Game system, server apparatus and register terminal

• US 8,033,915 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2003
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Saito, Hajime, Migitera, Osamu, Kawamura, Kazuyasu, Tada, Takao, Komatsu, Hotaru, Inoue, Chihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis; David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas; Eric M
• Application Number:
  US10/660,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20040092313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,952 Days
• Field of Search: 463 40- 43, 463/29
• 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 configured for playing different kinds of games from each other,

one of each of said game machines or said server comprises a converting device for converting play-information indicating the contents of a user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines into points in accordance with the contents of the play-information, the points having a trading value unified throughout the games and are tradeable for game elements to be used uniquely in one of the games,

each of said game machines comprising a first sending device for sending sending-information including identification-information to identify a user and the points when said converting device is mounted on each of said game machines, or including the identification-information and the play-information when said converting device is mounted on said server,

said server comprising;

a point storage device for storing the points converted by the converting device and the identification-information associating with the points so as to correspond with each other;

an updating device for updating the points in the point storage device by adding the points converted by the converting device;

a trading device for trading the points stored in the point storage device for any one of a plurality of game elements, each of which is used uniquely in any one of the games; and

a second sending device for sending the traded game element to said game machine operated by the user associated with the traded points.

2. 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 game elements available to the user are associated with each other; and

a storage control device for, when said server receives a trading request to trade anyone of the plurality of game elements 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 game element to be traded, and

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

3. The game system according to claim 2, 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.

4. The game system according to claim 2,

wherein, when anyone of designating informations, each of which designates anyone of the plurality of game elements, 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 game element 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 game element to said game machine.

5. The game system according to claim 4, wherein said data storage device comprises:

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

a second storage device for storing the designating informations, each of which designates the game element 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 game element stored in association with the received designating information from said first storage device and sends the read game element to said game machine.

6. The game system according to claim 2,

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 game elements 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.

7. The game system according to claim 6,

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

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the converting device converts the play-information indicating the contents of the user'"'"'s playing in each game into common points in accordance both with the contents of the play-information and a conversion rule for the game, the common points thereby having a unified trading value that enable the trading for any one of the plurality of game elements used uniquely in any one of the games.

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

a converting device for converting play-information indicating the contents of a user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines to points in accordance with the contents of the play-information, the points having a trading value unified throughout the games and are tradeable for game elements to be used uniquely in one of the games,

a point storage device for storing identification-information for identifying a user and the points converted by the converting device so as to correspond with each other,

an updating device for updating the points in the point storage device by adding the points converted by the converting device;

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;

a trading device for trading the points stored in the point storage device for anyone of a plurality of game elements, each of which is used uniquely in anyone of the games; and

a sending device for sending the traded game element to said game machines operated by the user associated with the traded points.

9. The server according to claim 8, comprising:

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

said storage control device which, upon reception of a trading request to trade anyone of the plurality of game elements 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 game element to be traded, and

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

10. The server according to claim 9, wherein when anyone of designating informations, each of which designates anyone of the plurality of game elements, 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 game element 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 game element to said game machine.

11. The server according to claim 10, wherein said data storage device comprises:

a first storage device for storing the plurality of game elements and the designating informations, each of which designates each of the plurality of game elements so as to be associated with each other, and a second storage device for storing the designating informations, each of which designates the game element 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 game element stored in association with the received designating information from said first storage device and sends the read game element to said game machine.

12. The server according to claim 9,

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 game elements 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.

16. The server of claim 8, wherein the converting device converts the play-information indicating the contents of the user'"'"'s playing in each game into common points in accordance both with the contents of the play-information and a conversion rule for the game, the common points thereby having a unified trading value that enable the trading for any one of the plurality of game elements used uniquely in any one of the games.

13. A register terminal connected via a communication network with a server included in a game system where a plurality of game machines are included, each of the game machines configured for communicating with the server and playing different kinds of games from each other, wherein:

one of each of said game machines each or said server comprises a converting device for converting play-information indicating the contents of a user'"'"'s playing in each game on each of said game machines into points in accordance with the contents of the play-information, the points having a trading value unified throughout the games and are tradeable for game elements to be used uniquely in one of the games, and

the server has a point storage device for storing so as to be associated with each other, each individual identification-information to identify a user for each game, common identification-information to link the individual identification-informations corresponding to a same user, and the points given to the user, and a storage control device for, when the server receives a common identification, issuing request including the common identification-information and the individual identification-informations to be linked, storing in the point storage device, the received common identification-information and the received individual identification-informations so as to be associated with each other,

the server further includes an updating device for updating the points in the point storage device by adding the points converted by converting device;

said register terminal comprising;

a readout device for reading out the individual identification-information from an information storage medium storing anyone 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.

17. The register terminal of claim 13, further comprising:

a display configured for displaying an authentication response from the server and an indication of a total number of common points currently available to the user,

wherein the common points are provided by the converting device, which converts the play-information indicating the contents of the user'"'"'s playing in each game into common points in accordance both with the contents of the play-information and a conversion rule for the game, the common points thereby having a unified trading value that enable the trading for any one of the plurality of game elements used uniquely in any one of the games.

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

converting play-information indicating the contents of the user playing one of the plurality of games into points, the points having a trading value unified through the games and tradeable for game elements to be used uniquely in one of the games;

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 different games; and

trading said points for anyone of a plurality of game elements, wherein each of said game elements is used uniquely in anyone of the plurality of games.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the converting step converts play-information indicating the contents of the user'"'"'s playing in the one game into common points in accordance both with the contents of the play-information and a conversion rule for the game, the common points thereby having a unified trading value that enable the step of trading for any one of the plurality of game elements used uniquely in any one of the games.