Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima: 'Games Are Not Art'

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<i>"I don't think they're art either, videogames," he said, referring to Roger Ebert's recent commentary on the same subject. "The thing is, art is something that radiates the artist, the person who creates that piece of art. If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever that piece radiates, it's art. But videogames aren't trying to capture one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play that game should enjoy the service provided by that videogame. It's something of a service. It's not art. But I guess the way of providing service with that videogame is an artistic style, a form of art."</i>

Hmmm.... I used to edit a paper zine called SMAC, for which I once commissioned an essay from Atari-founder Nolan Bushnell on whether video games were art. His answer: no. The issue coincided with SMAC's panel on the same subject, written up here in Wired (where Bushnell explains his position), in 2001--the olden days! ~marisa

Originally posted on unmediated by del.icio.us/regine::regine