Cross platform gaming

• US 8,825,765 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2007
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Services Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Services Organization Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Fyock, Christina, Amin, Mansey K., Simon, Brent, Bassali, Harpal S., Lechner, Marcelo D., Beckwith, Robert, Utley, Rick, Alvo, Stella, Frazier, Kristopher T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Jungwon
• Application Number:
  US11/740,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20080268947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,687 Days
• Field of Search: 463/42, 463/24, 463/20, 463/29, 707/10, 709/226, 709/204, 709/238, 709/205, 709/217, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/205
• 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 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• 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 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• 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: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A first game server is configured to provide a game to a first category of user device. A second game server is configured to provide the game to a second category of user device. A game manager is configured to receive a request from a user device for the game application and to assign the request to one of the first game server and the second game server according to whether the user device is included in the first category of user device or the second category of user device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first game server configured to provide a multi-player game to a first user device associated with a first category of user device;

a second game server configured to provide the multi-player game to a second user device associated with a second category of user device, wherein the first category of user device is different from the second category of user device, and wherein the first and second category of user device are each selected from the group consisting of personal computers, cellular telephones, set top boxes, and handheld computers; and

a game manager configured to receive a request for the multi-player game from each of the first and second user devices and to assign the request from the first user device to the first game server and the request from the second user device to the second game server, and

wherein the first game server selectively provides, according to a first set of connection parameters associated with the first category of user device, a media stream of the multi-player game to the first user device while the second game server selectively provides, according to a second set of connection parameters associated with the second category of user device, a media stream of the game to the second user device to initiate the multi-player game between a user of the first user device and a user of the second user device based at least in part on the first and second sets of connection parameters and the first and second categories of user devices.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user profile database in selective communication with the first game server, the second game server, and the game manager, the first game server and the second game server being configured to provide the media streams at least in part according to information retrieved from the user profile database.

3. The system of claim 1, the game manager being further configured to receive the request from at least one of the first and second user devices via one of the first game server and the second game server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first game server and the second game server are each one of a broadband game server, a wireless game server, and a television game server.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a media server in a video hub office, the media server being configured to receive a media stream from at least one of the first game server and the second game server and to provide the media stream to at least one of the first and second user devices within a customer premises.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first set of connection parameters and the second set of connection parameters include at least one of:

connection speed, processor speed, graphics resolution, amount of device cache, and device type.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the game manager is configured to determine whether parameters associated with the first user device are compatible with parameters associated with the second user device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the game manager is configured to adjust the media stream provided to the first user device and the second user device if the parameters associated with the first user device are incompatible with the parameters of the second user device.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a request from a first user device for a multi-player game;

receiving a request from a second user device for the multi-player game;

making determinations regarding whether the first user device is included in a first category of user device and whether the second user device is included in a second category of user device, wherein the first category of user device is different from the second category of user device, and wherein the first and the second category of user device are each selected from the group consisting of personal computers, cellular telephones, set top boxes, and handheld computers;

assigning the request to one of a first game server and a second game server according to the determinations; and

selectively providing a media stream of the multi-player game to the first user device from the first game server according to a first set of connection parameters and to the second user device from the second game server according to a second set of connection parameters to initiate the multi-player game between users of the first and second user devices based at least in part on the first and second sets of connection parameters and the first and second categories of user devices.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

retrieving information from a user profile database; and

providing the media stream of the game to the first or second user device from one of the first game server and the second game server at least in part according to the information.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first game server and the second game server are each one of a broadband game server, a wireless game server, and a television game server.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first game server, the second game server, and the game manager are included within a single computing device.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first set of connection parameters and the second set of connection parameters include at least one of:

connection speed, processor speed, graphics resolution, amount of device cache, and device type.

14. The method of claim 9, embodied as computer-executable instructions included on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining whether the first set of connection parameters is compatible with the second set of connection parameters.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising adjusting the media stream provided to the first user device based on the second set of connection parameters if the first set of connection parameters is incompatible with the second set of connection parameters.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the first game server is a television game server.

18. The method of claim 9, wherein the first set of connection parameters and the second set of connection parameters include an amount of device cache and at least one of:

connection speed, processor speed, graphics resolution, and device type.

19. A method, comprising:

receiving a first request from a first user device for a multi-player game;

making a determination that the first user device is included in a first category of user device;

assigning the first request to a first game server according to the determination;

receiving a second request from a second user device for the multi-player game;

making a determination that the second user device is included in a second category of user device, wherein the first category of user device is different from the second category of user device, and wherein the first and second category of user device are each selected from the group consisting of personal computers, cellular telephones, set top boxes, and handheld computers;

assigning the second request to a second game server according to the determination;

selectively providing, from the first game server, a media stream of the game to the first user device according to a first set of connection parameters;

selectively providing, from the second game server, the media stream of the game to the second user device according to a second set of connection parameters;

determining whether parameters associated with the first user device are compatible with parameters associated with the second user device; and

adjusting a media stream provided to at least one of the first and second user devices if the parameters are incompatible.

20. The method of claim 19, embodied as computer-executable instructions included on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

21. A method of claim 19, wherein the first request is a request to store game state data, and the second request is to initiate the game with the stored game state data.

22. A system comprising:

a first game server configured to provide a multi-player game to a first user device associated with a first category of user device;

a second game server configured to provide the multi-player game to a second user device associated with a second category of user device; and

a game manager configured to receive a request for the multi-player game from each of the first and second user devices and to assign the request from the first user device to the first game server and the request from the second user device to the second game server, and

wherein the first game server selectively provides, according to a first set of connection parameters associated with the first category of user device, a media stream of the multi-player game to the first user device while the second game server selectively provides, according to a second set of connection parameters associated with the second category of user device, a media stream of the game to the second user device to initiate the multi-player game between a user of the first user device and a user of the second user device based at least in part on the first and second sets of connection parameters and the first and second categories of user devices, and

wherein the first category of user devices is set top boxes, and the second category of user devices is devices other than set top boxes, and further wherein the first and second game server are one of a broadband game server, a wireless game server and a television game server.

23. A method comprising:

receiving a request from a first user device for a multi-player game;

receiving a request from a second user device for the multi-player game;

making a determination regarding whether the first and second user devices are included in a first category of user device or a second category of user device;

assigning the request to one of a first game server and a second game server according to the determination; and

selectively providing a media stream of the multi-player game to the first user device from the first game server according to a first set of connection parameters and to the second user device from the second game server according to a second set of connection parameters to initiate the multi-player game between users of the first and second user devices based at least in part on the first and second sets of connection parameters and the first and second categories of user devices,

wherein the first category of user devices is set top boxes and the second category of user devices is devices other than set top boxes, and further wherein the first and second game server are one of a broadband game server, a wireless game server and a television game server.