Nintendo to spend $40m on 'Wii Fit' launch

As it bids to cash in on the multi-billion dollar American weight-loss market, Nintendo will spend a staggering $40 million dollars to promote its forthcoming exercise-based video game Wii Fit.

Analyst Michael Pachter revealed the news, while the New York Post added that it believes the game could sell as many as four million copies to diet-hungry Americans following its May 19 release.

Should the figure prove correct, its sales would top the three million copies acclaimed shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shifted in the US.

Wii Fit, which has already sold 1.5 million copies in Japan, will be released in the UK on April 25.