Family Trainer Was The Original Wii Fit

With Nintendo’s interactive workout game Wii Fit dropping next week, it’s no surprise that Atari is bringing a suspiciously similar title called Family Trainer to Europe in September. Instead of the Wii Balance Board, the game uses a mat controller to let players compete in a variety of physical events. But before you start calling the copyright office to file a complaint, there’s one thing you should know: Family Trainer was first.

See, way back in 1986, developer Bandai actually released the O.G. Family Trainer for Famicom, Nintendo’s predecessor to the home NES system. Soon after its release, Nintendo bought the rights to the technology and packaged it as the “Power Pad” with their popular World Class Track Meet game. We actually dug up an old Japanese commercial for the original Family Trainer if you don’t believe us. Check the video after the jump.

[Slippery Brick]