For France, Video Games Are as Artful as Cinema

France is proud of its contribution to culture in such forms as existentialism, Impressionism and amateur films.

Now the French culture minister wants to add Donkey Kong to his country’s pantheon of high art. “Call me the minister of video games if you want — I am proud of this,” the minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, said in an interview last month. “People have looked down on video games for far too long, overlooking their great creativity and cultural value.” Mr. Donnedieu de Vabres is seeking to have video games recognized as a cultural industry eligible for tax breaks, similar to French cinema.

In March, he pinned medals from the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres — a prize awarded to acknowledge cultural accomplishments — on three prominent video game designers, including Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese creator of Donkey Kong.

» NY Times