Game system, server apparatus and register terminal

• US 20040092313A1
• Filed: 09/11/2003
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Corporation (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Saito, Hajime, Migitera, Osamu, Kawamura, Kazuyasu, Tada, Takao, Komatsu, Hotaru, Inoue, Chihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,033,915 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/792 for payment purposes, e.g. monthly subscriptions

Abstract

Each of game machines sends result information indicating an individual ID and play result to a server. The server has a common ID control file and an individual game control file, which store common points, a common ID and an individual ID, associated with each other. A CPU converts the result information into common points, and allows the converted common points to be reflected in the common points in the common ID control file corresponding to the individual ID.

Claims

1. A game system comprising:

a plurality of game machines; and

a server in communication with said game machines,

each of said game machines capable of playing different kinds of games from each other,

each of said game machines comprising a first sending device for sending sending-information including;

identification-information to identify a user,

said server comprising;

a point storage device for storing the identification-information and points and corresponding identification-information with the points,

the points are given in accordance with contents of a user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines and have a trading value unified thorough the games;

a trading device for trading the points for any one of a plurality of unique datas, each of which is used uniquely in any one of the games; and

a second sending device for sending the traded unique data,

wherein one of said game machines each and said server comprises a converting device for converting play-information indicating the contents of user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines into the points.

2. The game system according to claim 1,

wherein, when said converting device is mounted on each of said game machines, the sending-information includes the points;

and

when said converting device is mounted on said server, the sending-information includes the play-information.

3. The game system according to claim 1, wherein said server comprises:

a data storage device for storing user available data that the identification-information and at least one of the plurality of unique datas available to the user are associated with each other; and

a storage control device for, when said server receives a trading request to trade any one of the plurality of unique datas together with the identification-information, updating the points, corresponding to the received identification-information in said point storage device, to a value obtained by subtracting points corresponding to the unique data to be traded, and

said trading device allows the unique data to be traded to be reflected in the user available data corresponding to the received identification-information in said data storage device.

4. The game system according to claim 3, wherein said point storage device further stores authentication information for verifying the user in association with the identification-information and the points;

and

said trading device and said storage control device update the points stored in said point storage device and the user available data stored in said data storage device according to the trading request, in the case where the user is authenticated as a proper user based on the authentication information.

5. The game system according to claim 3,

wherein, when any one of designating informations each of which designates any one of the plurality of unique datas and the identification-information are sent in association with each other from said game machine to said server, when the user available data that the unique data designated by the sent designating information is associated with the sent identification-information is stored in said data storage device, said second sending device sends the designated unique data to said game machine.

6. The game system according to claim 5, wherein said data storage device comprises:

a first storage device for storing the plurality of unique datas and the designating informations each of which designates each of the plurality of unique datas so to be associated with each other; and

a second storage device for storing the designating informations, each of which designates the unique data available to the user among the designating informations stored in said first storage device, and the identification-information so as to be associated with each other; and

when said server receives the identification-information from said game machine, said second sending device reads the designating informations stored in association with the received identification-information from said second storage device and sends the read designating informations to said game machine, and, when said server receives a designating information selected among the sent designating informations from said game machine, said second sending device reads the unique data stored in association with the received designating information from said first storage device and sends the read unique data to said game machine.

7. The game system according to claim 3,

wherein when said server receives a donation request including:

the identification-information of a sender;

the identification-information of a receiver, and;

points to be donated from the sender to the receiver;

said storage control device subtracts the points to be donated from the points stored in said point storage device in association with the identification-information of the sender, and adds the points to be donated to the points stored in said point storage device in association with the identification-information of the receiver.

8. The game system according to claim 7, wherein said server comprises:

a notification device for notifying a user to be the receiver of donation, when said storage control device updates the points stored in said point storage device according to the donation request.

9. The game system according to claim 3,

wherein the identification-information is an individual identification-information to identify the user for each kind of the games,

said data storage device comprises an individual storage device controlled for each kind of the games, and said individual storage device stores individual available data that the individual identification-information and at least one of the plurality of unique datas available to the user are associated with each other, and

when said server receives a common identification-information issuing request including common identification-information to link the individual identification-informations corresponding to a same user and the individual identification-informations to be linked, said storage control device stores the received common identification-information and the received individual identification-informations so as to be associated with each other in said point storage device.

10. The game system according to claim 9,

wherein said game machine comprises a readout device for reading out the individual identification-information from an information storage medium storing any one of the individual identification-informations, and said first sending device sends the individual identification-information read out by said readout device to said server.

11. A server for communicating with a plurality of game machines capable of playing different kinds of games from each other, comprising:

a point storage device for storing identification-information for identifying a user and points so as to be corresponded with each other, the points being given in accordance with contents of user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines and having a trading value unified through the games;

a trading device for trading the points for any one of a plurality of unique datas, each of which is used uniquely in any one of the games; and

a sending device for sending the traded unique data to said game machines.

12. The server according to claim 11, comprising:

a converting device for converting play-information indicating the contents of user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines to the points; and

a storage control device which, upon reception of the identification-information and the play-information from said game machine, allows the converted points to be reflected in the points stored in the point storage device in association with the received identification-information.

13. The server according to claim 12, comprising:

a data storage device for storing user available data that identification-information and at least one of the plurality of the unique datas available to the user are associated with each other; and

said storage control device which, upon reception of a trading request to trade any one of the plurality of unique datas together with the identification-information, updates the points, corresponding to the received identification-information in said point storage device, to a value obtained by subtracting points corresponding to the unique data to be traded, and

said trading device allows the unique data to be traded to be reflected in the user available data corresponding to the received identification-information in said data storage device.

14. The server according to claim 13, wherein when any one of designating informations each of which designates any one of the plurality of unique datas and the identification-information are sent in association with each other from said game machine to said server, in the case where the user available data that the unique data designated by the sent designating information is associated with the sent identification-information is stored in said data storage device, said sending device sends the designated unique data to said game machine.

15. The server according to claim 14,

wherein said data storage device comprises:

a first storage device for storing the plurality of unique datas and the designating informations each of which designates each of the plurality of unique datas so as to be associated with each other, and a second storage device for storing the designating informations, each of which designates the unique data available to the user among the designating informations stored in said first storage device, and the identification-information so as to be associated with each other, and

upon reception of the identification-information from said game machine, said sending device reads the designating informations stored in association with the received identification-information from said second storage device and sends the read designating informations to said game machine, and, upon reception of a designating information selected among the sent designating informations from said game machine, said sending device reads the unique data stored in association with the received designating information from said first storage device and sends the read unique data to said game machine.

16. The server according to claim 15,

wherein when said server receives a donation request including the identification-information of a sender, the identification-information of a receiver, and points to be donated from the sender to the receiver, said storage control device subtracts the points to be donated from the points stored in said point storage device in association with the identification-information of the sender, and adds the points to be donated to the points stored in said point storage device in association with the identification-information of the receiver.

17. The server according to claim 16, comprising a notification device for notifying a user to be the receiver that donation has been done, when said storage control device updates the points stored in said point storage device according to the donation request.

18. The server according to 13,

wherein the identification-information is an individual identification-information to identify the user for each kind of the games,

said data storage device comprises an individual storage device controlled for each kind of the games, and said individual storage device stores individual available data that the individual identification-information and at least one of the plurality of unique datas available to the user are associated with each other, and

when said server receives a common identification-information issuing request including common identification-information to link the individual identification-informations corresponding to a same user and the individual identification-informations to be linked, said storage control device stores the received common identification-information and the received individual identification-informations so as to be associated with each other in said point storage device.

19. A register terminal being connected via a communication network with a server controlling an individual identification-information for identifying a user and data available to the user in association with each other for each kind of games, and controlling common identification-information for linking the individual identification-informations corresponding to a same user and points given in accordance with contents of user'"'"'s playing and having a trading value unified through the games in association with each other,

said register terminal comprising:

a readout device for reading out the individual identification-information from an information storage medium storing any one of the individual identification-informations;

an input device for inputting the common identification-information; and

a sending device for sending the common identification-information input by said input device and the read out individual identification-information to said server.

20. A method for a game system including a plurality of games and a user, comprising:

converting play-information indicating the contents of the user playing one of the plurality of games into points;

awarding points to the user for playing at least one of the plurality of games;

storing said points with corresponding identification-information used to identify the user;

setting a trading value for said points which is unified throughout the plurality of games; and

trading said points for any one of a plurality of unique datas, each of said unique datas is used uniquely in any one of the plurality of games.