CONTENT-RELATED INFORMATION DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 20130005490A1
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Published: 01/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: OOYA, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,480,920 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/323 between game devices with different hardware characteristics, e.g. hand-held game devices connectable to game consoles or arcade machines
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/49 Saving the game status; Pausing or ending the game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/61 using advertising information
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/303 for displaying additional data, e.g. simulating a Head Up Display
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/403 Connection between platform and handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5506 using advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/554 by saving game or status data
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a content-related information display system capable of acquiring related information corresponding to a reproduced content during the reproduction of contents such as a game, without stopping reproducing the content and taking time and effort.

A player progresses a game while operating a game apparatus. When a predefined predetermined condition is satisfied by the progress of the game, information on a progress status of the game is transmitted from the game apparatus to a portable game apparatus. The portable game apparatus receiving the predetermined information specifies content-related information according to the received information, and displays the specified content-related information on a display screen.

Claims

1. A content-related information display system comprising:

a content reproduce apparatus including a display device; and

a content-related information display device which is connectable to the content reproduce apparatus by a communications line and displays content-related information related to a content being reproduced in the content reproduce apparatus,

wherein the content reproduce apparatus includes;

a content storage that stores a content to be reproduced;

a content reproducer that reproduces the content stored by the content storage; and

a reproducing status information transmitter that transmits reproducing status information, which is related to a reproducing status of the content reproduced by the content reproducer, to the content-related information display device, and

the content-related information display device includes;

a content-related information storage that stores content-related information related to the content;

a reproducing status information receiver that receives reproducing status information from the content reproduce apparatus;

a content-related information specifier that specifies content-related information to be displayed, according to the reproducing status information received by the reproducing status information receiver; and

a content-related information displayer that displays the content-related information, which is specified by the content-related information specifier, on a display screen.

2. The content-related information display system according to claim 1,

wherein the content-related information display device comprises:

an input device that enables a user to instruct an operation;

a history information storage that stores history information related to the content-related information displayed by the content-related information displayer;

a history information displayer that displays the history information, which is stored by the history information storage, on a display screen such that the history information is selectable by a user'"'"'s operation instruction to the input device; and

a selection receptor that receives a selection of the history information displayed by the history information displayer, and

the content-related information displayer displays content-related information corresponding to the history information received by the selection receptor.

3. The content-related information display system according to claim 1, wherein the content reproduce apparatus is a video game apparatus, and the content is a video game program.

4. The content-related information display system according to claim 3,

wherein the video game apparatus comprises an input device that enables a user to instruct an operation,

a video game is progressed by operating a player character by a player'"'"'s operation instruction to the input device, and

the content-related information specifier, furthermore, specifies content-related information to be displayed, according to a status of the player character.

5. A method for displaying a content-related information performed in a content reproduce apparatus having a display device, and a content-related information display device which is connectable to the content reproduce apparatus by a communications line and displays content-related information related to a content being reproduced in the content reproduce apparatus,

wherein the content reproduce apparatus reproduces a content and

transmits reproducing status information, which is related to a reproducing status of the reproduced content, to the content-related information display device, and

the content-related information display device receives reproducing status information from the content reproduce apparatus,

specifies content-related information to be displayed, according to the received reproducing status information, and displays the specified content-related information on a display screen.