title: Business Models for Successfully Maintaining Games for Health.
abstract: Videogames for health provide innovative, exciting, and possibly highly effective new media for helping players change their behaviors or otherwise benefit their health. Getting the right videogames into the hands of players who can benefit most in a way that pays for the continued innovation and creation of such games is a current challenge. Entertainment videogame companies, which create games primarily to enhance players' enjoyment, have used the general business marketplace (e.g., online stores, walk-in stores, app stores) to deliver their products directly to consumers and earn enough capital to invest in making new products. No one believes, however, that enough kids or adults would use the general business marketplace to purchase games for health in sufficient volume to provide the down payment for the innovation and creation of new games for health. A successful business model is critical to the financial future of games for health. We asked members of our Editorial Board who are in health-related companies (Fikry Isaac, MD, MPH), in several game development companies (Chris Ashford, Ron Goldman, David J. Lenihan, Brent Poole, and Richard Buday, FAIA), and the head of the Games for Health Europe Foundation (Jurriaan van Rijswijk, MSc) to address questions in a roundtable about the current and possible future business models for games for health.
authors.affiliation: 1 Professor of Pediatrics (Behavioral Nutrition), USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, Texas; and Editor-in-Chief, Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., New Rochelle, New York.
authors.forename: Moderator Tom
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Baranowski
authors.affiliation: 2 Vice President of Global Services, Johnson & Johnson , New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Participants Fikry
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Isaac
authors.affiliation: 3 Business Development, Blue Marble Game Company , Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ashford
authors.affiliation: 4 Co-founder and CEO, Kognito Interactive , New York, New York.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: 5 Chairman and CEO, Healthper, Inc. , Princeton, New Jersey.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lenihan
authors.affiliation: 5 Chairman and CEO, Healthper, Inc. , Princeton, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.affiliation: 7 President, Archimage/Playnormous , Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buday
authors.affiliation: 8 Chairman, Games for Health Europe Foundation , Helmond, The Netherlands .
authors.forename: Jurriaan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Rijswijk