Thursday, Electronic Arts Incorporated introduced their first fitness videogame, thus joining the trend launched by Nintendo Limited Company with their “Wii Fit.”

Called EA Sports Active and priced at $60, the product will be released exclusively on Nintendo’s Wii gaming console, being scheduled to hit the United States stores in March the year to come.

The fitness videogame presents itself as an alternative to going to a sports club, targeting especially women, who nowadays are focusing more and more on becoming fitter and slimmer, but who are also much too busy to squeeze in their daily routine such a time-consuming activity as attending a gym is.

EA Sports Active features an interactive computer trainer, crafts running and several other exercises that fall into the category of cardio training.

President of Electronic Arts’ EA Sports unit Peter Moore has stated that the new videogame did not aim to compete with Nintendo’s „Wii Fit,” but only to offer consumers the option to achieve their goals in terms of fitness with the aid of what he deemed as being a more thorough workout session.

Moreover, Moore, who is also a former physical education teacher, added that EA Sports Active was better suited to represent the western outlook on cardio training, whereas „Wii Fit” concentrated on the eastern approach to cardiovascular exercise.

Nintendo’s fitness game was first released in Japan on December 1, 2007 and it features a set of exercises including yoga poses and push ups, which make it a product designed for physical abilities such as balance and coordination.