Systems and methods for providing offers within a game space that decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers

• US 9,666,026 B1
• Filed: 11/20/2014
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronic Arts Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Aftershock Services, Inc. (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Schultz, Stephanie, Pieron, Luc, McLellan, Sam, SWIFT, Dylan
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US14/548,430
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3269 Timing aspects of game play, e.g. blocking/halting the operation of a gaming machine

Abstract

Offers provided within a game space may decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers. A game instance of a game space may be executed to facilitate presentation of views of the game space to users to enable interaction of the users with the game space and/or each other by performing operations in the game space in response to commands received from the users. Offers may be provided within the game instance of the game space that decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers. The offers may include a first offer having a first value that progressively decreases based on an amount of users that have previously accepted the first offer in order to incentivize early acceptance of the first offer.

Claims

1. A system for providing offers within a game space that decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers, the system comprising

one or more processors configured by non-transitory computer readable instructions to:

execute a game instance of a game space to facilitate presentation of views of the game space to users to enable interaction of the users with the game space and/or each other by performing operations in the game space in response to commands received from the users; and

provide offers within the game instance of the game space that decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers such that the value, which is to be received by the users that accept that offers in exchange for an amount of consideration, decreases progressively based on the previous acceptances of the offers by other users without decreasing the amount of consideration exchanged by the users, the offers including a first offer having a first value that progressively decreases based on an amount of users that have previously accepted the first offer in order to incentivize early acceptance of the first offer such that the value to be received by the first user upon acceptance of the first offer progressively decreases based on the amount of the other users that have previously accepted the first offer without decreasing the amount of consideration to be exchanged by the first user for the first offer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first offer is a chance-based offering such that accepting the first offer includes obtaining a chance to win a prize associated with the first offer based on luck.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the amount of users that have previously accepted the first offer includes a number of users that have previously obtained a chance to the win the prize associated with the first offer.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the value of the first offer includes a quantity associated with the prize such that a first user winning the prize will gain more virtual items associated with the prize relative to a second user winning the prize after the first user.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the value of the first offer includes odds of winning the prize such that a first user obtaining a chance to win the prize will have better odds of winning relative to a second user obtaining a chance to win the prize after the first user.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the value of the first offer includes a price associated with obtaining a chance to win the prize such that a first user purchasing a chance will pay less relative to a second user purchasing a chance after the first user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first offer is for a virtual item such that accepting the first offer includes purchasing the virtual item.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the amount of users that have previously accepted the first offer includes a number of users that have previously purchased the virtual item.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the value of the first offer includes a quantity associated with the virtual item such that a first user purchasing the virtual item will gain more of the virtual item relative to a second user purchasing the virtual item after the first user.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the value of the first offer includes a price associated with the virtual item such that a first user purchasing the virtual item will pay less relative to a second user purchasing the virtual item after the first user.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the offers further include a second offer such that the first value of the first offer progressively decreases based on an amount of users that have previously accepted either the first offer or the second offer.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the first value of the first offer decreases for a second group of users and remains the same for a second group of users.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the decrease in the first value of the first offer occurs with individual acceptances of the first offer.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the decrease in the first value of the first offer is tiered based on successive sets of acceptances.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured by non-transitory computer readable instructions to effectuate presentation of visual indications of offers to users of the game instance of the game space, the visual indications including a first visual indication of the first offer, the first visual indication conveying information associated with the decrease of the first value of the first offer.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the information associated with the decrease of the first value of the first offer includes one or more of:

a visual illustration of a decreasing pool of chances to win, prizes, or virtual items associated with the first offer;

an indication of a total number of users that have accepted the first offer;

or

an indication of a total number of remaining chances to win, prizes, or virtual items associated with the first offer.

17. A computer-implemented method for providing offers within a game space that decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers, the method being performed by one or more processors configured by non-transitory computer readable instructions, the method comprising

executing, at one or more processors, a game instance of a game space to facilitate presentation of views of the game space to users to enable interaction of the users with the game space and/or each other by performing operations in the game space in response to commands received from the users;

and

providing, at one or more processors, offers within the game instance of the game space that decrease in value based on previous acceptances of the offers such that the value, which is to be received by the users that accept that offers in exchange for an amount of consideration, decreases progressively based on the previous acceptances of the offers by other users without decreasing the amount of consideration exchanged by the users, the offers including a first offer having a first value that progressively decreases based on an amount of users that have previously accepted the first offer in order to incentivize early acceptance of the first offer such that the value to be received by the first user upon acceptance of the first offer progressively decreases based on the amount of the other users that have previously accepted the first offer without decreasing the amount of consideration to be exchanged by the first user for the first offer.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first offer is either:

a chance-based offering such that accepting the first offer includes obtaining a chance to win a prize associated with the first offer based on luck;

or

for a virtual item such that accepting the first offer includes purchasing the virtual item.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising effectuating, at one or more processors, presentation of visual indications of offers to users of the game instance of the game space, the visual indications including a first visual indication of the first offer, the first visual indication conveying information associated with the decrease of the first value of the first offer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the information associated with the decrease of the first value of the first offer includes one or more of:

a visual illustration of a decreasing pool of chances to win, prizes, or virtual items associated with the first offer;

an indication of a total number of users that have accepted the first offer;

or

an indication of a total number of remaining chances to win, prizes, or virtual items associated with the first offer.