Easy Allies: Best in the Biz

"Video games are worth believing in!"

In February of 2016, GameTrailers was shut down after thirteen contiguous years of operation. For a long stretch of that time, GT was as well known as any of the other major games media outlets, even though they were much smaller in scope. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with giants like IGN, Gamespot, and Kotaku. Well-respected and with a dedicated following, they were loved for their stellar reviews, entertaining segments, and informative shows. What people loved the most about them, though, was the GT Staff who worked tirelessly to provide a public starved of good media something to chew on. It also helped that they happened to have very distinct personalities, almost to Rooster Teeth levels of individualization. Brandon Jones, founder, narrated every review and retrospective produced by GT, and many a child of the 2000s wished that it was his voice that narrated their lives. Kyle Bosman, lauded for his witty humor and snarky disposition, informed and entertained with his show, The Final Bosman, which sparked much interest in the goings-on of the game industry. Still others loved Michael Huber's Huber Hype where Michael Huber spun yarns about anything and everything that got him hyped up. All in all, it was a pretty stellar "cast of characters" for what was essentially one of the only mid-tier operation in games media at the time.

Unfortunately, the sword of Damocles came for the company and eventually it had to be disbanded. Everyone went their separate ways and the lack of a unifying force only kept these friends further apart. For a little while, everyone thought GameTrailers was dead for good, yet another casualty of the harsh calculus of the digital economy. However, Brandon Jones never wanted to give up. In an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Brandon mentioned that he was meeting with a bunch of former GT staff in order to plan out something for the future. It could have been nothing, it could have amounted to very little in the end. But that's not what happened. Instead, nine of the last remaining members of GT launched EASY ALLIES - a direct continuation, a sequel in essence, to the original GameTrailers.

Easy Allies was to be completely supported out of the pocket of Brandon Jones plus whatever Patreon money they could scrounge up. Gone were the office spaces and fancy well-lit rooms of the GameTrailers building. Now they were set up in Brandon's garage, sitting on his couch and using old sound equipment. Their old fancy table was replaced with a desk covered with a black tarp. Their previously lavish arcade cabinets were instead supplanted by an old Final Fantasy XIII stand-up poster. And Elyse Willems (who had gone on to Funhaus) was replaced by Sophie, Brandon's dog. It was a shoddy operation by all accounts. It wasn't at all expected to be that successful.

Instead, Easy Allies was a smash hit. It turns out the audience they'd lost was so happy to have them back, they were willing to place them among the top-grossing Patreons on the site. Racking up a $40,000+ pledge within weeks, the Allies were suddenly thrust back neck-deep into the world of the games media. If they were successful, they thought they'd have to work in mediocrity for a few months first. Instead, they were up-and-running almost immediately. The months spent getting set up were instead used to reacquire the clout that they had previously held within the gaming industry, rejiggering their relationships with the major publishers and developers so as to let them know that GameTrailers was back, baby. They even managed to get their five-star review of The Last Guardian into its accolades trailer. By all accounts, everything is looking up for the Allies.

In March of 2017, Easy Allies completed one year of contiguous operation with a very consistent donor base. So, why is Easy Allies so successful? Well, a huge part of it is the cast of characters, as has been previously noted. Now that they are away from being corporate stooges, they made the transition from being a primarily news-oriented journalistic outlet (like your IGN or Kotaku) to a more personality-driven entertainment venue (like Rooster Teeth). Thanks to how the individual personalities meshed so well together, they largely succeeded. Here's the cast:

THE EASY ALLIES

• Brandon Jones - The nominal leader of the Allies, Brandon Jones remains the voice of its reviews and retrospectives. It is in his garage that the Allies make their home and, for all intents and purposes, he is the driving force behind the Allies. He is the Heart of the Allies, the thing that keeps everything else moving. To that end, he (like Alan Davies on QI) is the only guest that has been on every episode of the Easy Allies Podcast and acting in a secondary role for every other show. He also hosts his own little show called Cup of Jones, but it's mostly restricted to Patreon subscribers.
• Daniel Bloodworth - If Brandon Jones is the Heart of the Allies, then Bloodworth is the Brain. Bloodworth is the man who screens every review, essentially Editor-in-Chief of their little operation. He is also the man behind the finances and public relations, managing both the Patreon minutiae and responding directly to the feedback and criticisms of their fans. He is the most serious-minded and meditative of the Allies, acting very much as the straight man to the rest of the Allies' goofy antics.
• Kyle Bosman - Kyle Bosman is the host of the Easy Allies Podcast, the primary show produced by the Allies. Quick-witted, intelligent, and funny, Kyle is very much an integral piece of the Easy Allies puzzle. Though he has to divide his team between producing Bosman at Home (his own personal web show), YouTube Gaming (which he co-hosts with Geoff Keighley), and Easy Allies, he is still dedicated to the cause of the Allies. He also makes Bosman v. Wozniak where he tries to beat Steve Wozniak's famous Tetris score, and used to produce the fan favorite segment Brandon Plays Pokemon which he co-hosted for Brandon.
• Ben Moore - Ben Moore is easily the Soul of Easy Allies. The kindest, humblest person on the staff, he is nevertheless mercilessly teased for being the JRPG and anime enthusiast of the group. Ben is also the host of Easy Allies' second podcast, Frame Trap, a much more relaxed and "talk among yourselves" type affair in contrast to the more segment-based EZA Podcast. He also Dungeon Masters for Tabletop Escapades, a Dungeons & Dragons game featuring four of the Allies.
• Ian Hinck - The Allies' primary editor and resident Dark Souls enthusiast, Ian Hinck is the most creatively-inclined of the Allies. His show Easy Update is very much a passion project of his with each new episode featuring a brand new song (usually about video games) and a multitude of other live-action segments. He also hosts Fiasconauts every month, where he invites the Allies to play a game of Fiasco with him often to hilarious results.
• Michael Huber - This man is HYPE embodied. Fun, boisterous, and unceasingly passionate, Huber produces Huber Syndrome, a sequel to Huber Hype, where he talks about... anything and everything but mostly video games related. Huber is probably most well-known for having gone completely nuts when Shenmue III was announced, which spurred much attention to the fledgling GameTrailers.
• Bradley Ellis - Huber's BFF and the most chill of the Allies. He is also quite aloof, though he does co-produce EZAnime with Ben Moore. Mainly, he writes reviews, plays on stream, and guests for the EZA Podcast. His most recent major contribution is writing up the Soulsborne Retrospective which is being edited by Brandon.
• Michael Damiani - Damiani is the very model of a Nintendo fan, even something of a "historian" when it comes to Shigeru Miyamoto, but he's never afraid to be critical of the company, especially when it comes to lackluster games, most infamously for his 7.8 score for Wind Waker. Daminai produces Game Sleuth, a show with probably the second-highest production value of any of the EZA shows, and hosts Friend Code, the Nintendo podcast, and Zelda Talk, the Zelda podcast.
• Don Casanova - The enigmatic Ally, he divides his time between EZA and Funhaus, where he works alongside former GT staff member Elyse Willems. He is cool, suave, and probably a secret agent. Don makes Don's Discount Gaming, the number-one most highly-produced show from EZA, which honestly looks like something you'd find on the History Channel.

Through all of this, of course, Easy Allies maintains a philosophy that has helped them get to the point where they are now. LOVE AND RESPECT echoes all of the sentiments of everyone who has ever loved Easy Allies and what they do. They love one another and respect everyone they come into contact with. There are no two ways about it; every Ally is the definition of love and respect. That is why they never run into controversy or (serious) crosstalk between employees. There is no drama, there are no agendas. They could all have better jobs than the one they have right now but they don't because they love doing what they do.

In the end, that's what it all comes down to - and these guys deserve every bit of support you can give them.