Are Video Games Art?

Smuts asks the same question that seems to keep coming up again and again, are video games art? He states that this question has not been addressed in philosophy of art field, despite it being asked over and over by players, developers and game studies scholars.

My personal opinion is yes, of course games like any medium can be art, but the more interesting question as Smuts raises, is what kind? i.e., what are the aesthetics of game play? This has to be a plural answer as the nature of interactivity and play varies with each game. It is possible to talk about the aesthetics of ludus and paidia as many have before, and about the aesthetics of embodiment as I have in my MA thesis, but to subsume all video game play under a single, comprehensive umbrella would be too broad to be useful.

Ebert, Roger. Games vs. Art: Ebert vs. Barker (Chicago Sun-Times, 21st July 2007).
gamepolitics. Are Video Games Art? (Game Politics, 9th September 2006).
Musgrove, Mike. Monster Fun. But Is It Art? (Washington Post, 15th September 2007).
Ochalla, Bryan. Are Games Art? (Here We Go Again...) (Gamasutra, 16th March 2007).
Smuts, Aaron. Are Video Games Art? (Contemporary Aesthetics, 2nd November 2005).
Smuts, Aaron. Video Games and the Philosophy of Art (Aethetics Online, 10th February 2007).
tmenezes. Are Games Art? (Kuro5hin, 10th September 2002).
White, Gareth. Embodied Evil - The Aesthetics of Embodiment in Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (University of the West of England, 20th August 2007).