Before the Power Pad was the Power Pad, it was the Family Trainer, released in Japan by Bandai. They actually marketed it briefly in the U.S. as the Family Fun Fitness pad, but Nintendo bought the rights, rebranded it as the Power Pad and started packing the peripheral in with NES systems along with a retitled Stadium Events (now called World Class Track Meet).

One of the few Power Pad/Family Trainer games was Athletic World: an Olympics-style collection of games including hurdles, rafting, and "Hop a Log." And now, in one of the worst-timed moves ever, Bandai Namco is releasing a new version of the Family Trainer along with a new version of Athletic World.

Regardless of the quality of the single screenshot included, is this really the time to introduce a new exercise peripheral for the Wii? We're actually not going to leave that as a rhetorical question. No, it isn't. The Family Trainer has somewhat of a nostalgia factor, but even that's disrupted by the fact that Athletic World wasn't that great on the NES. And its main competition, Wii Fit, has the invincible Wii Sports factor.

The best we can hope for is another super-limited release in the U.S., as a moneymaking opportunity. Click on the image to see a larger version (with plenty of family air-paddling!) and click the link for the Japanese press release.

[Via NeoGAF]