Nintendo will start selling its Wii Fit home fitness game in Japan in time for the critical year-end shopping season, an announcement that sent its shares to a record high.
Nintendo`s announcement comes just a day after Sony said it would cut the price of its PlayStation 3 by 10% in Japan and launch a new, lower-priced PS3 model, to battle Nintendo`s dominance.
The new game, which goes on sale on 1 December for 8 800 yen ($75), features the Wii Balance Board, a pressure-sensing mat that looks like a set of bathroom scales and can sense when a person moves and leans, enabling players to "head" virtual soccer balls and experience ski jumping on a TV screen.
The board can also be used for such activities as yoga and aerobics.
The new software is likely to be the next major sales driver for Nintendo`s Wii game console after initial demand was stirred by popularity of Wii Sports software, which lets gamers play a virtual tennis match in the living room, analysts have said.
The Wii has far outsold Sony`s PS3 since the two consoles were launched late last year as Nintendo`s strategy to offer easy-to-play but innovative games expanded the gaming population beyond young males to women and the elderly.
"This is our most important product for this coming year-end," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told a news conference. "With Wii Fit, we will be aiming to expand the definition of videogames as well as our user base."
Sony has packed its cutting-edge technology such as a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player in the PS3, enabling lifelike graphics.
But the advanced functions have driven up manufacturing costs and made it difficult and time-consuming for software creators to develop PS3 games.
Shares in Nintendo closed up 4.9% at 65 800 yen, a record closing high, while Sony fell 0.7% to 5 780 yen and the Nikkei average was up 0.1%.
Nintendo, locked in battle with Sony and Microsoft in the global videogame industry, said Wii Fit will be launched in overseas markets in 2008.
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