Argument147 【CSMY作文互改小组】第一次作业

stevenhuUID: 172722

ARGU147
The following appeared in an editorial in a business magazine.
"Although the sales of Whirlwind video games have declined over the past two years, a recent survey of video-game players suggests that this sales trend is about to be reversed. The survey asked video-game players what features they thought were most important in a video game. According to the survey, players prefer games that provide lifelike graphics, which require the most up-to-date computers. Whirlwind has just introduced several such games with an extensive advertising campaign directed at people 10 to 25 years old, the age-group most likely to play video games. It follows, then, that the sales of Whirlwind video games are likely to increase dramatically in the next few months."

1. The survey has problem
2. The arguer fails to convince us that the market really has the need of Whirlwind's games with life like graphics
4. The arguer fails to prove the players would buy the new game.


This editorial argues that the sales of Whirlwind video games would like to increase dramatically in the next few months. To support this conclusion, the arguer cited a survey showing that game players like the games which provides life like graphics, and at the same time, Whirlwind is about to provide such games to market. Based on these facts, the arguer gets the conclusion stated above. The arguers conclusion seems plausible, but a well scrutinize of the passage shows there are at least the following faults and inconsistencies in the arguers reasoning process.

Firstly, the survey cited in this editorial lacks sufficient information to prove the market has the need of Whirlwind's newly published video games. For example, the arguer fails to mention the location and the sampling process of this survey. Were this survey taken in a small town, and just randomly asked a few people who do not like games very much, even if all the other aspects of the survey have no problems, it would only represent these several people's general preference, which are not enough to demonstrate all the game player's preference, not to say the trend of future computer games. It is also entire possible that the survey form do not provide enough options on this question, and the game players actually like games providing features which are not appeared in this questionnaire. Without enough information about the survey, I can barely believe it really means the market needs games providing life like graphics.

Secondly, even if the survey is sufficient to prove that the players prefer such games, the arguer still fails to convince us that the market really has the need of games with life like graphics. For example, perhaps the players' preference is a long term hobby that most of the games in market are already equipped with the state of art graphic technology, which can provide lifelike graphics. Just as the arguer motioned, it is also possible that these games need the most up-to-date computers that most of the players need to update their computers before enjoying the life like graphics. If it happens, the total cost of playing this kind of games would dramatically increase, thus significantly suppress the market need. For short, game player’s preference does not directly mean the market's real need.

Finally, even if the arguer can provide enough facts to prove that the market really needs this kind of games, it still doesn't mean the players would buy Whirlwind's newly published games. Just as the editorial and our own gaming experience suggests, life like graphics is not the only element which will cause a game's popularity. Excellent game background, friendly user interface and great user satisfaction from playing the game are all necessary or even fundamental elements for a game’s success in market. Without necessary description for these aspects of Whirlwind's new games, I can not be convinced that these games would be sold well.

In sum, though the conclusion made in the editorial seems convincing, the arguer fails to prove the causal relationship between the survey and most players’ real preference, the player's preference and real market need, and the real market need and Whirlwind's newly games popular among players. To make the conclusion more convincing, the arguer need to provide the necessary information proving the relationships mentioned above.