Editing Roger Ebert (section)

===Views on video games as an art form===

In 2005, Ebert opined that video games are not art, and are inferior to media created through authorial control, such as film and literature, stating, "video games can be elegant, subtle, sophisticated, challenging and visually wonderful," but "the nature of the medium prevents it from moving beyond craftsmanship to the stature of art."<ref>{{cite web |first=Roger |last=Ebert |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-genders |title=Why did the chicken cross the genders? |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |date=November 27, 2005 |access-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-date=December 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220104729/http://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-genders |url-status=live }}</ref> This resulted in negative reaction from video game enthusiasts,<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=December 6, 2005 |title=Gamers fire flaming posts, e-mails |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/gamers-fire-flaming-posts-e-mails |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622031553/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/COMMENTARY/51206002 |archive-date=June 22, 2012 |access-date=February 22, 2025 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref> such as writer [[Clive Barker]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/games-are-indeed-art-says-barker |first=Androvich |last=Mark |title=Games are indeed art, says Barker
 |publisher=gamesindustry.biz |date=June 27, 2007 |access-date=February 22, 2025}}</ref> who defended [[video games as an art form]]. Responding to Barker, Ebert wrote, "I believe art is created by an artist. If you change it, you become the artist," and said that the main attributes of video games "have more in common with sports" than they do with arts.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/COMMENTARY/70721001 |first=Roger |last=Ebert |title=Games vs. Art: Ebert vs. Barker |publisher=[[RogerEbert.com]] |date=July 21, 2007 |access-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-date=February 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211235435/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/COMMENTARY/70721001 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Ebert maintained his position in 2010, but conceded that he should not have expressed this skepticism without being more familiar with the actual experience of playing them. He admitted that he barely played video games: "I have played ''[[Cosmology of Kyoto]]'' which I enormously enjoyed, and ''[[Myst]]'' for which I lacked the patience."<ref name="lawn">{{cite web |author=Ebert, Roger |date=July 1, 2010 |url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703023952/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 3, 2010 |title=Okay, Kids, Play on my Lawn |website=Roger Ebert's Journal }}</ref> In the article, Ebert wrote, "It is quite possible a game could someday be great art."<ref name="lawn"/>

Ebert had reviewed ''Cosmology of Kyoto'' for ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' in 1994, and had praised the exploration, depth, and graphics found in the game, writing "This is the most beguiling computer game I have encountered, a seamless blend of information, adventure, humor, and imagination — the gruesome side-by-side with the divine."<ref name="cosmo1">{{cite magazine |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Cosmology of Kyoto |url=https://www.wired.com/1994/09/cosmology-of-kyoto/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214204358/https://www.wired.com/1994/09/cosmology-of-kyoto/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Ebert filed one other video game-related article for ''Wired'' in 1994, in which he described his visit to [[Sega]]'s [[Joypolis]] arcade in Tokyo.<ref name="wired2">{{cite magazine |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Sega's Tokyo Joypolis |url=https://www.wired.com/1994/12/segas-tokyo-joypolis/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214204358/https://www.wired.com/1994/12/segas-tokyo-joypolis/ |url-status=live }}</ref>