I do believe that games can be art, but I think the biggest problem is that 99% of games are made to make money. In the end, even the greatest designers can only pick one objective, and when it comes to sharing a vision, or putting in a features so that more people buy the game, it's going to be the game selling features that win out.

Games with AAA quality require multiple millions to create. No one is giving the lone artist in their loft the time or money to create anything on that scale, and they probably can't afford it on their own.

The closest you will get to games being art are the solo developers who are making smaller games with a purpose, who put their creation out there for free, for all to see. There are probably a few small games out there like this, but heck if I know where or what they are.

Games in their current form are considered the same kind of art that say a coca-cola logo, or any other kind of ad campaign has art. It's commercially driven work that looks nice with the focus on generating a profit. If you can consider the guy who make the nike swoosh logo an artist, then any game developer should work too.