EA Sports To Debut Fitness Title For Nintendo Wii In Spring '09

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

EA Sports Developing Fitness Videogame For Nintendo Wii

EA Sports today will announce the creation of “EA Sports Active,” a fitness title for the Nintendo Wii scheduled for a spring '09 release. Designed in part to compete against the popular Wii Fit, the effort marks a further extension for the software publisher following prior entries beyond its base in simulation-based sports games into casual titles that do not rely on licensed intellectual property. The game, incorporating a variety of cardio and upper-body exercises, will be designed for all ages but will be foremost targeted to active women. Ultimately, company executives see “EA Sports Active” becoming the flagship of a fitness sub-brand of games for EA. “We see this as a huge opportunity for us, particularly since the sweet spot of our target demo for this is not an audience we’ve really spoken to in the past,” said EA Sports President Peter Moore. A former physical education teacher and Reebok executive, Moore played an active role in the development of the game, as did Bob Greene, an exercise physiologist and Oprah Winfrey’s personal trainer. “This naturally extends who we are, is totally non-cannibalistic to our existing business, and is going to be a real legitimate workout [to play].”

WORKING UP A SWEAT: EA began to develop a fitness title once Moore came to the company in July '07, with efforts ramped up further after the highly successful release this spring of the Wii Fit. The EA title will be far more cardio-based and western-influenced in nature than the Wii Fit, Moore said. EA’s game will have some exercises that incorporate the Wii Fit balance board, but Moore described the “secret sauce” of the EA title as a set of leg straps that will enable communication with the Wii sensor bar and track body movements. A resistance band will also come with “EA Sports Active.” 

RETAIL APPEAL: The game will additionally feature a different presentation at retail than other EA titles, Moore said, with plans developing with several store chains to position the game outside of normal software and entertainment sections. “Mom is not going to stumble upon this game while looking for [first-person shooter game] ‘Call of Duty’,” Moore said. "So this mandates a different strategy." Projected pricing is $59.99. Moore is scheduled to outline the new game, as well as the company’s overall strategy for the coming year, this morning at the BMO Capital Markets Interactive Entertainment conference in New York.