Why the Music Industry Hates Guitar Hero by Jeff Howe

Jeff Howe is clearly against the whole idea of Guitar Hero from his negative review of the popular game.  His general argument is that the music industry and Guitar Hero should not fight but instead work together to make an even stronger game.  He obviously does not think his audience will be the producers of the game or the record labels because of his use of destructive language.  However, he might just want to irritate the music industry.   He calls the music industry “whiny”.  Whiny has a negative connotation associated with it and certainly is an attack on the music industry.  He is calling their argument for more money foolish.  His critical analysis is characterized by harsh language that judges the music industry and Guitar Hero severely.  Every sentence feels like an attack against the two warring industries.  However, he does not only refute their war but concedes a point to the music industry’s benefit.  Even with this concession he states “to be fair” which does not really sound like he wants to give them the benefit they are owed.  His language becomes less judgmental when he gives examples of new ways that the game could be developed in the future.  He is simply stating those examples instead of attacking other ideas that the company may have making his argument more effective.

Howe does a fantastic job of showing the reader how he feels about the subject through his use of diction.  He conveys logically that the industries’ squabble is unwarranted by questioning their every move.  He does vary his argument more by adding some ways that they could make the game better than the “crappy graphics, plastic guitars, and epic hooks.”  This variance is to the author’s benefit.  Without this then he would have just been seen as an attacker with no real objective other than to take down the games credentials without any real helpful progress.  Overall his argument was logical and I could see his side more clearly than I could support the defense.