Nintendo partners with Change4Life in video games industry first

Jan 11, 2010 – Nintendo UK announces a breakthrough partnership with Change4Life, the national campaign run by the Department of Health, to support and encourage families in changing to a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Creators of the smash hit home and handheld consoles, Wii and Nintendo DS, Nintendo has led the way in creating a brand new genre of active video games, a phenomenon frequently termed ‘exer-gaming’, making them an ideal partner to talk to families across the UK and promote Change4Life’s ‘Up and About’ and ’60 Active Minutes’ messages.

In a video games industry first, Nintendo will support the Government’s Change4Life initiative with a through the line marketing campaign with Wii Fit Plus, which hit the UK on 30th October 2009. Wii Fit Plus offers people of all ages a range of exciting new features and enhancements, providing more fun and fitness for all the family to enjoy at home.

The Wii Fit Plus and Change4Life launch activity in 2009 will be followed by a bespoke campaign later on this year, running across both the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. Tapping into key Change4Life messages for families and promoting ways they can be ‘up and about’ and get 60 active minutes each day, to encourage people of all ages to build physical activity into their daily routine. The bespoke activity, encompassing TV, print, outdoor, online, experiential, point of sale and PR, will introduce families to the range of innovative and fun ‘self-improvement’ games Nintendo has to offer – promoting the core Change 4 Life campaign messages that promote healthy and active living.

Nintendo’s activity will support the main Change4Life brand, together with sub-brands including Play4Life and Walk4Life.

Spearheaded by the launch of Wii Fit in 2008, now the UK’s best selling game on the Wii, Nintendo continues to encourage families off the sofa and onto the Wii Balance Board to take part in a range of activities – from yoga, to hula hoop, to slalom ski – introducing an accessible and fun way for the whole family to get fit in their own living room. Even games like the original Wii Sports and the new Wii Sports Resort get people active, up off the sofa and moving around, using the innovative, motion-sensitive Wii Remote.

This activity has been extended with software launches on the handheld DS console designed to promote a healthier lifestyle. This includes Walk With Me, a game which provides incentives for all the family to be more active whilst setting daily activity targets.

David Yarnton, general manager Nintendo UK comments: “Our active and wellbeing titles are designed to bring fun to all the family, providing an innovative and enjoyable form of entertainment that gets everyone moving, and whilst not the whole solution, can form part of a healthy lifestyle. Games like Wii Fit Plus can easily fit into your daily lives, rather than making extra demands on it, while Change4life encourages families to eat well, move more and live longer.

“As pioneers of the exer-gaming phenomenon we’re thrilled to be the first in the industry to partner with Change4Life and use our unique position to talk to families about the role active computer games can play in people’s lives, helping to support such an influential movement.”