Majesco Claims 500,000 Shipments For Zumba Fitness Game

Majesco announced today that it has shipped 500,000 copies of its Zumba Fitness games for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Move. The announcement comes just under two months after the holiday season release of the games, which utilize the Xbox 360's Kinect and PlayStation's Move controllers for a more active play experience on those systems. "We are excited by the sales performance of the Zumba Fitness video game, and are also encouraged by the continued post-holiday momentum for the title," said Majesco CEO Jesse Sutton, in a statement. Dance and fitness games made up the top four multiplatform sellers on Amazon's North American game sales charts for the first week of the year, as many seem to be using the games to help with health-related new year's resolutions. But Sutton said he thinks "people will be playing the Zumba Fitness video game at home 365 days a year, and as such expect to see continued reorders throughout the year," adding that a national marketing campaign should help maintain the early sales momentum. Based on the popular, rhythm-based workout classes, Zumba Fitness features 30 different licensed music tracks and support for a "Fitness Party" with friends in the same room or online. The Wii version includes a special belt, designedto hold the Wii remote around a player's waist. Harmonix's motion-filled Dance Central was the top-selling Kinect game for the device's release month of November, according to NPD. And Ubisoft has revealed sales of 5 million units for Just Dance 2 and 2 million for Michael Jackson: The Experience, suggesting something of a renaissance for the active rhythm game genre.