Dino sent me an email alerting me to this article at Slashdot, which makes mention of the recent decision by The Recording Academy to expand four Grammy award categories to include music from video game soundtracks. This news comes only a few short months after Christopher Tin won the Grammy for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists” for his masterful Baba Yetu, which was the theme from Civilization 4.

The four categories which have been expanded to include music from games — which, let’s face it, is often every bit as awesome as music from television shows and movies, are:

The Music for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)

Best Song Written for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)

Can it be long before games start getting their own specific award categories in things like the Grammys? I know there are the VGAs, which are kind of like the Oscars of gaming…but that’s not really the same thing. As the complexity of games and game plots increases, and as the quality thereof grows, I find myself beginning to wonder whether things like the Golden Globes and the Oscars will have to expand to cover gaming as well.