Exergames, video games that mediate physical exercise, have been used with demonstrable success to improve physical fitness. However, the health impact that exergames can achieve is not restricted to increasing the amount of players’ physical activity. These games have been used in other aspects of healthcare, such as cognitive training and mood-improvement, and may reduce the burden of treatment experienced by patients. To measure such parameters, researchers require different kinds of methodologies that can assess the subjective perceptions of patients and take into account the social relatedness, autonomy, and sense of competence offered by good exergames. This article provides an overview of the health benefits of exergames that have been measured to date, the methods by which the data on these benefits has been obtained, and the design principles that maximize the self-motivation that serious games can evoke from their players. We provide an analysis on the factors that propelled Pokémon GO (Niantic, 2016a) into becoming one of the most successful exergames in recent memory and the apparent decline of interest towards the game. By assessing the lessons learned from Pokémon GO, as an example of successful exergame design, and by developing innovative and comprehensive methodologies for evaluating effects, this paper suggests how exergames more broadly may better serve the holistic health benefits of players at a large scale.
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