The original purpose of video games was entertainment, and for the most part it will be difficult to change that notion. However, in recent years, there have been moves for games to go beyond this objective and find usefulness in the rehabilitation and even treatment of individuals with certain types of disabilities, especially those who have to face obstacles as a result of a stroke, cerebral palsy, or other types of injuries.

This paper undertakes a study of selected scientific works in order to present the various perspectives from research on video games and their potential to assist the medical and social sciences, with ways to benefit people with various disabilities. The authors found that there are thousands of studies of this nature and thus chose to focus on 93 of them.

It would seem that many studies focus on individuals with physical disabilities who are not able to play video games because of the tools for play. It is therefore suggested that controllers will need to be developed during the design process to consider the needs of such individuals. It requires a change in the mindset of developers and the collaboration of professionals in the computer science, game design, and physiotherapy fields, to name just a few.

This paper shows that there is increasing interest in the study and development of games. The most recent focus of attention is the development of adaptive or universal hardware and software to allow users to play games with a facility commensurate to that of non-disabled people. Studies seem to indicate that the use of games may lead to better well-being and physical improvement. And the devices need not be high-cost or sophisticated medical equipment. The preference was rather for more low-cost devices such as the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect. The paper also indicates that if one were to choose a focus and it was between accessibility and rehabilitation, the efforts at rehabilitation are of more interest.

This study of studies on the accessibility of digital games for users and the potential for the rehabilitation of disabled users is obviously only the beginning. In fact, a recent Wall Street Journal article points to an attempt by game makers to develop video games that could replace pills in the treatment of individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Obviously, the first steps are being taken.