets with a vote or something. That was fun because it was unpredictable and personal. I realize that issues like editing would still take a lot of time but it'd be cool if you found a way to bring it back once in awhile.

Bradley Spies

Jones! I don't know where you go to get the questions for the show, but I have a couple. First, what about Don's Design Lab? It was really cool and maybe it could be shot before the group streamings. And second, if one of your fans/patrons wants to contribute to some aspects of production, like design, graphics stuff, animations, etc, would it be welcome? (Considering this as just another donation of course). Great show!! keep it up :)

Guilherme Todorov

So here is something really important. I think you guys have a secret ingredient that sets you apart from other games sites/ games channels and that is your down to earth mentality! i read a lot of gaming articles, i watch a lot of gaming shows and channels and i even work in the industry myself and there is barely a team as grounded and honest as you are. I went to that Uncovered FFXV Event and saw Greg Miller for the first time and he really annoyed me. He might be a nice guy in real life but i think with popularity his stage persona just grew overconfident and that happens a lot in the industry. And that something i absolutely dont worry about with you guys. So dont be afraid of our high expectations, thats what i was actually gonna say. We know life has changed for you and you gotta make money, you gotta live and get jobs, but we can see you really care about this project. And thats all that matters! I dont care about stuff not being shot in a studio or with weird audio or whatever. Im just really glad you guys keep going and be this one honest and transparent island in the sea of fake and fame loving media people. So again: If stuff doesnt get done in time or a mic doesnt work properly or whatever... Dont worry about it. Its all good. Just believe. We do aswell :) Love &amp; Respect.

Love these Cup of Jones editorials! My question is if you specifically are working fulltime on EZA being the founder of EZA and previously GT. I just hope that things will never fall apart because your 'real job' is becoming more important.

mjw

Another fantastic cup. Thank you, Brandon. It's nice to see you guys in a forum where you are supported by your fans and not traffic. That way the feedback you receive is from us directly and not numbers on a screen. Love what you are doing so far. Keep it casual. Keep it transparent. Keep it jolly. See you next week.

Oh yeah, great show! Pretty much perfect this week. A larger editorial part would be nice but that is probably sorting itself out when things are rolling smoothly and shows know what their name is etc.

Benny Samuelsson

Mr Jones, you have met and exceeded my expectations so far :) Really appreciate the fact the whole team love creating such awesome content. We'll support you as long as you guys are around :D Thanks for the update :) Damn that was a hearty and warm 'Cup of Jones' :D

Mumble Mumbleton

Cup O Jones speeding at ten "couch"s per minute!

Glad you guys are being so transparent about how things are and could be in the future. Also, if and hopefully should the $50000 goal be met, would you consider a future stretch goal to have all the allies be full time whatever that cost would be?

Love the show! Here's my question though; If/when the 50k stretch goal is met will you consider a new one that would mean basically full time for everyone? Are you guys interested in this and what kind of money would it require?

Silenced rifles behind the couch? What are these guys planning?

Love the show Jones. Quick note. I'm hoping in future episodes to get more YOU time. I mean more time for the editorial and just a little less catch up. Nothing wrong with promoting the EZA but I want to hear your editorial more than anything! That being said, I've never subscribed to any Twitch, never subscribe to game magazines, I've never even been to other game websites other than GT.. You guys are the only people I have trusted for info and opinions on games since I discovered you at the age of 15, I am now 23 and so very proud to say you are my first subscription, I will be a fan of you and the crew for life. Thank you for the work you all do and thank you for giving me the chance to show my support!

Question for the next CoJ: When the easyallies homepage is up and running, could you add a page where you list all the hard- and software you use? Please?

Tim Albers

Love how you instantly shoot down that silly Kyle Bossman question!!

Loving it Jonesy, keep up the good work guys

LiquidEnder

The situation being as it is, maybe it would benefit everyone if you also promote whatever the allies ARE doing when they're not doing stuff on EZA. Could that be counterproductive or a nice positive feedback loop of jollyness?

Benny Samuelsson

Congratulations guys!!

Angelo Torres

Long live the couch!

Miguel Pires Ramos

Switched it to Unlisted. Oops.

Easy Allies

Sad it is private

Great show Jones - keep it up 👍

Adam Mullany