Ubisoft to help DS owners Stop Smoking
by JC Fletcher 
{ May 28th 2008 at 5:00PM }
Ubisoft has announced plans to publish a DS game based on the "Easyway" smoking cessation program Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking, to be released in November will allow smokers to choose a coach (no doubt from a number of pleasant, athletic avatars) and create a program based on their own smoking habit. The Easyway method is based on educating smokers about the nature of addiction, convincing them that the positive feeling gained by smoking is caused by satisfying withdrawal from the previous cigarette. In this way, the emotional dependency is stripped away before the physical dependency is addressed.
We're quite torn about this announcement. Our first impulse is to point to this as emblematic of the troubling overabundance of training games. But on the other hand, if this helps someone stop smoking (which is totally hard!), it's completely validated.
More than anything, we'd like to congratulate Dan, who is already on a DS-based smoking cessation routine, for being such a pioneer.
[Via press release]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
R4NDOM GUY @ May 28th 2008 5:15PM
Do you think, this will be effective
Bebuzzu @ May 28th 2008 6:10PM
No.
Bebuzzu @ May 28th 2008 6:06PM
JC, you too? I thought it was just your head dragon at the dsfanboyheadquarters...If this pack of cigarettes is empty, I'ma head off instantly tu buy another one, pronto.
Blue_Falcon @ May 28th 2008 7:27PM
At least it seems more productive and generally more interesting looking (from what I've seen) compared to all of Ubi's other casual DS offerings (see: basically all of them)
But I don't smoke, so I probably won't be picking this up anytime soon.
Hafk @ May 28th 2008 10:08PM
I tend to hold my stylus in my mouth often. I am glad I don't smoke! I have heard stories of people who have ruined their touch screens by taking out "The Wrong Stylus" based on habit.
Hafk @ May 28th 2008 10:09PM
Also, wouldn't it be ironic if a smoker ruined his screen this way by playing this game?
Hugh Jeffner @ May 29th 2008 2:30PM
This book really helped me. I broke a 9-year habit and haven't had a craving in over 1.5 years. You can find the pdf via google. Good luck!
R4NDOM GUY @ May 29th 2008 8:55PM
really?