Nintendo introduces new game platform

Nintendo officially launched a game in the US which has a feature that Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have yet to introduce. The Nintendo Wii Fit is aimed at gamers who want a little exercise. The new product may speak volumes about why the Japanese company has a sales lead over its two rivals.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the new product "comes with a weight-and-motion sensing device called the Wii Balance Board." Nintendo is also launching a service that allows video games to be distributed over the internet.

The Wii Fit will be introduced with games including one that gives the sensation of skiing.

While products like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are based largely on the old model of a console that the user operates from a fairly fixed position, Nintendo has moved in the direction of gaming that involves the user participating directly in the action on the screen. The Wii Fit has sold 1.4 million units in Japan in a little over two months.

Now Microsoft and Sony have something else to worry about from the market leader.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.