Table 5. An overview of selected studies examining the effectiveness of motivational strategies and approaches particularly for exergame adherence over the long-term.

Reference	Exergaming activity	Activity duration	Outcome measure	Results	Limitations
Self-determination theory
Limperos & Schmierbach (2016)	Biggest loser—skate or splash (Nintendo Wii)	30 s to 10 min	Enjoyment, competence, autonomy, presence, future intention	Better performance is associated with great levels of autonomy, competence, presence, enjoyment and future intentions to play.	Sample population: College students only; not longitudinal study.
Lin et al. (2012)	Walking, running, jumping	15 min	Enjoyment, effort for gameplay, motivation for future play, self-efficacy	Autonomy-supportive and competence-supportive game features leads to greater game enjoyment and motivation for future play, whereas satisfaction supportive game features leads to more energy expenditure.	Studied only group of game features, not individual game features. Gamers only, do not apply to non-gamers.
Osorio, Moffat & Sykes (2012)	Wii Sports, DDR	N/A	Motivation with respect to SDT	Enjoyment of social interactions is a major factor for playing exergames.	Small sample size, university students only.
Staiano et al. (2016)	Group-based dance exergames—for example: Just Dance	60 min sessions, 3 times a week for 12-weeks	Physical Activity, self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation	Intervention group reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation and improved self-efficacy toward physical activity compared to the control group.	Limited to obese female adolescents.
Gamification
Zhao et al. (2017)	Walking, running, cycling	70 days—ranging from 4 to 6 min/session	Time, satis-faction, encourage-ment, enjoyment	Gradual release of game features is effective at keeping players engaged.	Sample population: university students only; environment: indoors only.
Geelan et al. (2016)	Augmented cycling and rowing exercises	30–90 min	Energy expenditure, physical intensity, duration and enjoyment	Augmenting traditional exercise equipment with gamified elements can increase the time spent exercising, when compared to non-gamified exercise equipment.	Small sample size, short-term.
Competition and cooperation
Staiano, Abraham & Calvert (2013)	Nintendo Wii sports games	20-weeks, 30-60 min per day	Changes in weight, peer support, self-efficacy, and self-esteem	Cooperative game is more effective than competitive game for weight loss.	Studied only children (15–19 years old); small sample size; only one measure of body adiposity (weight).
Chan, Whitehead & Parush (2017)	Virtual bocce	1 h	Enjoyment and social influence	Competitive pairings enjoyed competitive game scenarios, whereas cooperative pairings enjoyed cooperative game scenarios.	Small sample size; unbalanced gender and attitude pairings.
Song et al. (2013)	Hula Hoop, a Nintendo Wii Fit program	10–18 min	Intrinsic motivation, mood, exercise efficacy, competitive-ness, expected competence, heart rate	Highly-competitive individuals enjoy competitive game settings, whereas non-competitive individuals do not enjoy competitive game settings.	Short-term study; manipulation of competition context was limited to employing external factors (e.g., a reward system) rather than changing the exergame content itself.
Shaw et al. (2016b)	Virtual cycling	Three 10 min exercise sessions	Enjoyment and motivation	Competitive trainer profile is motivating for competitively inclined individuals and cooperative trainer is more motivating for goal oriented individuals.	Small sample size; short pilot study.
Peng & Crouse (2013)	Space-Pop Mini game (Kinect Adventure)	Two rounds—2 min and 20 s.	Enjoyment and motivation	Parallel competition in separate physical spaces was the optimal mode, leads to both high enjoyment and future play motivation and high physical intensity.	Cooperation in different physical space and competition in the same physical space was not studied.
Situational interest
Pasco et al. (2017)	Stationary biking	15 min	Situational interest and physical activity levels	A mobile application-based exergame capable of being wirelessly paired to an exercise bike can promote light physical activity, situational interest, and other important psychological determinants of physical activity participation compared to traditional biking exercise.	College students only; short-term study; game not challenging enough for highly fit individuals.
Sun (2013)	Wii Sports—dance games	Twice a week and each lesson was 30 min long	Enjoyment	Prolonged exposure to exergaming activities may lead to decreased perception of situational interest, which might lead to lower motivation to engage in exergames-based physical activity in the future. Boys perceived exergaming experience to be more enjoyable than girls. The use of a variety of types of games might result in enhanced physical activity intensity over time.	Results based only on children; students were required to participate in the exergaming activities as part of the physical education program rather than the opportunity for choice, and thus, limited autonomy.
Social interaction
Mueller, Gibbs & Vetere (2010)	Table tennis	30–60 min	Playing experience	Anticipation and accountability are key themes for the design of social play specific to exertion games.	Limited to one particular game; based only on qualitative observations and analysis.
Park et al. (2012)	Running on a treadmill	Four 20-min sessions over 2 weeks	Enjoyment, energy expenditure, competition and cooperation	Cooperative play increases social interaction—there is a relationship between individual willingness, derived intrinsically or from the relation between co-players, and cooperation and the cooperation experience.	Small sample size; 20–25 year olds only; no features to prevent overexertion.
Kooiman & Sheehan (2015b)	Virtual bowling and virtual table tennis	40 min	Intrinsic motivation—relatedness	Motivation is high in online and non-player character exergaming contexts.	Results based on children only (ages 11–18) and short-term.
Kaos et al. (2019)	Networked, cycling-based exergame	6 weeks	Win rate, time as indicator of engagement, total physical activity and belonging-ness.	Players who actively engaged in social play had significantly higher exergame adherence compared to players who primarily played alone.	An exploratory study based on post hoc analysis of data collected in an earlier study and lack of personality assessment.