Atari announced yesterday that they planned to bring a continuation of Namco-Bandai's Family Trainer series to the Wii. Similar to the old NES series, Family Trainer will include a mat controller peripheral used to play the game. The Power Pad used on the NES is sure to be an inspiration for the new mat, as Bandai was the developer of the original.

Family Trainer will include simple mini games that make use of both the Wii Remote and mat controller. Including both single and multiplayer challenges, the entire family can enjoy the game together. Events included range from mine karting and log jumping, to river rafting and rope skipping. These events will occur at many locales including ancient ruins, jungle forests, a haunted mansion, and a fairy tale world. Players will also be able to track their progress and set records that the rest of the family can try and best.

Family Trainer will be available in Europe this September, with no word on release in American and Japanese territories.

GET PHYSICAL WITH 'FAMILY TRAINER'

- Active Fun for Everyone with Total Body Gameplay Coming to Europe in September 2008 Exclusively for Wii -

LYON, FRANCE – 13 May 2008 – Atari today announced the forthcoming European release of NAMCO BANDAI Games’ Family Trainer exclusively for Wii. Family Trainer lets all the family and friends get physical by engaging the whole body in a variety of easy-to-understand, fast-paced and wildly entertaining activities. Family Trainer is scheduled for European release in September 2008.

The game includes the specially designed Family Trainer mat controller which, when combined with the Wii Remote, lets players get totally physical in a series of crazed challenges. Unlike other games for the Wii which only focus on the arms, Family Trainer gets the feet involved too for total body gameplay. Simple controls and intuitive play make the game easy to just pick up and play, and let players of any age get involved, get physical and have maximum fun.

There are over a dozen frantic single and multiplayer challenges to choose from all based on outdoor challenges amusingly interpreted for the world of Family Trainer, such as river rafting, mine karting, log jumping, rope skipping and much more. The activities take place in a variety of colourful locations including jungle forests full of ancient ruins, a haunted mansion complete with hordes of zombies, and a fairytale world where riding on toys and floating amongst the clouds is the order of the day.

Players can challenge friends or family members on the same mat, or cooperate together, for example trying to balance a runaway mine kart as it hurtles round a gravity defying track. Players can track their progress and set new records for their friends and family to beat, bringing a dose of healthy competition into the madcap mix.

Family Trainer is scheduled for European release in September 2008 exclusively for Wii.