When Michael Jones takes the stage, he doesn’t hold a mike or a musical instrument. His main tools to entertain are his video game controller and the words that come out of his mouth.
“I certainly didn’t think I’d find myself in this situation,” said Jones.
After graduating high school, Jones apprenticed as an electrician. He bought a camera to film family moments, and decided to film himself playing video games for fun.
In July 2010, he posted an expletive-laden video of him chasing of one of the impossible-to-catch orbs in “Crackdown 2.” It went viral and suddenly people noticed.
“I realized, ‘Oh, people like it when I’m pissed?'” Jones said. “I’m from New Jersey. I do that all the time.”
Six months later, production company Rooster Teeth asked him to join its team, and in January 2011 he launched his online show “Rage Quit,” a series featuring him playing difficult levels or challenges in video games. Spoiler alert: It usually ends in him quitting with an epic tantrum. It’s gotten more than 8.5 million views to date on YouTube.
“Anybody can play a video game,” said Jones. “You don’t have to be good. I consider myself okay. I’m better than the average person, but compared to people on the Internet I’m horrible.”
The youngest of three brothers, Jones grew up in Woodbridge, NJ, playing video games. He fondly remembers his brothers saving money to buy him a Nintendo 64 for his tenth birthday…then his middle brother claimed he didn’t mean to give it as a gift and took it for himself.
“There was not a lot of controller sharing going on in the household,” he said.
Jones, 29, is now about to embark on the four-city “Let’s Play Live” tour, where he will perform for his online — and now offline — fans. First up will be a stop on April 24 in Jones’ home state of New Jersey at the 2,900-seat New Jersey Performance Arts Center in Newark.
“Now my Mom is asking for tickets for my Aunt and Uncle, my cousin — so many tickets,” he said joking. “Mom, leave some for the audience.”
Then, they’ll pack up the tour bus and head to Baltimore, MD, Orlando, FL, and Tampa, FL. Previously, Jones and other stars of production company Rooster Teeth’s “Achievement Hunter” channel sold out venues in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin, bringing their brand of rowdy commentary and hijinks to a live audience.
