Nintendo Co Ltd plans to launch a new version of its “Wii Fit” home exercise game this autumn, aiming to help boost sluggish sales of its Wii console in Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

Called “Wii Fit plus,” the new version will allow users to compete with friends and family over the Internet to lose weight and other activities, the newspaper said, without citing sources.

Nintendo will also launch a new version of its popular “Mario” game series in the second half of 2009, the Nikkei said.