I find this article almost insulting to my sensibilities.
The jist of the message here is that games should not be viewed as art, or as a medium capable of mind expanding creations. While it is true the majority of the human population is quite unsophisticated and unappreciative of "art" or high culture, that does not necessarily mean that there isn't a group of people/consumers who do not appreciate something with a little more meat.
You proclaim that I am unlikely to enjoy the movies most movie critics rate high or the books most book critics rate high -however you are sorely mistaken. I watch movies, read books, listen to music and play games that I can take something away from -knowledge, reflection, something to expand my mental horizons. I do not play or watch movies for fun, while that may be a pleasantry, my focus is on the artistic substance of the product and I buy based on what I believe will provide me with a mind expanding experience.
Developers making high culture games aren't doing it for folks like me, they're doing it because THEY themselves are like me. They enjoy challanging their intellects and wish to create games/films,etc that they believe may shape/expanding the mind of other people. Jonathan Blow doesn't give a crap whether his game sells a million units or not, he explicitly stated that his goal is to provide a game that will expand people mnds/thinking and make the concept of artistic games more acceptable to the general populace.
Games/movies that garner high sales will always be the main driving force of any capatlist industry, however to discredit the existence of people/developers and a market that does indeed want more from their games and movies and music is doing a disservice to us all. Just as fun/escapist entertainment has it's place so should artistic products that defy the pressures of the make money machine.
