Pets.com became the poster-child of the internet bubble in the late 1990s when, within a year, it went from a celebrated IPO to...a liquidated, bankrupt company. A lot had to do with the inability to deliver on hopes of reducing logistical/storage costs of bulky goods as it just wasn't feasible to deliver cat litter on the cheap. The concept may have looked good on paper, but reality imposed higher and quicker costs than anticipated. And eventually the bubble burst. (And yet the internet still survives!)
Gaming in Medicine seems to be at a similar embroyonic stage. Good ideas come by each day. For example, multiple researchers view the Nintendo WII as a natural aide for rehabilation purposes - for recovery after ACL surgeries, for improving balance among nursing home residents, or for creating a virtual reality for post-stroke patients. But so far, the evidence in published trials haven't been very positive.
The conclusion from a Cochrane review reports the following:
"We found limited evidence that the use of virtual reality and interactive video gaming may be beneficial in improving arm function and ADL function when compared with the same dose of conventional therapy. There was insufficient evidence to reach conclusions about the effect of virtual reality and interactive video gaming on grip strength or gait speed. It is unclear at present which characteristics of virtual reality are most important and it is unknown whether effects are sustained in the longer term. Furthermore, there are currently very few studies evaluating the use of commercial gaming consoles (such as the Nintendo Wii)."
Perhaps the concept itself of using virtual reality modules or interactive gaming itself is flawed...but unlikely. More probably, we still haven't figured out the right levers to pull on these machines to accomodate the intersection of diseases and patients best. Much like the internet didn't just fold after the bubble burst (and people had to go back to the store to buy cat litter) in the 90s, gaming will likely be prominent in medicine in the next few decades. It'll just take retooling and then refining of the tools.
(Meanwhile, don't bet your retirement portfolio on these companies/products yet.)
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