Image: Mortal Kombat box art. Warner Bros.

Take that, Ebert. The US National Endowment for the Arts, which dishes out cash to artists seeking to make non-profitable art for the public good, now counts video games as art.

The NEA category previously known as “The Arts on Radio and Television,” has been retitled “The Arts in Media.” In addition to radio and television, projects that come on satellite or the internet, or in the form of interactive games will also qualify.

Game makers seeking to do something other than sell their work commercially can apply for a grant of up to $200,000.

So the NEA isn’t about to turn over the cash for the next Mortal Kombat, but this is a great symbolic victory. Games are on their way to being recognized as a respectable art form by the old and established.

Source: The Escapist