The way you describe music here sounds a lot like how Steve Pinker has described music: as a mental equivalent of cheesecake;...isn't necessarily nutritious itself.
Note that I didn't mean that in a negative way. Also, if you want to consume macro-nutrients, cheesecake is a pretty effective way to get simple carbs and dairy fat.
is strongly tied to social bonding, emotions and motor systems in ways that have nothing to do with the symbolic aspects of language.
I think there is something akin to this that can be found in games, and that there is something particularly positive that can be found in well constructed games.