^I'd take issue with your definition that games can't be art. If the issue is interactivity, then take performance art. Or a play...is it not art to the people contributing to it? Can it only be art when viewed from outside the creation? What about mystery novels? There is a certain interplay between the author and the readers that the author anticipates when writing. A good mystery novel is a dialogue, not a narrative. I don't think "art" precludes participation.
But regardless, I think we're both on the side of appreciating the craft involved in some games. I would submit several other games as deserving similar consideration and appreciation (though, like art, subjective preferences in style will affect your appreciation):
For old skool Disney fans:
nature-lovers:
if you've ever wanted to be inside a Japanese watercolor painting:
or be in a noir serial-killer film where your choices affect the outcome:
or dance with a surrealistic landscape that dances back with you:
see WWI as Van Gogh would've:
or go exploring with Norman Reedus through a post-apocalyptic future landscape:
There should be something there for everybody, whether you call it art or just artistic. People are truly creating some amazing work that should be preserved along with other creative works.