Are videogames art? For most gamers the answer is simple. Just as TV, movies, music and books are art, videogames are as well. They may be more interactive than those mediums, at least from the perspective of those who engage with them, but they’re art nonetheless. It’s likely most in the game industry agree as well, except for one very big name.
Former Nintendo dev Takaya Imamura has taken to social media to share some thoughts on Shigeru Miyamoto from a developer perspective, and he says the Mario creator doesn’t look at games as art, but instead sees them as a product.
Mr. Miyamoto studied industrial design at an art university and views games not as “works of art” but as “products.” I believe this perspective leads to game development that is more closely aligned with users.
[Takaya Imamura]
We’ve often heard about how Miyamoto looks at games in ways most developers would never even consider, so it’s not all that surprising to see him look at games as products rather than works of art. Just as Imamura says, this approach likely does make for a better experience for the player, but you’d have to imagine that’s in terms of gameplay specifically.
It would be very interesting to see what other game developers consider their projects as far as games or products go. There’s no right or wrong answer of course, but their comments would no doubt lead to all kinds of engaging conversations.
