Wii Fit marketing budget set at $40 million

Redmond (WA) - Nintendo has set aside $40 million for the marketing and launch campaign for Wii Fit, a unique video game that aims to bring physical fitness to Nintendo’s home console.

In Japan, where Wii Fit was launched late last year, it has become one of the fastest-selling Wii titles to date. It has gained worldwide attention and is one of the most anticipated US Wii titles of 2008.

According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter in a New York Post story, Nintendo is planning a blockbuster advertising campaign for Wii Fit’s stateside debut. He said that $40 million will be used to market the game in the US, and that four million copies of the game could easily be sold.

The idea for Wii Fit was started by none other than Shigeru Miyamoto, legendary Nintendo visionary who also created Mario, Zelda and Nintendogs. It is the first game to use the Wii Balance Board, a unique controller that is responsive to the user’s feet.

The game is set to be released in the US on May 19.