GDC Exergame Session (Serious Games Summit)

Totally pumped to go to my 1st GDC in San Francisco! Our session will be moderated by Ian Bogost and will focus on Exergaming's successful commercial run of late.


Over a Billion Dollars Can't Be Wrong: Is Exergaming Success a Victory for Serious Games?
Speaker: Ian Bogost (Associate Professor, The Georgia Institute of Technology), Barbara Chamberlin (Extension Instructional Design and Educational Media Specialist, New Mexico State University Media Productions), Sheryl Flynn (Founder/CEO, Blue Marble), Ernie Medina (Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, MedPlay Technologies), Stephen Yang (Assistant Professor, SUNY Cortland)
Date/Time: Wednesday (March 10, 2010)   4:15pm — 5:15pm
Location (room): Room 133, North Hall
Experience Level: All
Summit: Serious Games Summit
Format: 60-minute Panel

Session Description
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.

Idea Takeaway
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.


GDC

GDC Overview
Introduction

The Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is the world’s largest professionals-only game industry event. Presented every spring in San Francisco, it is the essential forum for learning, inspiration, and networking for the creators of computer, console, handheld, mobile, and online games.

The GDC attracts over 17,000 attendees, and is the primary forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry.