More initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
De
More initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft

Three Questions to: RetroBrain R&D - Working on the Intersection between Gaming and Eldercare

The Hamburg-based company RetroBrain R&D is exploring the fascinating cross-section of an easy-to-use game console for the elder generation that has not come into touch with video games so often yet, while also functioning as a medical device that increases their physical and mental fitness.

The topic has been in the talks in the industry for quite some time, and maybe you have even already spotted a Nintendo Wii in a care facility in the past. However, RetroBrain R&D is broaching the field with scientific backing and so we were interested to learn more about them and their project. We took the opportunity to ask Manouchehr Shamsrizi, Co-Founder and former CEO of RetroBrain R&D a few questions.

What is the memoreBox and what inspired the idea? Why did you choose Hamburg as your seat of operations?

On the one hand, the memoreBox is an easy-to-use gaming console for elderly people. On the other hand, it is a medical device aiming to increase physical and mental fitness as well as inclusion while playing. As such, it is “among the first videogames worldwide certified as a medical device” and one of the first digital solutions in nursing eligible for reimbursement by health insurances in Germany. We founded RetroBrain R&D, the social business behind the memoreBox, to change both, the practice of care (and notably of the availableness of prevention in care), but also the idea - or one might say: the “Menschenbild” - of our aging society: No matter how old or ill you are, thanks to video games, you can have fun, be active and autonomously, and make your own decision. Working at the interface of gaming, digital health, and social entrepreneurship we needed to find a region which can provide us with access to all three ecosystems - thus, Hamburg is the perfect city for us! We still have a strong bond to Berlin, though, as RetroBrain R&D is a spinoff of the gamelab.berlin, a research group of the Humboldt-Universität.

The memoreBox, the gesture controlled gaming console

You recently conducted a study on the effects of the memoreBox, could you describe this study and its findings?

The effects of our memoreBox are studied regularly and very interdisciplinary, as the impact we strive for happens on various levels. This is both needed for advancing our games (and thus our impact), as well as required by regulations - after all, we are working with and on a medical device here, even if it is a lot of fun, as it should be! Indeed, very recently a group of scientists featuring, among others, psychologists Prof. Dr. Reinhard Beyer and Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Luzi Beyer, published the results of longstanding study in a peer-reviewed journal. They concluded that “the results of this study showed that the intervention had an impact on the cognitive abilities of seniors, provided that they regularly played the serious game of MemoreBox”, and that “[i]mplementing an easy-to-use serious game as an effective (prevention) tool and making it part of the standard care in nursing homes might contribute considerably to the weak health care system, in which there tends to be a lack of activating offers for senior citizens in partially inpatient care facilities”.

Users playing on the console

What is your company’s vision (or prediction) for the future of the memoreBox and the area of games for seniors overall?

At RetroBrain R&D we believe that video games will be among the most effective non-pharmaceutical interventions, and have huge therapeutic, preventive, and rehabilitative potentials. For the current version of our memoreBox, we recently formed strong partnerships, like with Schenker Technologies - renowned for its brand XMG - to cope with the rising demand which results from the recent positive decision on regular reimbursement (“Regelversorgung”) by leading statutory health insurance providers in Germany. Other partnerships will allow us to further expand our impact to the rest of Europe, which we started to work on in Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. In general, “Health Games” are here to stay, not only for seniors - it does not have to be grueling, boring and dreadful to maintain or regain your health, quite the contrary: It is more sustainable, productive and ethically desirable when staying healthy is fun. Encouragingly, the potential of “Health Games” has been recognized by many important and influential stakeholders here in Germany, including the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds - which a few months ago included gaming and gamification in its guidelines on health prevention - and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which just recently called on our Federal Government to broach the issue of “Health Games”. Both the gamescom last year and the upcoming Capital Congress Medicine and Health, each a leading event of their industry, gave / give special attention to this debate - anyone who is interested is invited to join us there this week.

This, by the way, is also a huge chance for Hamburg and our many indie game studios: I am convinced that we are in a “pole position” for this trend, thanks to our strong gaming-community, our research institutions, and the funding programmes offered by the City of Hamburg, like InnoRampUp. We should make use of these resources, as there are many more games to develop and much more impact to bring about! Let me finish with an invitation: Please reach out to us, if you work on “Health Games” or want to start working on such games - we are very happy to share our experiences, just as we have been supported by fellow (social) entrepreneurs when we started in 2014 :-)

--

Want to know more about the "memoreBox"? Check out the company's website: https://www.retrobrain.de/
 

News

Queer Games Bundle 2023 - Our Top 5 Games

Pride Month 2023 has just started and so has the third edition of the Queer Games Bundle on itch.io. It features 460+ items from 293 creators exploring queer topics. This bundle supports queer creators and celebrates the diversity of their games. We took a closer look at the bundle and chose our top 5 games, which we would love to play.

Gamecity Treff - The 20th Anniversary in Review

For this special edition celebrating the 20th anniversary of Gamecity Hamburg and the esteemed Gamecity Treff, we met up with Hamburg's games industry at the Jupiter.

Daedalic's "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum" Out Now

Daedalic Entertainment is releasing the long-anticipated "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum", a new adventure mixed with action elements exploring the story of the iconic Lord of the Rings character today.

Radioactive Dreams releases Turbo Shell

After receiving the Prototype Funding in 2020, Hamburg-based Radioactive Dreams finally release the game "Turbo Shell".

Games Lift: No expiration date!

This year, Gamecity Hamburg's Games Lift Incubator is doing the same as in previous ones: it's evolving.

Prototype Funding 2023: 410.000 euros for 6 Projects from Hamburg

Gamecity Hamburg funds 6 digital game prototypes with 410,000 euros in its 20th anniversary year.

Application Start for Games Lift Incubator 2023

Developer teams can now apply from May 2 until June 20 for our Games Lift Incubator. This is their chance to get professional input on their game ideas and to successfully develop and market their game projects.

Games Lift Insights 2023: Workshop with Cassia Curran on May 16

At this Games Lift Insights workshop, indie devs will get an impression of what awaits in the incubator with a talk on "Basic Market Analysis for Indies" by Business Development and Strategic Advisor Cassia Curran. The Gamecity Hamburg Team will share insights into the Games Lift Incubator and application process as well.

Networking after the speeches and panel discussion at Hamburg City Hall / Photo by Marcelo Hernandez

Celebrating 20 Years of Gamecity Hamburg at the Hamburg City Hall

At the invitation of the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the games industry celebrated 20 years of Gamecity Hamburg in the City Hall.

Kristin von der Wense (Daedalic Entertainment) was one of the experts in the 1:1 feedback sessions

Pitch Level Up 2023 in Review

At our second edition of the Pitch Level Up participating devs, founders and students got valuable insights and tips from our industry experts on pitching and optimizing their pitch decks in talks and 1:1 feedback sessions at the Hamburger Ding.

20 years supporting Hamburg's games industry!

Founded in 2003, Gamecity Hamburg was the first public funding institution for the games industry at the state level in Germany. We want to celebrate 20 years of supporting and being part of the wonderful games industry in Hamburg.

ROCKFISH Games CEO Michael Schade

ROCKFISH Games releases EVERSPACE 2

After five years of development and two years in Early Access, the single-player space shooter EVERSPACE 2 from Hamburg-based studio ROCKFISH Games will be released on April 6. In an interview with CEO Michael Schade, we talked about the long journey to the game's release and the studio's experiences.

More News
Cookies are used to make this website work and to enhance your experience.

To learn more about the types of cookies this website uses, see our Cookie Policy. You can decide for yourself which categories you want to allow. Please note that based on your settings, not all functions of the website may be available.

Cookies are used to make this website work and to enhance your experience.

To learn more about the types of cookies this website uses, see our Cookie Policy. You can decide for yourself which categories you want to allow. Please note that based on your settings, not all functions of the website may be available.

Your cookie preferences have been saved.