Joystiq

The Texas Medical Center reports that the U.S. Army recently awarded a $3.7 million grant to Alexander Prokhorov, M.D., Ph.D.,to develop an anti-smoking video game for Army personnel. But, in its infinite wisdom, the U.S. Army failed to realize there's already a game that can help you quit smoking: Pokémon.

Regardless, the Army has a really big problem with smoking, as Prokhorov says "tobacco use rates in the Army are alarming – 38 percent of service members smoke cigarettes and 15 percent use smokeless tobacco." Those are alarming rates indeed, but hey, if we had some Gunnery Sergeant screaming in our face, we'd probably turn to smoking too.

In a study of the top 100 iPhone games, PocketGamer.biz has discovered something that really isn't that surprising. The cheaper the game, the more likely it is to sell. Of the top 20 best selling titles, a full 15 cost only $0.99. In fact, 36 of the top 100 cost $0.99. Surprisingly, the next most popular price is $4.99, accounting for 20 of the top 100 titles. Still, the site notes that the top 10 games have an average price of $1.89, so it would seem that cheaper is better, at least in terms of sales volume.

If you want to get away with a higher price, it helps to have a game based on an established console IP. The study notes that such titles have an average price of $6.12. It also mentions that the exact method Apple uses to sort apps in the top 100 is shrouded in secrecy, meaning that it's difficult to draw hard conclusions from the data. The actual sales numbers aren't published by Apple either. Thus, it's impossible to tell if a game with a higher price point is earning more than a cheaper game with a higher sales volume.

There's a lot of data to look over in the study and it's definitely worth a look for those interested in the business side of the games industry.

[Via GI.biz]

Capcom has squashed the dreams of those hopeful its newest cross-over fighter, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, will come to PS3 and/or Xbox 360. Speaking to VideoGamer.com, the game's producer, Ryota Niitsuma, stated that the effort required to port the heavily Wii-optimized title would be considerable. "If we were to port it to PS3 or Xbox 360 we would have to make the game from scratch, and in that case we might as well just make a sequel of the series on those consoles rather than porting it," he told the site.

Not confirmation of a sequel, but a promising comment nonetheless. Niitsuma said that "we would like to see the reaction of the western market when we release the game on Wii," with regard to bringing the series to other platforms. Since Niitsuma wouldn't say it himself, we'll go ahead and do it for him: "Buy the first one if you want to see a sequel." See, that wasn't so hard.

UK regional Xbox director Neil Thompson feels parents still fail to grasp that modern consoles aren't "toys." Thompson, who is also a member of ELSPA, explained to MCV that "every responsible member of the video game industry" needs to play an active role in keeping the education process "front of mind." He is speaking specifically about letting parents know that each console has content filters and other specialized tools for them.

So, sit down this weekend with a clueless parent (obviously, that wouldn't be a parent who reads this site) and educate them on responsible console ownership with children. Or, if you'd like to be more passive aggressive, send them the link to the ESRB's resource page on how to set up parental features.

More than a month after we got our hands on the E3 2009 build of Mass Effect 2, BioWare has finally released footage to back up what we saw and played. It's a sort of "developer's cut:" The video features good looks at character interaction, combat and exploration -- all in-game -- along with commentary on these systems by the game's makers.

Just be forewarned that there's discussion of the series' plot and one potential ending for Mass Effect 2, in the event you don't actually want those things spoiled for you. Of course, you could always turn the sound off and just enjoy the amazing-looking visuals.

Listen, we don't have a dude-crush on Battlestar Galactica and Dark Void compose Bear McCreary -- rather, we have an ear-crush on his musical creations. Once you finally get your hands on Capcom's jetpack-infused action title, you'll understand why -- though during a recent interview with Examiner, McCreary revealed that those who suffer from unbearable jetpackphobia might be able to hear his work on yet another video game in the near future.

In the Examiner interview, McCreary revealed he's "doing another video game this summer," as well as "a couple other non-science fiction projects [he] can't announce just yet." We hope one of those projects is following us around, composing live musical accompanyment for our every action. We'd just love to hear some sweeping violins as we enjoy our daily bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, you know?

If you had told us five years ago that 2009 would be a year to remember for 2D fighters, we would've called you a crazy person and erased you from our buddy list. Sure enough, with solid releases Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue already dropping this year, and Marvel vs Capcom 2, Tatsunoko vs Capcom and, as the above video shows, King of Fighters XII awaiting release, we would've been the crazy one. If you're a fan of the occasional bout of two-dimensional fisticuffs, then you've got a lot to choose from this year.

It's as if millions of piggy banks suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced ... by giant hammers.

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This one goes out to you, Battlefield 1943 servers...

Wishin', and hopin', and thinkin', and prayin',
Planning and dreamin' each night of its charms.
That won't get you into a game.

So if you're looking for fun you can share
All you gotta to is hold him, and kiss him, and love him,
And show BF1943 that you care.

What's everyone playing this weekend?

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It's a scientific fact that 100 percent of people on Earth love Scribblenauts -- trust us, an actual scientist said that -- unfortunately, not everyone owns a Nintendo DS. Sure, almost everyone owns a DS, but that still leaves a small sliver of humanity who will be unable to experience 5th Cell's wordy puzzler whenever it hits store shelves this September.

Fortunately for this minuscule contingency, there's a chance Scribblenauts could be released on other platforms. In a recent interview with VG247, the game's technical director, Marius Fahlbusch, explained, "We never limited ourselves to the DS as platform in our heads and we'll see what the future holds." Personally, we think it would be a hit on any platform, whether that platform be Xbox 360, PS3 or coloring book.

And now, a word from Jack Thompson: "Frankly, folks, I'm the pro-liberty, pro-personal choice person here because history happens." Eh, maybe not quite the rhetoric to spare him federal disbarment, but by many accounts, Thompson was actually articulate and well-spoken during last weekend's "Debate of the Century" at the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention. His opponent and Joystiq legal columnist, Mark Methenitis (pictured right), described the subdued, silver-haired crusader (not dude on left) as "largely misunderstood" in a post-debate interview on this week's Late Nite JengaJam [audio link].

Sporting a gentle grandpa look, Thompson certainly appears (see clip after the break) as an entirely different character than the "internet bogeyman" who has haunted, well ... his own career. While it's a pleasant surprise to see Thompson show up in human form, he's gonna have to do better than forewarn the coming of "the 9/11 event for this industry" (sensational much?) to do any convincing around these parts. Now, excuse us while we take a break to go commit horrific acts of depravity (virtually, of course), and then go back to our ordinary, good-natured lives.

[Image credit: 4Player]

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If you've been having a tough time accruing enough coins in Club Nintendo to get your very own copy of Game & Watch Collection for DS, know that Nintendo is planning to parcel out nine different Game & Watch classics to DSiWare in Japan. Kotaku reports that Nintendo will be offering each individual game for a very reasonable 200 DSi Points over the summer, meaning you can have your own piece of gaming history on the go for a measly $2.

There's no word on these escaping Japan, but considering that a majority of the content offered on DSiWare there has made its way over here, it's likely only a matter of time.

Rock Band Weekly drops three packs of three on thee next week. The "treat" in there -- depending on how snobby the music aficionados are feeling today -- is the three tracks from The Dead Winter. A "new" band, whose debut album Horehound drops next week, is comprised of several known artists from alternative rock bands, they just come from known bands. How about that?! Check it out.

Judas Priest Pack (440 / $5.50) Big Dipper Pack (440 / $5.50) The Dead Weather Pack 01 (440 / $5.50)
All tracks are original masters and are available for download next Tuesday and Thursday on Xbox 360 and PS3, respectively.

A red-hot press release just landed in our inbox, informing us that Valve will be on-hand at San Diego's Comic-Con to show off a new campaign in Left 4 Dead 2 titled "Swamp Fever." If you're at the show, the game is in the EA Gaming Lounge from 2-9 pm Thursday-Saturday, and 12-5 pm on Sunday, and can be found at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Hotel, 401 K. Street.

The above image is the only piece of media we received from the new campaign, but it's enough to cause wild speculation. Can we get struck by lightning? Do zombies like dancing in the rain? Have the undead found Jesus? We need answers! While we track someone down to find out, feel free to sup on our fresh, new screens in the gallery below.

You can say a lot of things about LucasArts CEO Darrell Rodriguez (he's managed to get the Lucas Empire to acknowledge its adventure game heritage, for starters!) but you probably can't call him slick. When he told us that it "would make sense" for LucasArts games to come to the iPhone, "wink wink, nod nod" (he actually said that, out loud), we caught what he was throwing ... which was a boulder. On fire. Neon fire.

So now, when the 'droids responsible for maintaining the @lucasartsgames Twitter account dropped a curiously iPhone-sized Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition wallpaper with another "wink wink nod nod" we barely raised a boulder-singed eyebrow. Instead, we're wondering what the plan is for the iPhone market: "Special Edition" remakes only (ala Xbox Live Arcade), or another marketplace for the classics (see: Steam). Like most of the unanswered questions in LucasArt's journey into the vaults, we imagine it all depends on the success of this first foray.

[Via @lucasartgames]