Nintendo may be getting players active through WiiFit, but Ubisoft is hoping to play a part in clearing their lungs with the recently announced DS title My Health Coach: The easy way to stop smoking. Developed in conjunction with experts from the stop smoking programs, the DS game aims to provide "a truly interactive engagement with the game through which he or she learns that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking."

Allen Carr was best known as the author of the 1985 best-seller The Easy Way To Stop Smoking. After quitting smoking after 31 years, Carr developed a network of clinics and published his method to help others stop smoking.

Ubisoft may be following Nintendo's model of seeking outside expertise for expanded audience gaming. Nintendo's Train Your Brain DS titles were based on the neurological research of Dr. Ryuta Kawashima and have gone on to sell millions of copies the world over.

UBISOFT AND ALLEN CARR'S EASYWAY TEAM UP TO HELP SMOKERS QUIT

Ubisoft to Bring Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking to the Nintendo DS™ system in November 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – May 28, 2008 – Today Ubisoft announced that it will develop and publish the video game based on the successful Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking method. Designed for Nintendo DS™, Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking is scheduled for release in November 2008.

Published in 50 countries, Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking book is an international best seller, and Allen Carr's Easyway network of clinics spans the globe. Over 10 million smokers worldwide have already turned to Allen Carr's Easyway books, clinics or DVD in order to stop smoking. The method removes the smoker's belief that smoking provides them with any genuine pleasure or crutch, takes away the feeling of deprivation and therefore rids the smoker of the fear of stopping. The clinics offer a full money-back guarantee based on which the success rate after 3 months is over 90% and independent scientific studies confirm a success rate of over 50% after 12 months.

Brought to an exciting interactive platform, Nintendo DS, Allen Carr's Easyway method will take on a whole new dimension. Players will be actively participating in the game's content as they input the details of their smoking habits and even select their own Allen Carr's Easyway coach to take them through the process of quitting.

Developed in conjunction with Allen Carr's top experts, the game echoes the philosophy of Allen Carr's Easyway method, enabling players to be entertained, challenged and to stop smoking at the same time.

"Ubisoft's creative team has worked hard to deliver a game that successfully communicates Allen Carr's Easyway method via play," said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. "The player experiences a truly interactive engagement with the game through which he or she learns that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking."

Robin Hayley, managing director of Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking, concurs. "There was an amazing synergy between Allen Carr's Easyway team and Ubisoft as we worked on this project," he said. "Our experts worked hand in hand with the Ubisoft team to create an entertaining and illuminating game that delivers Allen Carr's Easyway method in a new, dynamic and highly effective way."

Correction: This story originally referred to the game as Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking. The story has been edited to reflect the game's actual title: My Health Coach: The easy way to stop smoking.