Explaining the Usage Intentions of Exergames

Abstract

Different kinds of digital gaming concepts that combine exercise and games, commonly referred to as exergames, have become increasingly common in recent years. These games, which can be used because of both hedonic and utilitarian reasons, have also become a subject of growing interest among academic researchers. However, the factors that explain their usage remain vaguely understood. This study aims to find out what kinds of factors explain the intentions to use exergames as part of one’s exercise. To do this, we first propose a new theoretical model for explaining the usage intentions of exergames and then empirically test this model by analyzing an online survey sample collected from 271 Finnish console-based exergame owners through structural equation modeling (SEM). We find the model to perform exceptionally well and to propose several interesting and important implications for both the development and marketing of exergames.