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Smithsonian's 'Art of Video Games' art chosen photo

In March of next year, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will open its "The Art of Video Games" exhibition. It will showcase 80 games in an exploration of 40 years of videogames.

Between February and April, the Smithsonian encouraged people to get online and vote for which games will make the cut. 3.7 million votes later, the games have been chosen, including everything from Pac-Man to Heavy Rain, Donkey Kong to Shadow of the Colossus.

The exhibition will also feature five games playable for visitors to experience for a few minutes: Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and World of Warcraft. Because a few minutes of World of Warcraft will give you a great idea of what that's all about.

The exhibit starts on March 16, 2012. The full list of winning games can be viewed online.








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54 comments | showing # 1 to 50
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next 50 comments

B P Farrell's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:36
B P Farrell
Tragic.

How did RapeLay not make this list?!
Mr Andy Dixon's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:40
Mr Andy Dixon
"including everything from Pac-Man to Heavy Rain, Donkey Kong to Shadow of the Colossus."

You spelled "Bulletstorm" wrong.
SBC Slam's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:43
SBC Slam
So, Dtoid... you gonna cover the NEA story, or what?

http://gaming.icrontic.com/article/nea-video-games-are-an-art-form/

You can thank me later...
Malfegor's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:44
Malfegor
I wonder what Roger Ebert thinks of this.
scouserboots's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:44
scouserboots
ICO should have been in that list. The game is a masterpiece of art and atmosphere. But Uncharted 2 is truly the most beautiful game I have played. It is the Angelina Jolie of video games.
KingOfRedLions's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:48
KingOfRedLions
The header image baffles me. How did they get Agro into the fight with the first colossus?
Pentagram's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:49
Pentagram
kind of amazed that neither Half Life made it on there.

But i love that Zelda appeared in every category it could, lol.
bbain's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/05/2011 23:55
bbain
Interesting... I don't know how I feel about this. I suppose it's a step in a good direction, although I'm a little confused by the categories, and I disagree with some of the choices.

Like... Marble Madness??? I mean, I own that game and everything. But it kind of sucks.
Na9Cl7's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:01
Na9Cl7
I was surprised Brutal Legend made the list....
bbain's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:01
bbain
Also, how are they going to display these games in the museum? Is there going to be someone playing them all day so that people can watch? Or are they just going to have still shots from the games? Or...?
goatnuke's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:02
goatnuke
Chrono Trigger getting beaten out is sad... hopefully it still gets a mention somewhere in the exhibit =/
AllenR's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:06
AllenR
World of Warcraft needs a level 85 character with a 310% speed flying mount to get an ideal of the art design of that game.
bbain's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:08
bbain
And another thing. I feel like not being able to play all of the games kind of defeats the purpose of the video game medium. Interactivity is what sets video games apart from other art forms, so just looking at them or watching them is akin to watching a movie or looking at a picture rather than actually being involved in the world of the game and making your own choices.

Sorry for posting so much, I'm just confused and a little excited.
WarZombie's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:08
WarZombie
A few solid entrees on there, but the fact that Star Fox: Assault made it and neither Half-Life or MGS3 did kinda spoils it a little for me. Should be interesting either way.
The Sama's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:15
The Sama
Huh... :/
P Marsh's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:23
P Marsh
Only thing that really itches me about this is that they chose Metal Gear Solid 2 over no.3 (almost unanimously known as the best in the series) and that Star Fox Assault was chosen over Ikaruga.
Aramsiel's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:24
Aramsiel
I was about to complain like a mad man, but then i remembered that its all about the art, so, in reality, they are really good choices.
Blitzard's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 00:59
Blitzard
The Secret of Monkey Island is there? That makes this exhibition 150% cooler.
Kanten's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 01:10
Kanten
Uh...what genre is 'Target', and why in god's name is Star Fox Assault on the list?
ShadeOfLight's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 01:13
ShadeOfLight
I get the impression that this turned out to be more of a popularity contest than finding out which games have the best art. How else would Psychonauts and Limbo lose out to Halo 2 and Mass Effect? Why was Muramasa: The Demon Blade not even nominated?

Oh well, they got some good picks for the most part, and first and foremost I'm happy that they even took the time to do all of this.
Corduroy Turtle's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 01:23
Corduroy Turtle
Sounds boring as fuck.
Pigmy Wurm's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 01:36
Pigmy Wurm
So many types not represented. Now I am a big mario and Zelda guy, but did they really need to put a mario game in for all but 1 nintendo console and a zelda game for every single one? I would have loved to see super metroid or chrono trigger on the SNES list (their are no old school JRPGs at all) and how about No More Heroes instead of Twilight Princess (although I'm not sure they would have been able to show much of that).

And the categories make no sense: why is metroid echoes an action game but windwaker is and adventure game when they both have similar amount of exploration, killing stuff, and finding secrets? Why is the first metal gear solid an action game while the second is for some reason a strategy game? Most of all, how is Diablo II a "target" game? Yeah I guess you have to aim your mouse, but if that is what you find challenging about it you are going to have some serious problems.
PrinceHeir's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 01:38
PrinceHeir
they better put Okami there :P
Starmac's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 01:43
Starmac
Metroid Prime 2 over 1 doesn't compute. Neither does the addition of Star Fox Assault.

Other than those two, not a terrible list. I'm excited for video games to get their chance to shine in a different light!
Frigidevil's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 02:27
Frigidevil
It's a shame A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger and Earthbound couldn't all win. They're all brilliant and unique enough to be called art.
Corey Buchillon's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 02:38
Corey Buchillon
I want to meet the people that voted Minecraft, take them out to dinner

and spit in their drinks.
Ema Skye's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 02:53
Ema Skye
@P Marsh - Star Fox Assault wasn't chosen over Ikaruga. Assault beat out Alien Hominid and P.N.03, while Ikaruga lost to Geometry Wars 2. I agree with your sentiment, but it's just the way they set up the voting process.
Taku128's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 03:01
Taku128
Heavy Rain is not art why the fuck did that piece of shit get included
M47R1X's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 03:16
M47R1X
Shade of Light is right. I'm sorry, but in my mind FF1 is more "art" than LoZ.

I really don't think that this should have been put to a public vote. I believe it should have been up to "experts" in the field, like long time game devs and editors for magazines or something. This same BS happened with the top 50 game characters in Guinness World book. Carl Johnson, are you friggin' kidding me? Over Tommy Verceti? I have lost faith in America. I believe that's the 178th time now :)
Jibberwocky's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 03:26
Jibberwocky
Why does anyone expect museum curators to know how to handle something like this? Of course it's fucked up.
Flamingboar's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 03:36
Flamingboar
@prince: Okami is there in all it's fuzzy glory!
Hohojirozame's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 03:47
Hohojirozame
A quirky list to say the least...
Dakilazical's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 03:59
Dakilazical
So is there gonna be one Smithsonian WOW character that visitors level up 5 minutes at a time?
tekbunny's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 04:15
tekbunny
wow is considered art and not a painfully expensive drug habit now? siiiiigh...
salamagogo's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 06:00
salamagogo
@princeheir; agreed, if okami didn't make the cut, then the list loses credibility...that's easily one of the most beautiful games out there..and better looking than most games out today..muramasa is another, though I haven't completed it yet, I do own it :)
MrJoe's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 06:06
MrJoe
It's sad that EarthBound didn't win it's category, but it was up against some really tough competition. I guess the fact that it was nominated at all is worth something.

Also, a couple of other choices really bug me, such as Sonic Adventure over Jet Grind Radio, the original Star Fox over Gradius III, and Tomb Raider over NiGHTS Into Dreams. This was more of a popularity contest than anything.
The Silent Protagonist's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 06:14
The Silent Protagonist
How did that bad movie, Heavy Rain, get in with all those video games?
SirNinjaFace's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 06:24
SirNinjaFace
pft... Where are the real art games like Narc, Samantha Fox strip poker, Thrill Kill or The Simpsons Wrestling?
HyperionMBD's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 07:50
HyperionMBD
@Karutomaru

Sorry, but the best game Clover Studios made is already included on that list. No need for them to have Viewtiful Joe 2.
Occams electric toothbrush's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 09:02
Occams electric toothbrush
This makes me fondant egg shell heart palpitate with tangible joy.
shadow2398's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 09:45
shadow2398
I keep forgetting this is about how pretty the games are... so why is WoW under "next gen"?
NickCull's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 09:50
NickCull
Destructoid MUST have coverage on this, and all the games that made it to the event. This is probably one of the most important moments for the gaming community as a whole, be you gamer, publisher, or developer. I just hope most gamers realize how important this is.
BoomingEchoes's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 09:51
BoomingEchoes
"Because a few minutes of World of Warcraft will give you a great idea of what that's all about."

Yep, because it'll teach people the nuance of the highly addictive rage quit.
BoomingEchoes's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 09:59
BoomingEchoes
@NickCull

While I'm tempted to agree I have to ask if you took part in the large poll that got the games picked, picked?

I did and it was pretty clear that while the Smithsonian is making a great effort to showcase gaming, it has little idea on how to handle this based on some of the games that made the poll lists and the groupings some of them were placed in. There was fairly big discrepancies made with some games, one particular instance I can remember was MGS1 being placed in one category in one generation while the largely similar MGS2 was placed in a completely different category in the following generation and there was no reasons given as to why that was.
Caitlin Cooke's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 10:10
Caitlin Cooke
I live in the DC area so I'm definitely checking this out in 2012 - I voted and was kind of disappointed at the results though. But hey, not complaining, I'll take video games in my museums over some other crappy exhibitions I've seen in the past...
Explosion2's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 10:17
Explosion2
@Corey Buchillon

to be fair,the other two choices in combat/strategy weren't really 'artsy.'
runtheplacered's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 11:51
runtheplacered
Very disappointing. This should be educational to those who don't play video games. Now they're going to see World of Warcraft and think "See, I knew it.. video games are a complete waste of time."

God dammit.
mrcecilman's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 12:20
mrcecilman
this is why you don't let the gaming populace vote. video games are such time consuming experiences that it's extremely difficult if not impossible to play all the great games, so people will just vote for games they've played over games they haven't, which is completely unfair. zelda is awesome, but it shouldn't win every category it's in.

imo they should have asked a large pool of game journos to do this.
tekbunny's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 13:12
tekbunny
Okay I actually read the list and now I'm pissed. Since when does art equate to a popularity contest? Is there NO ONE qualified to do this? Or is that rip off jumpman and that universally lauded as crap Sonic adventure REALLY considered art now?

If so, would someone mind shooting me in the face? Please?
Pityflame's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/06/2011 14:49
Pityflame
brutal legend made it but not LBP2? seriously, fuck this list
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