Roger Ebert started some sh*t when he stated that games could not be art… The Cultist from the Miami New Times would like a word with you, sir. He cites 5 games that can be considered works of art, including our very own Bit.Trip BEAT.

“Famed movie critic Rogert Ebert recently said that video games will never be works of art. Overnight, he and his thumbs became major objects of ire for gamers across the globe. And although he later apologized and retracted his statement — no doubt due to internet trolls bombarding his website and uploading hate videos to YouTube — Ebert raised an interesting question: Can video games exist on the same cultural level as movies or literature?”

See the full article here.

What do you guys think? Can videogames be considered art? Discuss via our high-tech, web 2.0 commenting system below.

WOW. We didn’t think it was possible, but someone by the name of Sophie497 has scored a perfect in Bit.Trip Beat’s Growth level. Call it a triumph of the human spirit or a freak of nature… Either way we salute you Sophie497.

A Winner is us!

NintendoLife awarded Gaijin Games Best Sound AND Best Developer of the Year! Congrats guys!

Full article here.

Keep an eye out for the latest on what these guys have cooking for 2010!

Still on the fence about giving the BIT.TRIP games a whirl?

Let us give you a boost and help you over that fence with a BIT.TRIP BEAT Demo!

The excellent folks over at paperfoldables.com made this totally sweet CommanderVideo paper foldable for us!  It was even featured on paperkraft.net just now!

Just browse to BIT.TRIP BEAT in the Wii Shop Channel…

And select “Update”!

This update won’t affect your savegame data, but it will affect your overall awesomeness as a human being. And playing some more BEAT is great practice for BIT.TRIP VOID, coming out on 11/23/09 in the States!

The Bit.Trip soundtrack is now available on Itunes!

For all you BIT.TRIP FANATICS out there, Gaijin Games has just released the BIT.TRIP BEAT Official Soundtrack via CDBaby!

It should be available on Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic, Napster, and a slew of other music retail services on 10/27/09 as well!

Buy it now on CDBaby!

Also, follow the ongoing BIT.TRIP VOID coverage on Destructoid for the rest of the week as they finish out their “Mastering the Beats” BIT.TRIP exclusive feature!

Click here to purchase!

Have you been yearning for a shirt that plainly tells the world “I own a Nintendo Wii”, without ever actually mentioning the Wii? Then this is the shirt for you. It is also the shirt for you if you have played and enjoyed any or all of the Bit.Trip games (if you have played, but not enjoyed, any of the Bit.Trip games, we are unfortunately barred by California law from selling this shirt to you). It is also the shirt for you if you have never heard of Bit.Trip, or the Wii, or “Video Games”, but enjoy covering your naked torso with the soft, luxurious fabric of Gildan Heavy Cotton.

In short, this is a shirt made—intended, even—for use by human beings—by you. So waste no time in your clicking of the “Add to Cart” button, as quantities are limited, and when they are gone, you will be left with only the cold loneliness of an empty, unforgiving universe.

Note: Although the shirt reads “I am only a man”, our engineers tell us that it can be worn by women, with no ill effects.

Please specify size when ordering.

A sneak peak at what you can expect in the next game after Bit.Trip Void on Destructoid’s continuing coverage of Gaijin Games and the Bit.Trip series.

http://www.destructoid.com/game-4-coming-next-in-the-bit-trip-series-152845.phtml

The week long Gaijin Games feature continues on at Destructoid.com with a look at the Future of Gaijin Games and what they have planned for Commander Video. Check it out here!

Commander Video is not just a man… He can be a cute one too. If you didn’t know, Commander Video is rumored to be an unlockable character in Team Meat’s upcoming Super Meat Boy game for WiiWare.

Art by Edmund McMillen

Win a bag of the most delicious bag of air from our homies at Gaijin Games. Details below.

“THE GAME IS AFOOT” well, contest really… The rules are simple, you send us the cheesiest photo or photos of yourself and we will post them here. Photos will be judged by the Gaijin team and the winner will receive one “Super Party Size” bag of “Earl’s Cheese Puffs” The King of cheddar treats.

Send your images to… contests@gaijingames.com
Contest ends: Friday June 19th 2009

It’s cool to see the guys at Collegehumor.com recognize Bit.Trip Beat for the awesome game that it is. Fast forward to 1:34.

I ripped this directly from our homies at Gaijin Games. Apparently, they’re gonna hook you up with Bit.Trip Beat if you partake in their scavenger hunt at GDC. Details after the jump.

If you’re going to be at the Game Developers Conference this Wednesday through Friday, try to land your peepers on one of these CommanderVideo envelopes that will be hidden around Moscone Center.

In each envelope are instructions on how to redeem your free copy of the debut game in the BIT.TRIP series.

We’ll be stashing two of these each day, starting on Wednesday.

Have fun! We hope to see you at the show!

Continue rocking on. Over and out.

Check out this nifty interview with the Gaijin Game doods. Rockstars!

http://www.wiiware-world.com/reviews/2009/03/bittrip_beat

Update! Bit.Trip Beat has brought the awesome, but don’t take our word for it.

http://www.torontothumbs.com/2009/03/18/review-bittrip-beat/

http://gparcade.blogfaction.com/article/107313/wiiware-review-bit-trip-beat/

http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2009/03/20/joystiq-review-bit-trip-beat-wiiware/

Skip lunch today and go get your “Beat” on.

We’ve got some special announcements for all the people of the Aksys Nation. Firstly, the Character Designer for Battle Fantasia, Ms. Emiko Iwasaki, graces us with some answers to some interesting questions. Also, we announce the winner of the “Most Awesome Word” contest, as well as announce a new contest, one that we surely won’t regret, and I came up with a new censoring scheme. Plus, Aksys wants YOU on the Street Team! Find out how to join by listening to this podcast.

Welcome to Aksys Nation Podcast #15

• Gail
• Harry
• Bo
• Noba
• Aaron

News

• BB console has been announced! Are you excited? We are.
• Bit.Trip Beat released on Wii Shop Channel!
• Interview with Emiko Iwasaki, Character Designer for Battle Fantasia

Mailbag

• Nobafan 87
• Jason
• Terranrox
• The Pretender

Contests and Reminders

• In Podcast #13: Win a Podcast Edition we had a contest for who could come up with the coolest word and we’ve narrowed it down to the following:
  • Apophenia – Seeing patterns where there are none
  • Slattern – Whore
  • Vainglorious – Boastful
  • Slattern is the winner, and that gets someone a BlazBlue poster!
• “A writing contest is also nice where the subscribers could write a creative story using the aksys crew as characters while using a list of words they MUST use.”
• Thanks for this interesting contest Terranrox! You win a Calamity Pack! Here are the words everyone MUST use:
  • Commander Video
  • Harry
  • Noba
  • Gail
  • Aaron
  • Bo
  • Mary and Chris (Must be used together exactly like this)
  • Apophenia
  • Slattern
  • Vainglorious
• You get until the podcast after next to submit your entry, so get on that! Send entries to podcast(at)aksysgames(dot)com with the subject line “Aksys Author Contest.”

Street Team

• 1st mission for the Street Team: We give you a picture of Commander Video. You go and leave it somewhere in the world and take a photo of it. Send it to us and you get access to the Street Team. Once you’ve emailed us proof that you have completed the mission you’ll be given special access to the Street Team section of the website where you can blog your mission results and share your pictures with other street teamers.
• Must be 18 or older to enter. If you’re about to turn 18, don’t worry, this mission will be ongoing and there will be other opportunities.
• Send all applications to streetteam(at)aksysgames(dot)com.

Closing Comments & Thank Yous

• Special note from Aaron: If you want to friend me on Steam or something and would like to play sometime, I’m all down for that, but please tell me who you are or else I’ll most likely ignore you. Even if it’s a message saying “Hey, I’m a fan of Aksys/the podcast, let’s play sometime”, that’s fine. There’s plenty of Aaron to go around.
• Don’t forget to send questions/comments to podcast(at)aksysgames(dot)com and review us on iTunes!

Want to know more about the men behind the madness that is Bit.Trip Beat, check out these interviews.

http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/technobabble/2009/03/17/twin-cities-native-creates-latest-wii-game/

http://www.twgnews.com/2009/03/16/twgnews-gaijin-games-interview/

If you thought we were blowing smoke up your butt when we said this game was shiznatty boombatty then check out IGN’s sweet review on Bit.Trip Beat on…well IGN.

“If you’re into retro gaming though, and if the style and sounds of Bit.Trip Beat have intrigued you enough to follow the game – or if you find yourself interested now – it’s a great buy.” – IGN.com

Bit.Trip Beat Review on IGN

We knew people would go blind from overexposure to the pure awesomeness that Bit.Trip Beat is, but don’t take our word for it. Click here for Gamespot’s New York Comic Con Tour and skip to the 6 minute mark. Video after the jump.