Are games the ultimate interactive art form?

Games are already, by definition interactive.  What many people have deep reservations is the content: maybe the messages the games are sending aren't what's best for our society.

Art is about esthetics, and an appreciation for beauty and harmony, but art can also serve to shock and raise awareness of social justice issues.  Think of Pussy Riot and John Lennon; think of the painting "The Scream" by Edward Munch; think of novels like "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe...on a visceral level, we can identify with and learn from these what it's like to be someone else.  But in games you can actually BE someone else because you can have an avatar who can move around in a virtual world. 

If you want to make protest art, if you want people to really understand about human rights, poverty,  illness, injustice, war, maybe the best way to get the idea across is through a game.