noname2200 on 12 September 2008
Interesting discussion you have here, and it's too bad more folks haven't joined it.
Personally, I don't see games as "art" at all: I see them purely as commercial objects whose purpose is to entertain. This view neatly avoids the complications you've set forth; it acknowledges that game quality is purely subjective (i.e. only my tastes matter to me) while also realizing that sales can be indicative of the majority's opinion (although as you wrote, sales are influenced by other factors as well).
I guess this means we're on opposite ends of the spectrum, though, since you want to see games as art, whereas I think that when game designers see themselves as artists, they're increasingly likely to forget that their only job is to entertain me.
