Nintendo’s plan to bulk up the appeal of its Wii video-game system among consumers who normally would dismiss it as kid’s stuff is poised to get a major boost later this spring with its highly anticipated exercise game, Wii Fit.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting the game – more of a virtual personal trainer than a traditional shoot ’em up or sports fantasy – could be one of the industry’s biggest blockbusters of 2008.
“Wii Fit will sell 3 million to 4 million in the US if they market aggressively,” he told The Post.
Indeed, Nintendo is said to be thinking big.
Pachter said execs have told him that Wii Fit, due in stores May 19, will receive the largest marketing launch in company history – with a budget as high as $40 million.
Some analysts expect Nintendo to start upping the output of its still-scarce consoles, getting more of them into Target and Best Buy while reducing focus on specialized retailers like GameStop.
The company – which has yet to make public its marketing strategy – declined to comment.
Wii Fit is already a hit in Japan, where it has sold more than 1.5 million units since its release last December.
In a record-setting 2007, only three games topped sales of 3 million units in the US, according to NPD – Microsoft’s Halo 3, at 4.8 million units, Nintendo’s Wii Play, at 4.1 million, and Activision’s Call of Duty IV, at 3 million.
Wii Fit stresses four main categories of physical activity – balance, aerobics, yoga and strength training – and while Nintendo excutives aren’t billing the game as a replacement for exercise, they are pitching it as a pastime that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Users can track their weight and training progress and receive points for performing tasks using good form and increased intensity.
The game also comes with an electronic balance board that allows users to measure their weight and body-mass index, and guides them through such activities as yoga poses and muscle-toning exercises.
Wii Fit it is the latest in a series of games Nintendo is pushing – a group that also includes last year’s Wii Play – that focus on socialization and activities designed to appeal to consumers who don’t typically purchase video games.
Total video-game industry sales in the US jumped 43 percent last year to $17.9 billion, according to NPD.