Game device, image processing method, and information recording medium

• US 8,795,089 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Motoki, Kimoto, Yousuke, Jitsukawa, Yoshiaki, Shimizu, Keisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Liddle, Jay Trent
• Application Number:
  US12/265,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20090118008A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,099 Days
• Field of Search: 463/31, 463/43
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/49 Saving the game status; Pausing or ending the game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• 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: A63F 2300/208 for storing personal settings or data of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images

Abstract

To enable images of game screens concerning a plurality of game programs to be systematically stored in a storage unit and a desired image to be swiftly displayed on a display unit in a later time, a game device of the present invention includes: a program executing unit for executing each of a plurality of game programs; an identification information acquiring unit for acquiring identification information on the game program during execution of the game program; an image acquiring unit for acquiring at least one image of a game screen generated during the execution of the game program; an image storing unit for storing the at least one image into the storage unit in association with the identification information; and a display control unit for reading the image stored in association with any one of the identification information from the storage unit based on a specification made by a user, and displaying the image on the display unit.

Claims

1. A game device, comprising:

program executing means for executing each of a plurality of game programs;

identification information acquiring means for acquiring identification information on one of the plurality of game programs during execution of the one of the plurality of game programs;

image acquiring means for acquiring at least one image of a game screen generated during the execution of the one of the plurality of game programs;

storage means for storing images obtained by the image acquiring means;

image storing means for;

(i) storing the at least one image into the storage means in association with the identification information, and (ii) judging whether or not there already exists at least one previously stored image in the storage means in association with the identification information, and if there already exists at least one previously stored image, the image storing means stores the at least one image in association with the same identification information as the at least one previously stored image into the storage means; and

display control means for;

(i) displaying an icon on a display means, the icon being associated with the one of the game programs, (ii) displaying related information concerning the one of the game programs and a total number of the previously stored images associated with the identification information, such displaying being on the display means adjacent to the icon and in response to a user specifying the icon on the display means, (iii) reading one or more images stored in association with any one of the identification information from the storage means based on a specification made by the user, and (iv) displaying the images on the display means,

wherein the display control means displays a background image that is associated with the icon and symbolizes the one of the game programs, such displaying being in a background of the display means and in response to the user maintaining the specifying of the icon on the display means for at least a predetermined time.

2. A game device according to claim 1, wherein if the image storing means judges that there does not already exist at least one previously stored image in association with the identification information, the image storing means creates a folder for the storage means, the folder having a name that is based on the identification information, and stores the at least one image within the folder, thereby being stored in association with the identification information of the one of the plurality of game programs.

3. A game device according to claim 1, wherein:

the image acquiring means further acquires the related information on the image of the game screen along with the image; and

the image storing means further stores the related information on the image into the storage means along with the image.

4. A game device according to claim 3, wherein:

the related information includes a title image indicating a title of the one of the plurality of game programs; and

the display control means further displays one or a plurality of the title images on the display means, while receiving a specification of one of the title images from the user.

5. A game device according to claim 3, wherein the related information includes character string information indicating a game scene displayed in the image.

6. A game device according to claim 5, wherein the related information includes numerical value information indicating a sequential position of a game scene displayed in the image.

7. A game device according to claim 6, wherein the display control means displays the images stored in the storage means on the display means in an order based on the numerical value information.

8. A game device according to claim 5, wherein the image storing means includes image deleting means for deleting the image that has already been stored in the storage means based on the related information on the image in a case where the image is newly stored into the storage means in association with the identification information.

9. A game device according to claim 3, wherein:

the related information includes position information indicating a position within the image; and

the display control means includes means for superimposing at least a part of the related information on the image in the position indicated by the position information.

10. A game device according to claim 3, wherein the related information is generated by the one of the plurality of game programs.

11. A game device according to claim 1, wherein the image acquiring means further acquires the images of the game screen generated during the execution of the one of the plurality of game programs sequentially based on a situation in which the one of the plurality of game programs is being executed by the program executing means.

12. The game device of claim 1, wherein the display control means is further for displaying a thumbnail image for the previously stored images associated with the identification information on the display means and in response to the user selecting the icon on the display means.

13. The game device of claim 12, wherein the display control means is further for displaying a name of one of the previously stored images on the display means adjacent to the associated thumbnail image in response to the user specifying the thumbnail image on the display means.

14. An image processing method, comprising:

executing a game program on a computer processor;

acquiring identification information on the game program during execution of the game program on the computer processor;

acquiring at least one image of a game screen generated during the execution of the game program;

storing the at least one image into a storage means, where the at least one image is stored by the computer processor in association with the identification information, and the computer processor judges whether or not there already exists at least one previously stored image in the storage means in association with the identification information, and if there already exists at least one previously stored image in association with the identification information, the computer processor stores the at least one image in association with the same identification information as the at least one previously stored image into the storage means;

displaying an icon on a display means, the icon being associated with the one of the game programs;

displaying related information concerning the one of the game programs and a total number of the previously stored images associated with the identification information, such displaying being on the display means adjacent to the icon and in response to a user specifying the icon on the display means;

reading one or more images stored in association with any one of the identification information from the storage means based on a specification made by the user, and displaying the images on the display means; and

displaying a background image that is associated with the icon and symbolizes the one of the game programs, such displaying being in a background of the displaying steps and in response to the user maintaining the specifying of the icon on the display means for at least a predetermined time.

15. A non-transitory, computer readable recording medium, which stores a program for causing a computer to function as:

program executing means for executing a game program;

identification information acquiring means for acquiring identification information on the game program during execution of the game program;

image acquiring means for acquiring at least one image of a game screen generated during the execution of the game program;

image storing means for;

(i) storing the at least one image into a storage means in association with the identification information, and (ii) judging whether or not there already exists at least one previously stored image in the storage means in association with the identification information, and if there already exists at least one previously stored image, the image storing means stores the at least one image in association with the same identification information as the at least one previously stored image into the storage means; and

display control means for;

(i) displaying an icon on a display means, the icon being associated with the one of the game programs, (ii) displaying related information concerning the one of the game programs and a total number of the previously stored images associated with the identification information, such displaying being on the display means adjacent to the icon and in response to a user specifying the icon on the display means, (iii) reading one or more images stored in association with any one of the identification information from the storage means based on a specification made by the user, and (iv) displaying the images on the display means,

wherein the display control means displays a background image that is associated with the icon and symbolizes the one of the game programs, such displaying being in a background of the display means and in response to the user maintaining the specifying of the icon on the display means for at least a predetermined time.

16. A game device, comprising:

program executing means for executing each of a plurality of game programs;

identification information acquiring means for acquiring a game title as identification information on one of the plurality of game programs during execution of the one of the plurality of game programs;

image acquiring means for acquiring at least one image of a game screen generated during the execution of the one of the plurality of game programs;

storage means for storing images obtained by the image acquiring means;

image storing means for;

(i) storing the at least one image into the storage means in association with the identification information by storing the at least one image in a folder of the storage means, the folder having a name that is based on the identification information, and (ii) judging whether or not there already exists at least one previously stored image in the storage means in association with the identification information, and if;

(a) there already exists at least one previously stored image in the folder, the image storing means stores the at least one image in association with the same identification information as the at least one previously stored image into the folder of the storage means, and (b) if there does not already exist at least one previously stored image in the folder in association with the identification information, the image storing means creates the folder for the storage means, the folder having a name that is based on the identification information, and stores the at least one image within the folder, thereby being stored in association with the identification information of the one of the plurality of game programs; and

display control means for;

(i) displaying an icon on a display means, the icon being associated with the one of the game programs, (ii) displaying related information concerning the one of the game programs and a total number of the previously stored images associated with the identification information, such displaying being on the display means adjacent to the icon and in response to a user specifying the icon on the display means, (iii) reading one or more images stored in association with any one of the identification information from the storage means based on a specification made by a user, and displaying the images on display means,

wherein the display control means displays a background image that is associated with the icon and symbolizes the one of the game programs, such displaying being in a background of the display means and in response to the user maintaining the specifying of the icon on the display means for at least a predetermined time.