With the major pound-packing holidays bearing down on us at breakneck speed, we thought it prudent to help a few of you shed those unwanted love handles with a free copy of Wii Fit Plus. Are you game? See below for how to enter -- best of luck!

• Leave a comment telling us whether or not you actively exercise
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
• Limit 1 entry per person per day
• This entry period ends at 11:59AM ET on Wednesday, November 11
  
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Wii Fit Plus for the Nintendo Wii ($20 ARV) and a Wii Fit Plus workout shirt ($20 ARV)
• For a list of complete rules, click here

As we approach the colder months of the year here at Joystiq HQ, we like to fool ourselves by picking up the latest Wiinovations in the world of game-based exercise equipment, knowing wholeheartedly that they'll never end up getting much use. This year, however, we figured we would extend that same ideological principle to you. We hope that your moral certitude will employ Wii Fit Plus and Active Life Extreme Challenge (it's totally extreme) more than we would! We'll be picking a winner for this enticing exercise pack at random from the folks who comment below -- all you have to do is tell us your favorite exercise fad of all time. Get those finger muscles moving!

• Leave a comment telling us your favorite exercise fad of all time.
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, largely due to Celine Dion)
• Limit 1 entry per person per day
• This entry period ends at 2:31PM ET on Monday, November 2
  
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive a copy of Wii Fit Plus ($20 ARV) and Active Life Extreme Challenge ($60 ARV)
  
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Wii Fit is on the verge of becoming the second-highest selling "game" in the US of the last 10 years. IGN reports on NPD data, revealing that Wii Fit has reached 7.9 million sales, passing by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's 6.9 million and creeping up quickly on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' 8.25 million units. The only thing ready to kill Wii Fit's momentum is Wii Fit Plus, which will replace the previous version at retail.

Some out there are probably ready to argue that Wii Fit should not be counted among other games. Yeah, those folks are going to pitch a fit about the top seller: Wii Play. The controller-bundled "software" holds the crown, having reached 11.1 million sales. We can't wait to see how the Vitality Sensor does.

We hope you like watching people exercise, because that's about all there is on the Nintendo Channel this week. Outside of that, there's also a look at Miis in Tony Hawk Ride and a brief clip of Space Invaders Extreme 2, if that's your cup of tea. (Protip: It's totally your cup of tea. You drink it all of the time.)

The US has invested a healthy amount of money into combating the terrorist threat -- certainly a bit more than $100. According to a CNN report, one of a few experimental methods being used to identify suspicious dudes at the airport uses Nintendo's Wii Balance Board (sans Wii Fit Plus).

Scientists part of the Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program have taken the Wii Fit peripheral and adjusted it to measure how a person shifts their weight. Scientists hope to find "a level of fidgeting that would suggest the need for secondary screening." We're just glad we're not a part of the study, because every time we step on a Balance Board, we can't help but act like we're playing that awesome hula hoop minigame. That's a suspicious amount of fidgeting.

[Via Kotaku]

Arguably the two biggest titles set to release on their respective platforms this year, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks have both been dated by Nintendo of Europe. NSMBW is set to invade living rooms on November 20, while Spirit Tracks will be pulling into the station on December 11. But that's not all, as Nintendo has also dated Wii Fit Plus for October 30 and plans to cater to your inner fashionista with Nintendo Presents Style Boutique on October 23.

Nintendo of America previously confirmed NSMBW for November 15 and Zelda for December 7; and Wii Fit Plus releases ... this Sunday! Time to sculpt that perfect figure again.

During his keynote at the GameStop Manager Conference, Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime announced release details for Nintendo's latest money generator, Wii Fit Plus. Current Wii Fit owners looking to add more arm-flapping and faux-Segwaying to their lives will be able to pick up the expanded version of the hit exercise game for just $19.99 on October 4.

For new owners, a Wii Fit Plus bundle will replace the existing Wii Fit bundle, which makes sense given that it's the exact same game with added content. The Wii Fit Plus/Balance Board package will retail for $99.99.

In a supplement to Nintendo's earnings statement yesterday, the company released some sales numbers for top-selling games in the last quarter. Four Nintendo products sold over one million copies between April and July, only one of which was a new release anywhere in the world during that time.

Pokemon Platinum on DS, which came out in North America in March, right before the quarter started, moved 1.91 million copies in Q1, for a life-to-date total of 5.66 million worldwide.

It was an even better quarter for the Wii's evergreens. Wii Fit sold an additional 3.6 million copies, bringing its LTD to 21.82. Mario Kart Wii sold 2 million, making its total 17.39 million. And Wii Sports sold an additional 1.91 million copies, bringing its total sales number to a ridiculous 47.62 million, including copies sold in hardware bundles.

And that's why there's a sequel.

Source (PDF)

Nintendo released its latest financial earnings report for the period ending June 30 (Q2 to us, but fiscal Q1 to those business types at the house Mario built) ... and it could've been better. Don't be fooled: Nintendo still managed to make profits across the board, but compared to the same period last year, profits weren't nearly as dramatic.

First, let's talk DS. Nintendo revealed lifetime sales of the DS has reached a whopping 107.75 million units and that the new DSi has managed to reach a respectable 6.68 million. Hardware sales for this quarter were lower than last year, however, as Nintendo revealed it only sold 5.97 million handhelds compared to the 6.94 million sold in 2008's fiscal first quarter. Even software was down quite a bit, with a mere 29.09 million units of DS software flying off store shelves this quarter compared to the more impressive 36.69 million of last year.

On the Wii side, Nintendo revealed lifetime sales have reached 52.62 million units, but that 2009 console sales were down as well. Nintendo reported that during this year's fiscal first quarter, the company could only unload 2.23 million Wiis compared to the 5.17 million it sold during this same time period last year. Software on the platform also took a hit, as Nintendo recorded only 31.07 million units managed to find consumer's homes compared to the 40.41 million of last year. It's important to note that last year's sales were significantly boosted by the releases of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit.

So, as one can guess, Nintendo saw its massive profits shaved down quite a bit this past quarter. With all of the dips in hardware and software sales, Nintendo saw its net sales drop a staggering 40 percent to ¥253.4 billion ($2.65 billion) compared to last year's ¥423.38 billion ($4.43 billion). Nintendo also saw a drop in its operating income, which fell from last year's ¥119.19 billion to ¥40.4 billion ($1.25 billion to $422.5 million), a decline of 60.61 percent. So ... who do you call when your money-printing machine is on the fritz?

Japan will get Nintendo's new and improved version of its fitness title on October 1, as andriasang discovered the above advert showcasing the date for Wii Fit Plus. Not only that, but you can also see a price there: ¥2,000 (about $20) for the game alone, ¥9,800 (about $102) for the game and Balance Board bundle. Who knows if it'll be priced accordingly when it hits the States this fall, though we think it's a safe bet. If there's one thing a gaming blog knows best, it's fitness and exergaming software.

[Thanks, Mr. Khan!]

Now that Nintendo has finally started chartering some flights to lovely Wuhu Island, folks have been eager to snap up Wii Sports Resort for their very own ticket. In the UK, Chart Track data shows the follow-up to 2006's console pack-in is quite the popular little piece of software, as the sequel earned the top spot on last week's All Formats chart. Strong start, but will it have the staying power of Wii Fit?

Last week's winner, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has thus been bumped down to the second spot, with EA's other darling, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, snagging bronze.

EA has dominated the UK charts once again, as the publisher saw three of its titles grace the top five spots in the All Formats category last week. Chart-Track data shows that the one-two punch of a new Harry Potter movie in cinemas and a new game on store shelves was too potent a potion for UK customers to ignore, with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince shooting to the top spot.

Harry and his Gryffindor chums were joined by Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, which dropped from the second spot all the way to third, and Fight Night Round 4, a previous top spotter that has plummeted to fifth place. Rounding out the remainder of the top five were Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which rested comfortably in second, and Wii Fit, which has dropped down to fourth.

Finding it hard to get interested in the June NPDs? Perhaps a visual aide from the folks at Gamasutra will help boost your enthusiasm. They've compiled the sales figures from all of 2009's NPD charts to find the top five best-selling games of the year thus far on each of the three home consoles.

The big winner so far on the PS3 is Killzone 2, trailed closely by Resident Evil 5. On the 360, Resident Evil 5 is currently in the lead, followed by a surprising contender -- UFC 2009: Undisputed. The Wii's current leader is -- who'd have thunk it? -- Wii Fit, followed by Wii Play. For the full five for each platform, check out Gamasutra's writeup.

Nintendo is king of the UK retail gaming jungle, according to ELSPA GfK-ChartTrack data. The House of Mario holds the top four spots for titles sold on the isles during the first half of 2009.

1. Wii Fit
   
2. Wii Play
   
3. Mario Kart Wii
   
4. Professor Layton And The Curious Village
   
5. Killzone 2
   

Yes, surprisingly, Killzone 2 did take the fifth spot, beating out Resident Evil 5. ELSPA's director states that the figures indicate "gaming is now mainstream in the UK." And that a lot of people in the UK think they (or a loved one) need to lose 10 lbs.

[Via VideoGamer]

Wedbush Morgan Securities' 2009 industry report includes a list of the top thirty brands of 2008. The report notes that of the companies whose brands appear on the list, Nintendo, EA, and Activision were the only three with more than one brand to generate over $100 million at retail in the US last year.

And boy, did they. The top brand of the year, Guitar Hero -- perhaps you've heard of it -- was responsible for $992 million in US sales in 2008. The next two brands, Mario Bros. and Rock Band, generated $761 million and $662 million, respectively.

One company is notably absent from the top brands list: "Most strikingly," the report reads, "Sony had no top 30 brands for the third year in a row." Microsoft had two brands on the list (Gears of War and Fable) and Nintendo had four (Mario Bros., Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Pokémon). See the list of brands after the break.