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Coach potatoes beware: Wii owners will be able to get an even more vigorous workout from December when Nintendo launches a new fitness balance board for its hit video game console.
The "Wii Fit" board and software can be used for exercising, sports and games including yoga, virtual snowboarding, ski-jumping and aerobics.
The board, which looks like a bathroom scale, is the latest salvo in Nintendo's battle to widen the appeal of video games beyond just teenagers locked away in their bedrooms.
So what will it cost?
Nintendo announced on Wednesday that the package would go on sale in Japan from 1 December for 8800 yen ($75). Launch dates for other countries were not announced.
Last year's launch of the Wii and its motion-sensitive controller — which can be used like a tennis racket, golf club or bowling ball — triggered a slew of reports of aching backs and sore shoulders in homes around the world.
It even led to injuries that have been dubbed "Wii elbow", a complaint not dissimilar to the inflamed elbow joint common among tennis players, prompting warnings from medical professionals.
Nintendo said it discouraged players weighing more than 136 kilos from using the new balance board.
Taking fitness online
The company also announced it would launch "Wii Ware" — a new service to download games and other software via the internet — from next March.
"We know that any player will get bored with any type of game console," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told a packed press conference near Tokyo.
"In order not to have the Wii end up as a temporary phenomenon, we need to enlarge the gaming population," he said.
Iwata said he wanted to expand the usage of the Wii beyond the living room — where it is generally kept and used — and into the online world.
Although 51 percent of Japanese households have broadband internet access, only 40 percent of Wii users go online with their console, he said.
Nintendo is enjoying huge success with the Wii, far outselling rival Sony with its PlayStation 3.
The Kyoto-based company announced it will launch a total of 70 brand new software titles in the coming months for its Wii console including "Super Mario Galaxy" or "Mario and Sonic at Beijing Olympics".
But the long-awaited "Smash Brothers X" will be delayed by several months until 24 January.
AFP
