The Smithsonian American Art Museum – located in Washington, D.C. – added both Flower and Halo 2600 to its permanent collection. Their additions mark the museum's commitment to the preservation of video games as art.
Flower comes from Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago of thatgamecompany, where as Halo 2600 comes from Ed Fries – developer of an Atari 2600 version of Halo. You can play the game from the official website.
In the announcement of the additions of the two video games, director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Elizabeth Broun, expressed her excitement.
"The best video games are a great expression of art and culture in our democracy. I am excited that this new medium is now a permanent part of our collections alongside other forms of video, electronic and code-based art."
The Smithsonian American Art Museum started the 'The Art of Video Games' display in 2012 to exhibit the creativity and interactivity of the medium. The display continues its 10-city national tour. You can read about the exhibit on their official website.
