▲
3
▼
Prolific film critic Roger Ebert controversially believed that video games could never be considered art. While maintaining his position in 2010, he admitted he should not have expressed this skepticism without considering their future and being more familiar with actually playing them, saying:
He brought up the hypocrisy that despite his views, he did play and enjoy a video game once before: Cosmology of Kyoto, which he wrote a positive review for in the September 1994 issue of Wired magazine and is the only game he was known to have enjoyed. The only other video game he admitted to playing was Myst, which he said he "lacked the patience" for. Ebert also recounted a moment where a Sony employee offered to lend him a PlayStation 3 and a copy of the game Flower, but he admitted to intentionally stalling and declining the offer. He wrote one more game-related article in December 1994 for Wired, in which he visited Sega's Joypolis arcade in Tokyo, Japan, but only briefly mentioned their arcade games and focused more on the state-of-the-art rides and attractions.
"My error in the first place was to think I could make a convincing argument on purely theoretical grounds. What I was saying is that video games could not in principle be Art. That was a foolish position to take, particularly as it seemed to apply to the entire unseen future of games. This was pointed out to me maybe hundreds of times. How could I disagree? It is quite possible a game could someday be great Art."
He brought up the hypocrisy that despite his views, he did play and enjoy a video game once before: Cosmology of Kyoto, which he wrote a positive review for in the September 1994 issue of Wired magazine and is the only game he was known to have enjoyed. The only other video game he admitted to playing was Myst, which he said he "lacked the patience" for. Ebert also recounted a moment where a Sony employee offered to lend him a PlayStation 3 and a copy of the game Flower, but he admitted to intentionally stalling and declining the offer. He wrote one more game-related article in December 1994 for Wired, in which he visited Sega's Joypolis arcade in Tokyo, Japan, but only briefly mentioned their arcade games and focused more on the state-of-the-art rides and attractions.
Cosmology of Kyoto review:
https://www.wired.com/1994/09/cosmology-of-kyoto/
Sega's Joypolis article:
https://www.wired.com/1994/12/segas-tokyo-joypolis/
Roger Ebert articles:
https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/video-games-can-never-be-art
https://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-genders
https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/gamers-fire-flaming-posts-e-mails
Roger Ebert 2010 journal entry:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100811003526/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html
Kotaku article:
http://kotaku.com/5921865/the-video-game-roger-ebert-loved
https://www.wired.com/1994/09/cosmology-of-kyoto/
Sega's Joypolis article:
https://www.wired.com/1994/12/segas-tokyo-joypolis/
Roger Ebert articles:
https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/video-games-can-never-be-art
https://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-genders
https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/gamers-fire-flaming-posts-e-mails
Roger Ebert 2010 journal entry:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100811003526/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html
Kotaku article:
http://kotaku.com/5921865/the-video-game-roger-ebert-loved
Related Games
Gran Turismo 2
Tearaway
Wild Arms 2
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Toro to Kyuujistu
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Bushido Blade
The Legend of Dragoon
Infamous: First Light
Samurai Shodown III
Dino Crisis 2
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
The King of Fighters '95
Warhawk
Destruction Derby
Thirsty Suitors
The Playroom
Gex
GrimGrimoire
Gran Turismo 5
The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Infamous
Crash Bandicoot
Until Dawn
God of War Ragnarök
Tobal No. 1
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
McDonald's Original: Happy Disc
Wild Arms
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Jak and Daxter Collection
Legaia 2: Duel Saga
Real Bout Fatal Fury
Space Channel 5
Xenogears
Twisted Metal
God of War: Chains of Olympus
The Unfinished Swan
Siren: Blood Curse
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
MLB 15: The Show
Boku no Natsuyasumi
Dark Cloud 2
Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
Tomba!
Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Mega Man X4