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under 100$!

Interview: Reggie Fils-Aime on Wii Fit

It comes out May 19 for "under $100." NOA's president fills us in on the details.

by Matt Casamassina

February 20, 2008 - With nearly 1.3 million units in homes, Nintendo's exercise-themed videogame, Wii Fit, has become one of the fastest-selling Wii titles in Japan. Now, Nintendo of America is gearing up to duplicate the success of its parent company. The U.S. subsidiary revealed this morning that Wii Fit will debut in America on May 19 for "under $100." We chatted with company president Reggie Fils-Aime about NOA's plans for the project. In the paragraphs below, Reggie discusses how many units of Wii Fit will be available at launch, the massive marketing campaign supporting the project, and how many Wii Balance Board-compatible games are already in development.

IGN: What exactly is Wii Fit's price and when will it release?

Reggie Fils-Aime: In terms of the release, let's start there. We're going to be announcing that Wii Fit will be launching on May 19. Price for the Wii Fit Board and the software is under $100 -- we're still working to finalize the price given currency exchanges, etcetera, but under $100 bucks.

IGN: In Japan, it was around $83. Do you think you'll be able to release at a comparable price?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We do. And again, it really all comes down to the exchange rate and all of the costs inherent with the Balance Board. It's a heavy piece of equipment but certainly from a consumer standpoint, it's going to represent a fantastic value.

IGN: Wii Fit has sold upward of 1.2 million units in Japan already. Still, though, it's a pretty pricey peripheral. Do you think you're going to have any trouble selling the title in America?

Reggie Fils-Aime: Absolutely not. The reception by consumers in Japan for Wii Fit has been phenomenal. We think here in the United States the reaction will be just as strong if not stronger given the American focus and psyche on being fit, and the game itself is going to be localized for our audience. We expect to have comparable success here in the U.S. if not a stronger result than what Japan has seen so far.

NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime

Reggie Fils-Aime: We are. Our sights are set very high for the this product so our goal is to make sure we have over a million units available at launch to support it.

IGN: How important is Wii Fit to Nintendo this year?

Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii Fit is extremely important, just as Smash Bros. and Mario Kart for Wii are important. Wii Fit specifically in our mind is the follow-on title for the expanded audience -- a way for them to take their gaming experience one step further after they've played with Wii Sports and after they've played a little Guitar Hero. This is something that will continue to expand their gaming experiences and from that standpoint it's critically important to have a successful launch here.

IGN: We don't think you will have any trouble hitting the casual sector, but what about the hardcore? Are you going after them with Wii Fit, too?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We absolutely will. We've seen the core consumer have just as much fun playing Wii Sports as the casual gamer. We expect the core to be thrilled with Wii Fit because it has such a wide range of experiences. It's more than just the aerobic or stretching exercises -- there are quite a number of other mini-games, if you will, embedded in the software that we think will speak to the core consumer.

Wii Fit in motion.

Reggie Fils-Aime: You know, for the launch of Wii we executed a number of non-traditional programs and that thrust will continue with Wii Fit. You can expect to see it on morning national programs. You can expect to see it on female-oriented programs. There will be a broad Internet program leveraging Cammie's [Dunaway, NOA's executive vice president of sales and marketing] knowledge of that space. And there will also be traditional prime time TV advertising. It will likely be our largest launch of the year from a total dollar spend standpoint.

IGN: The big question is, can you get Wii Fit on Oprah Winfrey?

Reggie Fils-Aime: [Laughs] Oprah is a pretty tough customer, but we've had a lot of success and we're having very good negotiations and conversations with a range of different outlets, so hopefully we'll see Oprah working on her fitness with Wii Fit.

IGN: What're the chances of a Wii Fit console bundle and how soon might such a package come to fruition?

Reggie Fils-Aime: In terms of Wii hardware bundled with Wii Fit? As you know, Matt, we continue to sell out of Wii consoles as soon as we put them into the market and until we've gotten to a point of stable demand and supply, I don't see any different package configurations hitting the market. While a Wii Fit plus Wii console would be a fantastic idea, until we've got much more product into the marketplace, it just doesn't make sense to even contemplate it right now.

According to Reggie, NOA will have more than one million copies of Wii Fit ready for the U.S. launch.

Reggie Fils-Aime: Our goal is to get to the point where supply is in line in demand and you're absolutely right, Matt, that Smash plus Wii Fit plus Kart plus WiiWare and all of the other initiatives that we have going on just in the first half of the year, we will be quite strained to get as much product into the marketplace to meet that demand.

IGN: Do you see Wii Fit as a game or an exercise program?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We see it as both. It combines fun and fitness in a way that's never been done before.

IGN: Have you done any kind of studies to determine how effective Wii Fit is as a weight loss or dietary solution?

Reggie Fils-Aime: We have seen consumers make up their own exercise routines just as with Wii Sports. Our expectation is that with the four different types of activities provided in Wii Fit that it can absolutely be a critical part of person's healthy regime.

One of the many mini-games in Wii Fit.

Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii Fit does create a Channel on your Wii console. What that allows you to do is to track your progress and monitor your BMI activity, so you'll be able to see simple graphs to show you how you're doing.

IGN: Wii Fit is destined to -- like Wii Sports -- enjoy a long shelf life. However, are you planning any initiatives to ensure that the experience stays fresh? Perhaps downloadable updates over WiiConnect24?

Reggie Fils-Aime: This title absolutely will have a long life and we will be supporting it with marketing initiatives for quite some time. In terms of WiiConnect24 type of activity, it's too premature to be speaking to that, but the game itself is not Wi-Fi enabled.

Wii systems are likely to remain sold out for the next several months.

Reggie Fils-Aime: I think what you're speaking to is, from a consumer perspective, help me feel good about this purchase. There are over 10 games in development that take advantage of the Balance Board. Certainly in terms of ongoing enjoyment, we believe that Wii Fit plus the Balance Board will provide that to the consumer.

IGN: Thanks Reggie. Any final comments to fans getting excited for Wii Fit's release in America?

Reggie Fils-Aime: All I can say is that between Smash Bros, WiiWare and Wii Fit, we think we've got a fantastic lineup of content for every type of consumer -- even your most die-hard fans out there, Matt; we think they're going to be thrilled over the next number of months.

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