Videogame-related illness and injury: a review of the literature and predictions for Pokémon Go!

Abstract Objective: Reports of videogame-related illness and injury soon emerged in the literature with the inception of videogame systems and subsequent development of novel gaming platforms and technologies. In an effort to better detail the impacts of these phenomena and provide recommendations for injury prevention as it relates to Pokemon Go and the larger world of augmented reality games, we conducted an extensive systems-based review of past trends in videogame-related illness and injury from the literature. Materials and Methods: A literature review using PubMed, Medline, and PsycInfo databases with search terms “Pokemon GO,” “videogame injuries,” “augmented reality injuries,” and “Nintendo Injury” was performed. The search was limited to the English language, and the Boolean were used to combine the search terms. Results: The literature search yielded 359 peer-reviewed articles, 44 of which met the study criteria and included in the review. Seventeen additional popular press reports detailing inj...