Gaming system and gaming machine

• US 7,918,735 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2005
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Inventors: Inamura, Yukinori
• Primary Examiner(s): McClellan; James S
• Application Number:
  US11/283,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20060111179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,960 Days
• Field of Search: 463/25, 463/30, 463/31, 463/37, 463/40, 463/42, 273/139
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played

Abstract

A plurality of game selection-enabled gaming machines, which implement a game on the basis of a unit gaming fee, are connected to a game providing server via a network. The game providing server includes a game program storage unit and a download unit for permitting downloading a game program of a type of game requested by the gaming machine. The respective gaming machines includes a unit gaming fee selection unit for enabling selection of a unit gaming fee from a plurality of candidates, a game type selection unit for enabling selection of a type of game from the game type candidates which accept the selected unit gaming fee, and a game program request unit for requesting the game program from the game providing server.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

a plurality of game selection-enabled gaming machines which implement a game on the basis of a unit gaming fee, and allow a player to select a game type from a plurality of game types;

a game providing server which provides the gaming machines with a game program to implement a selected game type in any of the gaming machines, and

a network which connects the plurality of gaming machines to the game providing server, wherein

said game providing server includes,

a game program memory configured to store a plurality of game programs corresponding to a plurality of types of games; and

a first processor configured to permit downloading of the game program corresponding to a type of game selected in any of said game selection-enabled gaming machines, and

a respective one of said gaming machines includes,

a display device which displays a first icon of an unit gaming fee and a plurality of selection second icons corresponding to the plurality of selectable game types;

a touch panel associated with the display device;

a memory which stores game selection programs including table-data in which the plurality of game types are correlated with respective unit gaming fees; and

a second processor which executes the game selection programs in the memory, and

(A) displays, on the display device, a plurality of first icons corresponding to a plurality of unit gaming fees;

(B) receives information regarding the unit gaming fee selected through the touch panel by the player;

(C) accesses the table-data based on the received information regarding the selected unit gaming fee, and recognizes a game type which can be offered, from the plurality of game types, at the selected unit gaming fee;

(D) displays, on the display device, the selection second icons corresponding to the game types which can be offered at the selected unit gaming fee, without displaying the selection second icons corresponding to the game types which cannot be offered at the selected unit gaming fee, based on the recognized game type in processing (C); and

(E) requests the game providing server for the game program for the game type corresponding to the selected selection second icon, the second selection icon being selected by the player.

2. The gaming system according to claim 1, wherein said first processor of game providing server determines whether or not conditions for permitting downloading are satisfied when a game program of a certain game type is requested by any of said game selection-enabled gaming machines.

3. The gaming system according to claim 2, wherein said first processor of game providing server determines that downloading is not permitted in cases where if the current request is accepted and the game program is downloaded then a total number of gaming machines that downloaded the game program is equal to or greater than a threshold value, or determines that downloading is not permitted in cases where a ratio of the total number of gaming machines that downloaded the game program to a total number of said plurality of gaming machines is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

4. The gaming system according to claim 1, wherein the player uses said touch panel to change the type of game displayed on said display.

5. The gaming system according to claim 1, wherein the display device displays a gaming demonstration screen thereon during a changing of the type of game.

6. The gaming system according to claim 1, wherein said network is any one of a local area network, a public telecommunication network, a dedicated circuit in which said game providing server and said gaming machines are connected in a one-to-one fashion, and a radio circuit configured to provide radio communications between said game providing server and said gaming machines.

7. A gaming system, comprising:

a plurality of game-selectable gaming machines which implement a game as the basis of an unit gaming fee and allow a player to select one game type from among a plurality of game types;

a game providing server which provides the gaming machines with a game program to implement the game type selected by any of the gaming machines; and

a network which connects the plurality of the gaming machines to the game providing server, wherein

the game providing server includes,

a game program memory configured to store a plurality of game programs corresponding to the plurality of game types; and

a first processor configured to permit downloading of the game program corresponding to a game type selected in any of the game-selectable gaming machines; and

a respective one of the gaming machines includes,

a display device which displays a first icon of the unit gaming fee and a plurality of selection second icons corresponding to the plurality of selectable game types;

a touch panel associated with the display device;

a memory which stores game selection programs including table-data in which the plurality of game types are correlated with respective unit gaming fees; and

a second processor which executes the game selection programs stored in the memory, and

(A) displays, on the display device, a plurality of first icons corresponding to a plurality of the unit gaming fees;

(B) receives information regarding the unit gaming fee selected through the touch panel by the player;

(C) accesses the table-data based on the received information regarding the unit gaming fee, and recognizes a game type which can be offered, from the plurality of game types, at the selected unit gaming fee;

(D) displays, on the display device, the selection second icons corresponding to the game types which can be offered at the selected unit gaming fee in a distinct manner from the selection icons corresponding to the game types which cannot be offered at the selected unit gaming fee, based on the recognized game type in processing (C); and

(E) requests the game providing server for the game program for the game type corresponding to the selected selection icon, the second selection icon being selected by the player.