Information processing system

• US 6,535,981 B1
• Filed: 08/03/1998
• Issued: 03/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Original Assignee: Sega Enterprises LTD.
• Inventors: Shimizu, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Niebling, John F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Whitmore, Stacy
• Application Number:
  US09/128,199
• Time in Patent Office: 1,688 Days
• Field of Search: 713/200, 705/51, 705/57, 705/58, 705/59, 235/380, 235/454, 235/375
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/201 Playing authorisation given at platform level
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/206 Game information storage, e.g. cartridges, CD ROM's, DVD's, smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing

Abstract

The information processing system of the present invention is composed of a recording medium 2 and an information processing device 1. The recording medium 2 comprises a first recording region 21 and a second recording region 22. The information processing device 1 either regenerates data recorded in the first recording region 21 of the recording medium 2 or executes a program recorded in the first recording region 21 of the recording medium 2, and comprises recording means for recording specific information of its own into the second recording region 22 of the above-mentioned recording medium 2. The information processing device 1 comprises comparing means 101 for comparing specific information recorded from the recording means with specific information in the second recording region, and processing means 101 for changing the operation of regenerating data of the recording medium or the operation of executing a program in the recording medium 2 in accordance with the result of the comparison.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

a recording medium including a first recording region and a second recording region; and

an information processing device for either regenerating data recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium or executing a program recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium, said information processing device comprising recording means for recording its specific information comprising symbol arrays having one or more sections in the second recording region of said recording medium;

wherein said information processing device further comprises;

comparing means for comparing specific information recorded from said recording means with specific information in the second recording region; and

processing means which, when the result of the comparison shows that the specific information of the information processing device and the specific information of the recording medium are not completely identical but partially identical in one or more of the sections thereof, modifies the operation of regenerating data of said recording medium or the operation of executing a program in said recording medium under desired conditions corresponding to said identical portions of said symbol arrays.

2. An information processing system comprising:

a recording medium including a first recording region and a second recording region; and

an information processing device for either regenerating data recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium or executing a program recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium, said information processing device comprising recording means for recording its specific information in the second recording region of said recording medium;

wherein said information processing device further comprises;

comparing means for comparing specific information recorded from said recording means with specific information in the second recording region; and

processing means for partially restricting the operation of regenerating data of said recording medium or the operation of executing a program in said recording medium, by differentiating between the operational condition of a recording medium which is used only for a specified information processing device and the operational condition of a recording medium which was used by another information processing device, if the result of the comparison shows that the specific information recorded from said recording means is not identical with the specific information in the second recording region.

3. An information processing system according to claim 2, further comprising means for displaying that said recording medium has been used by another information processing device if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

4. An information processing system according to claim 2, wherein said recording medium is a medium with a game program stored therein, and said information processing device is a game machine for executing a game on a game screen.

5. An information processing system according to claim 4, wherein said processing means varies the operation of game processing which is developed by said recording medium.

6. An information processing system according to claim 4, further comprising means for partially changing a scenario of the game program if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

7. An information processing system according to claim 4, further comprising means for reducing a time for playing the game if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

8. An information processing system according to claim 4, further comprising means for decreasing a number of stages of the game if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

9. An information processing system according to claim 4 further comprising means for forbidding a result of the game from being saved if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

10. An information processing system according to claim 4 further comprising means for decreasing an operational speed of the information processing device if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

11. An information processing system according to claim 4, further comprising means for limiting or stopping acquisition of a portion of peripheral data if the result the comparison made by the comparing means show the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

12. An information processing system according to claim 4, further comprising means for partially limiting a display of the game screen or a sound output of the game screen if the result of the comparison made by the comparing means shows that the specific information recorded in the second recording region of said recording medium is not identical with the specific information of the information processing device.

13. A recording medium according to claim 2.

14. An information processing device according to claim 2.

15. A recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said recording medium is a disc medium and the second recording region is defined by a nonvolatile memory.

16. An information processing device, comprising:

means for reading information recorded in a disc medium, the disc medium including a first recording region in which data used for regeneration processing of the information processing device or a program for making the information processing device execute a desired processing is stored, and a second recording region which is writable and is composed of a nonvolatile memory;

recording means for recording identification information of the information processing device on said second recording region when said second recording region of said disc medium does not have any identification information of the information processing device recorded therein;

comparing means for comparing the identification information of the information processing device with the identification information recorded in said second recording region when it is judged that at least one of the identification information of the information processing device and the identification information recorded in said second recording region is recorded on said second recording region; and

processing means for partially restricting the operation of regenerating data recorded on the first recording region of the disc medium or the operation of executing a program recorded on the first recording region by differentiating between the operational condition of a disc medium which is used only for a specified processing device and the operational condition of a recording medium which was used by another information processing device, when the result of the comparison shows that the identification information of the information processing device is not identical with the specific information recorded in the second recording region.

17. An information processing method, comprising:

a step of reading information recorded in a disc medium, the disc medium including a first recording region in which data used for regeneration processing of the information processing device or a program for making the information processing device execute a desired processing is stored, and a second recording region which is writable and is composed of a nonvolatile memory;

a step of recording identification information of the information processing device in the second recording region when said second recording region of said disc medium does not have any identification information of the information processing device recorded therein;

a step of comparing the identification information of the information processing device with the identification information recorded in said second recording region when it is judged that at least one of the identification information of the information processing device and the identification information recorded on said second recording region is recorded in the said second recording region; and

a step of partially restricting the operation of regenerating data recorded on the first recording region of the disc medium or the operation of executing a program recorded on the first recording region by differentiating between the operational condition of a disc medium which is used only for a specified processing device and the operational condition of a recording medium which was used by another information processing device, when the result of the comparison shows that the identification information of the information processing device is not identical with the specific information recorded on the second recording region.

18. An information processing system comprising:

a recording medium including a first recording region with a game program stored therein and a second recording region; and

a game machine for either regenerating data recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium or executing a game program recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium, said game machine comprising recording means for recording specific information comprising symbol arrays having one or more sections in the second recording region of said recording medium;

wherein said game machine further comprises;

comparing means with specific information recorded from said recording means with specific information in the second recording region; and

processing means which, when the result of the comparison shows that the specific information of the game machine and the specific information of the recording medium are not completely identical but partially identical in one or more of the sections thereof, modifies the operation of regenerating data of said recording medium or the operation of executing a game program in said recording medium under desired conditions corresponding to said identical portions of said symbol arrays.

19. An information processing system comprising:

a recording medium including a first recording region with a game program stored therein and a second recording region; and

a game machine for either regenerating data recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium or executing a game program recorded in the first recording region of said recording medium, said game machine comprising recording means for recording specific information comprising symbol arrays having one or more sections in the second recording region of said recording medium;

wherein said game machine further comprises;

comparing means with specific information recorded from said recording means with specific information in the second recording region; and

processing means which, when the result of the comparison shows that the specific information of the game machine and the specific information of the recording medium are not completely identical but partially identical in one or more of the sections thereof, modifies the operation of regenerating data of said recording medium or the operation of processing a game, the process of which is controlled by said recording medium under desired conditions corresponding to said identical portions of said symbol arrays.