Games not just kids' stuff for Nintendo

THE booming popularity of Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld sent the combined sales of game machines and gaming software in Japan to a record high last year, according to research by a Japanese publisher.

The results underline the stellar success of Nintendo Co, the Japanese maker behind Super Mario and Pokemon games.

The Kyoto-based manufacturer has pursued a strategy to reverse the gradual decline that has ailed the industry in recent years by introducing games that appeal to newcomers, including the elderly and women.

Nintendo said its "Wii Fit" game, which uses a board resembling a weight scale to help people exercise in the living room with yoga positions, hula hoops and push-ups, has sold a million units in Japan in a month since going on sale in December.

Overseas sales plans for the hit game aren't decided yet, company spokesman Ken Toyoda said.

Enterbrain, which publishes game magazines, found that hardware and software gaming sales in Japan totaled 687.76 billion yen (US$6.3 billion) in 2007, up 10 percent from the previous year.

The top-selling machine in Japan was the Nintendo DS portable machine, with 7.1 million units sold last year, according to Enterbrain's research released earlier this week. Since going on sale in 2004, sales of the Nintendo DS have totaled 21 million in Japan, it said.

The No. 2 selling machine in Japan in 2007, the Wii, was also from Nintendo. It has been a sellout around the world since arriving at stores in late 2006.