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Nintendo Launches Fitness Product, Online Games for the Wii

Nintendo is forging into new video game territory yet again, with today's announcement of a new exercise product for the WIi called Wii Fit. The product, scheduled to launch on May 19 in the U.S., comes with a weight and motion-sensing device called a Wii Balance Board, which measures users' shifting weight as they stand on the platform in front of their TV sets. Wii Fit has already sold 1.4 million units since its Dec. 2 launch in Japan; it will retail for less than $100.

Nintendo says more than 10 third party game developers are working on titles for the new device, one of which will be a skiing game from Namco Bandai.

Separately, the company is also launching a new online service called WiiWare that allows game publishers to distribute new titles over the Internet directly to consumers instead of on discs. Nintendo says publishers won't need the company's approval to distribute games over WiiWare, although they will need to get them rated by an industry rating system.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »

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