Ebert thinks games are 'getting a lot better', prefers knitting to gaming

Roger Ebert's feelings towards video games have been publicized in the gaming community as much as they have been criticized. That's why we feel that every time this cinematic adjudicator takes a step in our direction, its worth noting. Responding to a comment on his blog that references the second annual meeting of the Slate Year-End Gaming Club, in which New York Times' game reporter Seth Schiesel cited Ebert as an evaluational inspiration, Ebert conceded that he is "convinced that [video games] are getting a lot better."

Before you start planning the first annual "Roger Ebert Thinks Video Games Are Art" parade, you might want to check out the first part of his response, in which he says that video games aren't art. In fact, you may want to read the end of his response, in which he suggests that if he'd been told to review video games instead of films during his long, industrious career, he "would have taken up professional knitting." We'd typically take a supercilious jab at this type of dismissal -- but we've spent more than a few evenings debating between a round of Left 4 Dead or finishing up that half-completed tea cozy.