During EA's E3 press brefing, EA Sports president Peter Moore was happy to let the world know that they hit one out of the park with EA Sports Active. The game has been a massive hit; it came out in America on May 19, 2009 -- less than two weeks ago -- and has already sold over 600,000 copies in that time frame. That makes it EA's all-time most successful Wii launch by far. EA Sports Active still has a long way to go before it catches Wii Fit, though, since Nintendo's fitness title has sold around 20 million units.

In addition, Moore announced an expansion pack for the game due out by the holiday season. It's going to bring thirty all-new activities and exercises that focus on "core" exercises like push-ups, curl-ups, and crunches, and it'll also include a new warm up/cool down feature. Finally, the Six-Week Challenge will be featured in the expansion; it provides daily workouts that increase in intensity as the program progresses.

I'm actually really glad to see a worthy product (and one that doesn't have "Wii" in its title) sell so well. I've heard nothing but great things about EA Sports Active, and if I owned a Wii, I'd definitely try it out to see if I could improve my physique. Check the post-jump press release for more details.

EA SPORTS Active Breaks a Sweat With Record-Setting Start

EA Announces Second Installment in the New Line of Virtual Fitness Products

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - June 1, 2009 - EA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), announced today that EA SPORTS Active™ has eclipsed 600,000 units sold worldwide at retail in less than two weeks on the market. EA SPORTS Active, which hit stores on May 19th in North America and by May 22nd worldwide*, is a virtual fitness product developed exclusively for the Wii™ and offers the benefit of a personal trainer in a box with customizable workouts that can be done from the comfort of home.

“We’re delighted by the overwhelming response to EA SPORTS Active,” said Peter Moore, President, EA SPORTS. “This is, by far, the most successful launch of any Wii title in EA history, and even more encouraging is that our second week sales worldwide were as strong as our first week. Not only are we off to a great start at retail, but the feedback from people who are getting off the couch, breaking a sweat and using EA SPORTS Active to support living a healthier lifestyle, is that it is changing their lives.”

Critics and consumers alike have praised EA SPORTS Active. “EA SPORTS Active finally bridges the gap between house and gym, earning it top honors as the best exercise game currently out for the Wii,” according to 1up.com. In its five star review, Green Pixels says, “EA SPORTS Active easily wins top honors in this rapidly growing genre.”

EA SPORTS will expand the genre this holiday season with a new expansion pack for EA SPORTS Active, designed to work with the product just released. The expansion pack will bring the EA SPORTS Active workout to the next level by adding more challenge and variety, and users will keep their heart pumping through interactive circuit workouts featuring 30 brand new activities and exercises that target the upper and lower body, as well as cardio.

New to the EA SPORTS Active expansion pack will be an emphasis on core exercises including curl ups, crunch & punches, and a warm up/cool down feature. Sports activities will include step aerobics, an obstacle course, squash and water skiing, while a new emphasis on combinations will populate the upper and lower body exercises. An all-new presentation will bring users to the tropics and will immerse them in warm weather activities in a picturesque setting. The product will also feature the Six-Week Challenge — another step in the journey towards better health and fitness with new daily workouts that ramp up in intensity each week. This personalized full body challenge will give users a new customizable weekly schedule and a weekly check-in with the virtual trainer to track calorie, weight and workout goals.

For more information, log onto http://www.easportsactive.com.

* EA SPORTS Active will ship to retailers in Japan on August 6th, 2009