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The Smithsonian wants your favorite video games

Doug Gross
"Mass Effect 2" is one of the games expected to be featured in the Smithsonian's the Art of Video Games next month.
"Mass Effect 2" is one of the games expected to be featured in the Smithsonian's the Art of Video Games next month.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Video game fans can vote on entries to the Smithsonian's "The Art of Video Games" show
  • Exhibit will feature 80 games from the past four decades of gaming
  • Smithsonian urges voters to pick visually stunning games, not just their favorites
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(CNN) -- Is "Donkey Kong" art?

Should one of the world's best-known museums honor"Heavy Rain" or "Call of Duty: Black Ops?"

The Smithsonian wants you to help decide.

Next month, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will debut the Art of Video Games, an exhibit chronicling what the museum calls the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium.

"Video games use images, actions and player participation to tell stories and engage their audiences," the Smithsonian says on the exhibit's website. "In the same way as film, animation and performance, they can be considered a compelling and influential form of narrative art."

Now, video game fans can vote to help decide some of the games that will be featured. Between now and April 7, the public is invited to vote online.

Go to the Smithsonian's voting site for the Art of Video Games.

The games exhibited will appear alongside videos, playable games, installations and other features planned for the exhibit, which runs until September.

Visitors can vote for 80 games out of a list of 240 assembled by the museum.

The voting is divided up into time periods and games for different consoles. As users scroll through the list, they're shown groups of three games and allowed to vote for one in each group.

For example, one grouping for the Playstation 2 presents the choice between "Tony Hawk's Underground 2," "God of War" and "Shadow of the Colossus."

For the more old-school gamer, a three-way showdown for the Nintendo Entertainment System matches up "Final Fantasy," "The Legend of Zelda" and "Shadowgate."

Read: Who says video games aren't art?

Voters are urged not to simply click on their favorite titles.

"Remember, this is an art exhibition, so be sure to vote for the games that you think are visually spectacular or boast innovative design," the site says.

[TECH: NEWSPULSE]

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