Will videogames ever be considered a valid form of artistic expression?

Thanks to remarks made by famed film critic Roger Ebert, claiming that videogames are not "high art," a heated debate has begun and caused a divide between those who share Mr. Ebert's view and those in the gaming world who take the opposing viewpoint. Regardless of your position, it's certainly a topic worth discussing simply because the emotion displayed by those on both sides of the argument is remarkable.

When I was growing up in the late seventies and early eighties, no such debate would have been necessary. The gaming experience at that time was little more than the "blip-bleep" sounds of an Atari 2600 gaming console. The limitations of the hardware and software during those early days prohibited programmers from truly fleshing out their vision for all to see. Corners had to be cut and sacrifices made to get the product out to consumers and I don't think anyone with even a passing knowledge of videogames would try to make the argument that they were art.

Perhaps the issue is easily resolved by arriving at a definition of "art" that could be applied universally. Before I get into that, let me build my case by providing examples of art that surely most can agree upon. A painting, or portrait is often considered art. A photograph can most certainly be art and even human beings are commonly considered to be works of art. These are the types of things that individuals will hold up as art. They will travel long distances to view it, read about it in books and discuss the work, sometimes to ad nauseam.

Moving into what might be considered the gray areas we have music, films and performing arts. I rarely meet the person who disagrees with the notion that Beethoven was an artist and his canvas was classical music. If you ask someone about the artistry of Eminem and how his music has affected modern culture, you can be certain that many would take issue with his classification as an artist. Citizen Kane is one of the most revered films in history. Would you say the same thing about The 40 Year Old Virgin? If you go to a rundown storehouse in London to see some chap piss on the wall, attempting to make a statement about his troubled life, would that be considered art?