There have been countless conversations about whether or not games constitute art. Most recently, this debate was fired up by the winter PS2 title Okami, which played like a Japanese watercolour brought to life, though its creator Atsushi Inaba tried to suppress the perception by demurring, “we are simply making a game here.”

At least if that in-development Bob Ross: Joy of Painting Wii game finally gets made, its creators will be more than happy to proclaim it so.

In 2006, Toronto saw game-themed exhibitions like “Controller: Artists Crack The Game Code” and “Play: The Art Of Xbox 360” which respectively placed a “remixed” Super Mario and videogame concept art onto gallery walls.

Currently, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences are assembling Into the Pixel, an “exploration and celebration of the art of the video game” which will be framed and displayed at this summer’s E3 conference (and later shown to the public at the new E for All Expo).

Fine, but what about the consoles themselves? Can they be art? Nintendo sure thinks so. They’ve just launched The Art of Wii contest which runs through the end of April. Gamers tired of their plain ol’ white Wii can enter to win a fully-functional hand-painted console.

Working with Toronto’s much-loved Magic Pony, a shop-slash-gallery that combines art and toys, Nintendo has commissioned six artists to pimp their Wiis--including Gary Taxali, an India-born, Toronto-raised artist whose very first vinyl toy made it into New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art; Hoi-An Tang, a multi-media Tdot artist specializing in cute cartoon characters; Toronto punk band illScarlett; and Arnold Tsang, of Udon Entertainment, a multi-city artist collective that made its name via manga-inspired comics. The final two artists remain under wraps for now.

Now all this is very cool, though it would be cooler if these were actually purchasable by the masses. Xbox had the right idea with the 360’s removable faceplate--I‘m a huge fan of the flash faux-wood front  as I have very vague memories of my childhood Colecovision console having fake wood on it. Though there are more artistic options on offer as well. But still, it’s just the faceplate.

Obviously, mass-production requires a certain same-iness, but Nintendo's already made a bundle selling special-edition DS’ (my wife drools over the pink one) while homemade white, red and silver PS3s are being sold on eBay for big bucks--and that's just for different colours! 

Hell, if skateboards can boast so many rad designs, why should our consoles be stuck on bland?