Nintendo Wii Fit has gone to the dogs

Among Nintendo's most popular products in recent years is "Wii Fit," an exercise game which utilizes the plastic Wii Balance board. Now, Nintendo is trotting out a sequel called "Wii Fit Plus" (the branding team was out that week). Among the highlights? An option to weigh your family pet, and track Rover's fitness level alongside yours.

No word on exactly how this will pan out, and Nintendo says there aren't really any canine training exercises. But you can make an avatar of your dog, which is kind of cool, if you're into that sort of thing.

"It's so fun to have a motivator when you're working out," Katie Cray, Nintendo entertainment and trend marketing manager, told the Associated Press. "Obviously, if you have a dog, you're probably out there walking your dog and playing with it, and that's exercise in and of itself, so it's nice to have the ability to track the progress of both your dog and yourself."

Last month, Nintendo dropped the price on its best-selling Wii console from $250 to $200, saying the new price tag would make the top-selling system “even more appealing.”

Although the Wii still regularly bests sales figures from rival Sony and Microsoft consoles, the summer was not kind to Nintendo. According to the tracking firm NPD, Nintendo sold 277,000 Wii units in August – a 39 percent decline over the same time last year. By comparison, Microsoft sold 215,000 Xbox360 consoles in August, which marks a 10 percent increase over the previous year.

Meanwhile, Microsoft and Sony both dropped prices on their flagship consoles, making a mirror move by Nintendo all but inevitable. (The PS3 and the Xbox360 Elite now both cost $299; the regular Xbox comes in at $199.) Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, wrote in a statement in September that the Wii price drop could bring in a fresh swath of casual gamers.

And their dogs.

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