Hideo Kojima Says Games Aren't Art

Next Generation reports that, in a February OPM article, the maker of the Metal Gear series of games says games aren't art. From the article: "'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.'"

Comments

Just another silly distinction

[ajs]

This is yet another attempt for artists to justify themselves to themselves. It's very much like the old "what makes us better than animals," foolishness. What makes us better than animals is that we're not eaten by them on too regular a basis. What makes art art is the appreciation of an audience (sometimes that audience is only the artist). These are simple facts that will not change, regardless of how hard we try to classify those things that we like as art and those things that we do not like as whatever else we want to call them.

Now, that said, I'm not sure I see modern videogames being any better art than the fairgrounds of the early-to-mid 20th century. They are entertainment for the masses, and while both a fairground and a videogame are canvases on which art may be painted, we WILL look back at both as the pop-art of a generation in their own right.

Ebert can stuff his "movies are art but video games aren't," foolishness.

Re:What is art?

[HTH NE1]

Art is anything which invokes a sense of beauty in the observer.

Art can also invoke a sense of revulsion in the observer, such as Man Ray's "The Gift"--a flat iron with nails protruding from its flat surface--when presented as being for ironing the great paintings in the Louvre (i.e. shredding them).

Art is evocative. It produces an emotional reaction. Games exist in the realm of interactive artwork, and as they involve the viewer they can evoke more emotional reactions than a static work. When was the last time someone orther than the artist looked at a sculpture and felt the euphoria of personal achievement?

Art needs not be a success nor a failure to the masses to still be considered art. Even an artist claiming his own works of art are not art can be an artistic expression.

Others might say art is only art if it is pretentious.