4 ms·

Ebert was a great film critic, but oddly, no one here seems to be talking about his one gigantic blind spot, which is his enduring and impenetrable belief that

Ebert was a great film critic, but oddly, no one here seems to be talking about his one gigantic blind spot, which is his enduring and impenetrable belief that video games are not art, could never be art, and have no artistic merit whatsoever. His half-hearted apology - "I still believe this, but I should never have said so." - is in no way a retraction or backdown from that belief. This is totally wrong. Movies are a subset of video games. Eventually, Ebert's remarks on video games will stand as a laughable monument to a by-gone era. So. Ebert had the potential to be the first great video game critic, ever. His massive background in movies would have served him well. But he didn't have the fortitude to make the jump. Who's going to be the first great video game critic ever?

hristov 14y ago
Nobody really cares about that. He never really got video games but he was old and nobody expected him to. Also, only pretentious fools spend anytime arguing about what is or isn't art. I think we will have to look for great video game critics from our generation.
- iansimon 14y ago
  Ian Bogost. Example review: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/hundreds-is-the-haute-couture-of-video-games/272600/ http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/hun...
tiredofcareer 14y ago
> This is totally wrong. That's your opinion, just as he had his. I find it interesting that you question his fortitude mere hours after his death, simply because he doesn't have the same opinion that you do on a topic that resonates with you and that you are passionate about. He probably didn't give two shits until the video game community ate him alive for saying it, then he had to pretend to give one shit. You're also assuming he would have wanted to review video games, even if he saw them as art. He chose to review film and rarely wandered, with the rest of his writing being mostly commentary on things not related to film or the arts; who are you to question his courage based on his choices and preferences? That's like me demanding that you write software for Windows Phone, with the caveat that I'll question your technical chops if you don't. I work with a lot of people that don't like video games. I don't like Brussels sprouts, and some people do. Who cares? Move on.
enneff 14y ago
Who cares? He didn't even play them. He's right, he has every right to believe what he wants, but he shouldn't have said anything about it because he's not qualified to comment.
- doomlaser 14y ago
  He actually did play the infamous NES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game quite a bit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gIsgd8yHL00#t=4m31s http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g...
objclxt 14y ago
> This is totally wrong. Movies are a subset of video games. That seems a little...subjective? There is certainly far more critical literature suggesting the opposite thing. Seems to me what you're saying is just as much an opinion as Ebert's.
AlexandrB 14y ago
> Movies are a subset of video games. This is just my opinion, but they are not. Videogames are not about the same things movies are. This is most clearly illustrated by how we define film genres vs. video game genres. Film genres are generally organized by thematic content or visual style, e.g. science-fiction, western, horror, etc. Video game genres are generally organized by their interactive element - platformers, first-person shooters, role-playing games, etc. Many of the best games are not about the plot or the visuals. Consider games like Minecraft, SimCity, Super Mario Brothers, or Tetris. These games connect with you because of what you do. Good cinema connects with you because of what you see.

hristov 14y ago

Nobody really cares about that. He never really got video games but he was old and nobody expected him to. Also, only pretentious fools spend anytime arguing about what is or isn't art. I think we will have to look for great video game critics from our generation.

iansimon 14y ago
Ian Bogost. Example review: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/hundreds-is-the-haute-couture-of-video-games/272600/ http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/hun...

tiredofcareer 14y ago

> This is totally wrong. That's your opinion, just as he had his. I find it interesting that you question his fortitude mere hours after his death, simply because he doesn't have the same opinion that you do on a topic that resonates with you and that you are passionate about. He probably didn't give two shits until the video game community ate him alive for saying it, then he had to pretend to give one shit. You're also assuming he would have wanted to review video games, even if he saw them as art. He chose to review film and rarely wandered, with the rest of his writing being mostly commentary on things not related to film or the arts; who are you to question his courage based on his choices and preferences? That's like me demanding that you write software for Windows Phone, with the caveat that I'll question your technical chops if you don't. I work with a lot of people that don't like video games. I don't like Brussels sprouts, and some people do. Who cares? Move on.

enneff 14y ago

Who cares? He didn't even play them. He's right, he has every right to believe what he wants, but he shouldn't have said anything about it because he's not qualified to comment.

doomlaser 14y ago
He actually did play the infamous NES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game quite a bit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gIsgd8yHL00#t=4m31s http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g...

objclxt 14y ago

> This is totally wrong. Movies are a subset of video games. That seems a little...subjective? There is certainly far more critical literature suggesting the opposite thing. Seems to me what you're saying is just as much an opinion as Ebert's.

AlexandrB 14y ago

> Movies are a subset of video games. This is just my opinion, but they are not. Videogames are not about the same things movies are. This is most clearly illustrated by how we define film genres vs. video game genres. Film genres are generally organized by thematic content or visual style, e.g. science-fiction, western, horror, etc. Video game genres are generally organized by their interactive element - platformers, first-person shooters, role-playing games, etc. Many of the best games are not about the plot or the visuals. Consider games like Minecraft, SimCity, Super Mario Brothers, or Tetris. These games connect with you because of what you do. Good cinema connects with you because of what you see.