Smithsonian calls video games art, adds two to permanent collection

Smithsonian calls video games art, adds two to permanent collection

Dec 18th 2013, 11:40, by Rich McCormick

While society at large questions whether video games can be art, to the world's largest museum, the question has already been answered. The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced yesterday that it has added two video games to its permanent collection: thatgamecompany's hypnotic Flower, and Halo 2600, a side-scrolling de-make of Xbox shooter Halo.
Both games can be seen in the Smithsonian's The Art of Video Games exhibition, currently on tour in the United States. In a statement, the museum called Flower — in which players control the wind — "an entirely new kind of physical and virtual choreography." Interactivity was also cited as a reason for its inclusion in the collection, with the museum saying "the work cannot be fully...
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