I don’t worry too much though, what is art changes so much over time definitions are silly.

While asking ‘What is art?’ is a bit like asking ‘What is push?’.

Agreed, and thanks for the link to your article. I actually wrote some pithy comments about the Jack Thompsons of the world, but it came across as more… bitter and unconstructive than I’d intended. I have little use for politicians in general. There’s a definite set of concerns there, though, especially given the implications for First Amendment wrangling.

While I agree that Ebert is not exactly qualified to be a game critic, seeing has how he can’t even be bothered to play games, the problem here is that his opinion has a lot of impact. Other uninformed people will see his opinion and, given that he’s a respected movie critic, put weight behind his words. It doesn’t help that movies and games are closely related in many people’s minds (especially some game developers who are probably wannabe movie directors).

This ties back to the issue of legitimacy I’ve written about before. Ebert saying games aren’t really art hurts the industry as we struggle to be taken seriously. Games being art or not may not affect how we play them or how developers like us make games, but it certainly impacts how much other people view our work, particularly politicians who like to score cheap points trying to “protect the children”.