Nintendo set to launch "Wii Fit" exercise game

By Scott Hillis

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 (Reuters) - For years, video games have been blamed for turning kids into idle layabouts who only venture off the couch to fill up on potato chips and soda.

Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) now aims to shatter that image with a game that aims to get players off the couch and lead them to stretch, shake and sweat their way to a healthy life.

"Wii Fit," which arrives on U.S. store shelves on Monday, is expected to draw new customers to Nintendo's wildly popular Wii video game console.

It is forecast to be the industry's latest blockbuster game after last month's "Grand Theft Auto 4," the criminal action title that racked up $500 million in global sales in one week.

"They'll sell everything they can manufacture," said Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald. "It extends the life cycle of the Wii a little bit and gets people to go out and buy another game from Nintendo."

The Wii has proven to be the runaway hit of the video game industry, thanks to its easy-to-learn motion-sensing controller, simple games and low price.

U.S. consumers bought 714,000 Wiis in April, nearly double the sales of Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 combined.

At the other end of the spectrum from "Grand Theft Auto 4," "Wii Fit" coaches players through more than 40 exercises that range from tightrope-walking to yoga stances to push-ups.