Play extension system and program for the same

• US 20020187725A1
• Filed: 11/20/2001
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Corporation
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Takashi, Saeki, Kazuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 6,949,002 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/454
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/558 by assessing the players' skills or ranking
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/36 Steering-mechanisms for toy vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/395 steered by program
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 30/04 using wireless transmission

Abstract

The present invention provides a play extension system enhancing a fun of a toy system by use of network. The play extension system is used by combination with the toy system in which a user can change the setting of parameters affecting motion control of a driving machine, for extending a playing method with the toy system. In the system, the setting information corresponding to the setting state of the parameters is received from a predetermined user terminal through a network, and estimation on the obtained setting information is created by referring to a database which stores the setting information and the information for estimating the setting state correspondingly. The created estimation is transmitted to a predetermined destination through the network.

Claims

1. A play extension system to be used by combination with a toy system in which a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion control of a driving machine, the system comprising:

an information obtaining device for receiving setting information corresponding to a setting state of the parameters from a predetermined user terminal through a network;

an estimation creating device for creating estimation of the setting information obtained by the information obtaining device, referring to a database in which the setting information and information for estimating the setting state are stored correspondingly with each other; and

an estimation transmission device for transmitting the created estimation to a predetermined destination through the network.

2. The play extension system according to claim 1, wherein

the toy system presents the information for specifying the user'"'"'s setting state of a plurality of parameters to the user, and the information obtaining device obtains the information presented to the user by the toy system, from the user terminal, as the setting information.

3. The play extension system according to claim 1, wherein

the toy system comprises a driving machine and a transmission unit for a user'"'"'s remote-controlling of the driving machine, and the settable parameters are to affect a correspondence between an input operation of the transmission unit and a control amount of the driving machine based on a control signal transmitted from the transmission unit to the driving machine.

4. The play extension system according to claim 1, wherein

information of sentences expressing characteristic of the setting state specified in the setting information and/or information of sentences for giving a clue to improvement of the setting state to a user is stored in the database as the information for estimating.

5. The play extension system according to claim 4, wherein

the estimation transmission device transmits to the user terminal, through the network, the information for presenting the sentences to a user as at least one part of the estimation information.

6. A play extension system to be used by combination with a toy system in which a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion control of a driving machine, comprising:

an electronic information providing device for providing a user terminal operated by each user with electronic information for displaying on a screen of the user terminal a state of a game virtually reproducing a play with the driving machine in the toy system, upon receipt of access from a plurality of users through a predetermined network;

a game result storing device for storing a result of the game, which is displayed on the screen of each user terminal, so as to be associated with information specifying the user;

a privilege issuing device for issuing a predetermined privilege at least to some user, referring to the result of the game stored in the game result storing device; and

a privilege notifying device for transmitting information associated with the privilege to a destination corresponding to a privileged user, wherein

in the game based on the electronic information provided by the electronic information providing device, a user'"'"'s setting operation of the same type of parameter as a user'"'"'s settable type of parameter in the toy system is required and the set parameter affects the result of the game.

7. The play extension system according to claim 6, wherein

the parameter to be input in the game affects a motion characteristic of a driving machine appearing in the game and the result of the game varies depending on the motion characteristic.

8. The play extension system according to claim 6, wherein

the privilege issuing device specifies a user who has obtained the game result equal to or superior to a predetermined level, referring to the stored game result, and issues the privilege to the specified user.

9. The play extension system according to claim 8, wherein

the privilege issuing device issues an entry right to a specified meeting using the toy system as the privilege, and

the privilege notifying device transmits the information for notifying the issue of the entry right, to the destination, together with the information on an entry condition of the meeting, as the information on the privilege.

10. The play extension system according to claim 9, wherein

the game result storing device stores the result of the game so as to be associated with the parameter input by the user, and the privilege notifying device transmits the information specifying the parameter stored by the game result storing device correspondingly to the game result which has generated the entry right to the meeting, as the information on the entry condition to the meeting.

11. A program for constructing a play extension system by one or a plurality of servers of a Web site, which system is used by combination with a toy system in which a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion control of a driving machine, wherein

the program for the play extension system is designed to work the server as:

an information obtaining device for receiving setting information corresponding to a setting state of the parameters from a predetermined user terminal through a network;

an estimation creating device for creating estimation of the setting information obtained by the information obtaining device, referring to a database in which the setting information and information for estimating the setting state are stored correspondingly with each other; and

an estimation transmission device for transmitting the created estimation to a predetermined destination through the network.

12. A program for constructing a play extension system by one or a plurality of servers of a Web site, which system is used by combination with a toy system in which a user can change setting of parameters affecting motion control of a driving machine, wherein

the program for a play extension system is designed to work the server as:

an electronic information providing device for providing a user terminal operated by each user with electronic information for displaying on a screen of the user terminal a state of a game virtually reproducing a play with the driving machine in the toy system, upon receipt of access from a plurality of users through a predetermined network;

a game result storing device for storing a result of the game, which is displayed on the screen of each user terminal so as to be associated with information specifying the user;

a privilege issuing device for issuing a predetermined privilege at least to some user, referring to the result of the game stored in the game result storing device; and

a privilege notifying device for transmitting information associated with the privilege to a destination corresponding to a privileged user, and

in the game based on the electronic information provided by the electronic information providing device, a user'"'"'s setting operation of the same type of parameter as a user'"'"'s settable type of parameter in the toy system is required and the set parameter affects the result of the game.