Interest in exergames has grown in recent years, largely on account of their potential to replace sedentary leisure activity with active leisure activity. Instead of sitting in front of the television idle, mouth agape as we ponder our love for Raymond or hatred for House, we might step-to with DDR or jump around with Eye Toy.

Most of the games we celebrate for their exercise potential offer compelling entertainment experiences that also encourage (or better, demand) physical activity. And studies have coupled exergame play to measurable physical effects, from simple weight loss to cardiovascular health.

But all of these games and the studies that laud them celebrate the exercise potential of games, divorced from any cultural context in which exercise might happen naturally. And this division poses a real danger for this emerging genre. If exergames don’t start wrapping physical activity in credible social experiences, they will become as miserable and forgettable as any session with the exercise bike or the treadmill.

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