Session Name: | Over a Billion Dollars Can't Be Wrong: Is Exergaming Success a Victory for Serious Games? |
Speaker(s): | Ian Bogost, Barbara Chamberlin, Sheryl Flynn, Ernie Medina, Stephen Yang |
Company Name(s): | The Georgia Institute of Technology, New Mexico State University Media Productions, Blue Marble, MedPlay Technologies, SUNY Cortland |
Track / Format: | Serious Games Summit |
Overview: | On a global retail basis the sales numbers for exergaming are quite significant. Over a billion dollars has been spent on products including Wii Fit, EA Sports Active, and Gillian Michaels. However, does this represent a stunning victory for game products that offer their audience something specifically beyond entertainment? This panel of leading exergame experts and researchers will assess the success of exergame products, pointing out how unique and powerful they can be. Despite identifying the success the panel will shine a spotlight on how despite the commercial success of exergaming its potential for important health outcomes is lagging. The goal is not to bemoan the differential most exercise products experience between sales and the reality of their use but to instead argue how exergames can succeed at closing their own delta between units shipped and healthy lives supported. |