Information processor

• US 8,342,960 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2007
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tominaga, Takehiro, Higuchi, Masaki, Shimizu, Keisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoel, Matthew D.
• Application Number:
  US11/946,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20080182668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,861 Days
• Field of Search: 436 40- 43, 463/29
• US Class Current: 463/29
• 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 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/636 involving process of starting or resuming a game

Abstract

A related ID information retaining unit relates and stores IDs of game titles related to each other. A game data storage unit stores saved data with a title ID. A title ID acquisition unit acquires a title ID of a game program to be executed, and a related title acquisition unit then acquires another game title ID related to the acquired title ID in a related ID information database. A game data identification unit identifies game data stored in the game data storage unit, based on the title ID acquired by the related title acquisition unit.

Claims

1. An information processor comprising:

a related identification information retaining unit, which stores identification information of a title series of one or more games, relating the identification information of a game to the identification information of another game that was previously released in the title series;

a program storage unit, which stores an application program;

a data storage unit, which stores, in a memory, user save data of a previously-activated application program, by using identification information of the previously-activated application program as a directory name or a file name for the user save data;

an operation input receiving unit for receiving an operation input from a user to select an application program to be executed;

an execution unit for reading the selected application program from the program storage unit and executing the read application program, and for monitoring a request from the user to acquire user save data while the application program is being executed;

a title identification information acquisition unit, which acquires identification information of the game whose application program is being executed by the execution unit;

a related title acquisition unit, which acquires, from the related identification information retaining unit, the identification information of another application program of the title series to which the game of the executed application program belongs, upon the request from the user to acquire previously-stored user save data while the application program is being executed;

an identification unit, which identifies the previously-stored user save data stored in the data storage unit based on the identification information acquired by the related title acquisition unit;

a notification unit, which, when the identification unit identifies the previously-stored user save data as being of the title series to which the executed application program belongs, notifies the user of information on the identified user save data, via a display unit or an audio output unit; and

a storage control unit, which, when the operation input receiving unit receives the operation input from the user to select the user save data after the notification unit notifies the user of the information, replicates the selected user save data in the data storage unit by using the identification information of the application title of the application program that is being executed for the directory name or the file name.

2. The information processor of claim 1, wherein the related identification information retaining unit relates and stores pieces of identification information of a plurality of games that constitute a title series.

3. The information processor of claim 1, wherein the storage control unit defines, in an initial activation of the application program, a storage area for storing the user save data of the application program so as to create the data storage unit, using the identification information of the application program initially activated for the directory name or the file name, and replicates the user save data identified by the identification unit in the data storage unit thus created.

4. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein the application program is a game program.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having an emulator program stored therein, which when executed, causes an information processor to perform:

storing identification information of a title series of one or more games;

relating the identification information of a game to the identification information of another game that was previously released in the title series;

storing, in a memory, user save data of a previously-activated application program, by using identification information of the previously-activated application program as a directory name or a file name for the user save data;

receiving an operation input from a user to select an application program to be executed;

retrieving the selected application program and executing the application program;

monitoring a request from the user to acquire user save data while the application program is being executed;

acquiring identification information of the game whose application program is being executed;

acquiring the identification information of another application program of the title series to which the game of the executed application program belongs upon the request from the user to acquire previously-stored user save data while the application program is being executed;

identifying the previously-stored user save data stored in the memory based on the acquired identification information of the other application title;

notifying the user of information on the identified user save data, via a display unit or an audio output unit, when the previously-stored user save data is identified as being of the title series to which the executed application program belongs; and

replicating, when receiving the operation input from the user to select the user save data after the user is notified of the information, the selected user save data in the memory by using the identification information of the application title of the application program that is being executed for the directory name or the file name.

6. A recording medium storing the emulator program of claim 5 provided for a game device.