argument147 [smile] 第七次作业

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TOPIC: ARGUMENT147 - 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."
WORDS: 643          TIME: 0:30:00          DATE: 2006-8-8

本文限时失败。思路有些乱，不知怎的就写了这么多。有拍必回！
According the survey of video-game players, the author make an conclusion that the sales of Whirlwind video games will be increase since the video-players' desire game type is as the same as the one that Whirlwind video games is going to product. Such a conclusion sounds reasonable at the first glance. However, after carefully scrutinized, so many problems will be found in this editorial.

First of all, the question included in the survey is improper which just ask what the most important aspects of a video game. The video-game players indeed answer the question that they prefer lifelike graphics, but these does not guarantee that they are willing to pay for such game. before the video players decided which video game to buy, there are still a lot of aspects should be considered such as the story, the speed, the type, for example RPG or online game, the price and the music of the video game. How popular the video games are can often influence whether to buy and play a video game. Only after a comprehensive comparison among the various characters of varieties of the video games, the play just will probably take the money from their pocket. Moreover, the editorial also mentions that the lifelike graphics needs most up-to-date computer to show. But whether such computer is available to the ordinary players is still open to doubt. Maybe such computer is just a new invented product that everyone just heard of or got the information from news. Or perhaps the computer is too expensive so that the players can not afford the price of the computer even the video games with lifelike graphics are attractive, so they will also no pay for such games.

Secondly, the author assumes that the people 10 to 25 years old are the age=group most likely to play video games, which is groundless since there is not any evidence mention about this in the editorial. Even the assumption is right, it does not necessarily prove that the sales of Whirlwind video games will be increase for the author does not tell us the people's age concluded in the survey. it is possible that the player are from 3 to 100 years old, so we still do not know whether the preference of the group 10 to 25 is the same as the survey group, as a result, whether the advertisement directed at such group will be successful is hard to predicted.

Last but not least, the author fails to provide the reasons why the sales of video games of Whirlwind have decreased in the past two years. It might because the video games have not as popular as before, so people already chose other kind if games to replace the video games. If this is true, the prediction that the sales of the video games of Whirlwind will increase in the next few months will properly not be realized. Furthermore, the author still does not consider other video game companies’ strategies. It is possible that there are a lot of companies that also produced video game, they might improve the quality of their products and also make promotions. As a result, Whirlwind is possible going to meet tough competition in the market and its sales are hard to increase a lot as the editorial asserts.

Before Whirlwind decide what kind of video games should be introduced to the players and whether to make relevant advertisement campaign, the company needs to get more information about what kind of games the players is willing to pay for and the exactly age group that will play such games. If the company wants to evaluate its future sales and profits, it still needs to consider a lot more aspects such as the reason why the former sales declined and the possible strategies of its opponents in the video games’ markets.