Gaming machine for changing game sound in free game and control method thereof

• US 9,965,917 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2009
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technological Group Limited
• Original Assignee: Aruze Gaming America Incorporated (Aruze Gaming America, Inc. /Okada/)
• Inventors: Tsuchiya, Naoki, Hashimoto, Kohei, Abe, Hiroki, Sakata, Takanori
• Primary Examiner(s): GARNER, WERNER G
• Application Number:
  US12/566,378
• Publication Number:
  US 20100093425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,148 Days
• Field of Search: 463 35
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games

Abstract

A slot machine displays on a display a unit game in which arranged symbols are rearranged. When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the slot machine displays on the display a free game that is a special game. The slot machine also changes a game sound that has been emitted into a different game sound when a predetermined condition is satisfied in the free game.

Claims

1. A slot machine comprising:

a bill identifier configured to identify whether an inserted bill is eligible and accept the inserted bill in a case that the inserted bill is eligible;

a display;

a speaker configured to emit a unit game sound, a first game sound, and a second game sound to an outside of the slot machine, wherein each of the unit game sound, the first game sound, and the second game sound is different;

a storage device configured to store unit game sound data, first sound data, and second sound data;

a speaker drive circuit configured to transmit the unit game sound data, the first sound data, and the second sound data to the speaker; and

a controller configured to;

(a) receive a wager on a play of a unit game;

(b) begin the play of the unit game;

(c) read out the unit game sound data and transmit the unit game sound data to the speaker drive circuit to cause the speaker to emit the unit game sound;

(d) determine whether a rearrangement of symbols rearranged in the unit game satisfies a predetermined condition;

(e) when the predetermined condition is satisfied, read out the first sound data and transmit the first sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change the unit game sound to the first game sound, causing the first game sound to be emitted by the speaker while displaying at least a first one of a plurality of free games on the display;

(f) determine whether a rearrangement of symbols in the free games satisfies a predetermined retrigger condition; and

(g) when the predetermined retrigger condition is satisfied, read out the second sound data and transmit the second sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change the first game sound to the second game sound, causing the second game sound to be emitted by the speaker while displaying a subsequent play of the free games on the display, and increase a current number of remaining free games.

2. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to change a song from the first game sound to the second game sound.

3. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to change a tempo from the first game sound to the second game sound.

4. A slot machine comprising:

a bill identifier configured to identify whether an inserted bill is eligible and accept the inserted bill in a case that the inserted bill is eligible;

a display configured to display a unit game rearranging a plurality of arranged symbols in partitioned regions, and to display a predetermined number of free games upon satisfaction of a predetermined condition;

a speaker configured to emit a unit game sound, a first game sound, and a second game sound to an outside sound of the slot machine, wherein each of the unit game sound, the first game sound, and the second game sound is different;

a storage device configured to store sound data for each of the unit game sound, the first game sound, and the second game sound;

a speaker drive circuit configured to transmit the sound data for each of the unit game sound, the first game sound, and the second game sound to the speaker; and

a controller configured to

(a) when the unit game is executed by a player placing a wager, read out the sound data for the unit game sound stored in the storage device and transmit the sound data for the unit game sound to the speaker drive circuit to cause the speaker to emit the unit game sound, and determine whether a rearrangement pattern of symbols rearranged in the unit game satisfies the predetermined condition;

(b) when the controller determines that the rearrangement pattern in the unit game satisfies the predetermined condition in the step (a), read out the sound data for the first game sound stored in the storage device and transmit the sound data for the first game sound to the speaker drive circuit to cause the speaker to emit the first game sound while displaying an execution of at least a first one of a plurality of free games on the display;

(c) determine whether a rearrangement pattern in the plurality of free games satisfies the predetermined condition again in each free game;

(d) when the controller determines that the rearrangement pattern satisfies the predetermined condition again in each free game in the step (c), notify the player that a retrigger has occurred by reading out the sound data for the second game sound stored in the storage device and transmit the sound data for the second game sound to the speaker drive circuit to cause the speaker to emit the second game sound while displaying an execution of at least a subsequent one of the plurality of free games on the display and

(e) in a case that the controller determines that the rearrangement pattern satisfies the predetermined condition again in each free game, increase a current number of the plurality of free games remaining.

5. The slot machine according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to change songs from the first sound to the second game sound.

6. The slot machine according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to change a tempo from the first game sound to the second game sound.

7. A slot machine comprising:

a bill identifier configured to identify whether an inserted bill is eligible and accept the inserted bill in a case that the inserted bill is eligible;

a display;

a speaker configured to emit a first game sound and a second game sound to an outside of the slot machine;

a storage device configured to store first sound data and second sound data;

a speaker drive circuit configured to transmit the first sound data and the second sound data to the speaker; and

a controller configured to;

(a) receive a wager on a play of a unit game;

(b) begin the play of the unit game;

(c) determine whether a rearrangement of symbols rearranged in the unit game satisfies a predetermined condition,

(d) when the predetermined condition is satisfied, read out the first sound data and transmit the first sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change a current game sound in the unit game to the first game sound, causing the first game sound to be emitted by the speaker while displaying at least one of a plurality of free games on the display;

(e) determine whether a rearrangement of symbols in the free games satisfies a predetermined retrigger condition; and

(f) when the predetermined retrigger condition is satisfied, read out the second sound data and transmit the second sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change the first game sound to the second game sound, causing the second game sound to be emitted by the speaker while displaying a subsequent play of the free games on the display; and

(g) when the predetermined retrigger condition is satisfied, increase a current number of remaining free games.

8. The slot machine according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to change a song from the first game sound to the second game sound.

9. The slot machine according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to change a tempo from the first game sound to the second game sound.

10. A method for controlling a slot machine including a controller, a bill identifier configured to identify whether an inserted bill is eligible and accept the inserted bill in a case that the inserted bill is eligible, a display, a speaker, a storage device and a speaker drive circuit, the method comprising:

beginning, by the controller, a play of a unit game based on a wager by a player;

determining, by the controller, whether a rearrangement of symbols rearranged in the unit game satisfies a predetermined condition;

when the controller determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, reading out a first sound data stored in the storage device and transmitting the first sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change a current game sound being emitted by the speaker in the unit game to a first game sound to be emitted by the speaker while displaying at least a first one of a plurality of free games on the display;

determining, by the controller, whether a rearrangement of symbols in the free games satisfies a predetermined retrigger condition; and

when the predetermined retrigger condition is satisfied, reading out a second sound data stored in the storage device and transmitting the second sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change the first game sound being emitted by speaker in the free game to a second game sound to be emitted by the speaker for a subsequent play of the free games, the second game sound being difference than the first game sound, and increasing a current number of remaining free games by the controller.

11. The method for controlling the slot machine according to claim 10, wherein the first game sound comprises a different song than the second game sound.

12. The method for controlling the slot machine according to claim 10, wherein the first game sound comprises a different tempo than the second game sound.

13. A method for controlling a slot machine including a controller, a bill identifier configured to identify whether an inserted bill is eligible and accept the inserted a case that the inserted bill is eligible, a display configured to display a unit game rearranging a plurality of arranged symbols in partitioned regions and to display a predetermined number of free games upon satisfaction of a predetermined condition, a speaker, a storage device, and a speaker drive circuit the method comprising:

determining, by the controller based on a wager by a player, whether a rearrangement pattern of symbols rearranged in the unit game satisfies the predetermined condition;

when the controller determines that the rearrangement pattern in the unit game satisfies the predetermined condition, notify the player that a trigger has occurred by reading out a first sound data stored in the storage device and transmitting the first sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change a current game sound being emitted by the speaker in the unit game to a first game sound corresponding to the first sound data to be emitted by the speaker while displaying an execution of at least a first one of the plurality of free games on the display;

determining, by the controller, whether a rearrangement pattern in the free games satisfies the predetermined condition again in each free game;

when the controller determines that the rearrangement pattern satisfies the predetermined condition in each free game, notify the player that a retrigger has occurred by reading out a second sound data stored in the storage device and transmitting the second sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change the first game sound being currently emitted in the free game into a different second game sound corresponding to the second sound data to be emitted by the speaker while displaying an execution of at least a subsequent one of the plurality of free games; and

when the controller determines that the rearrangement pattern satisfies the predetermined condition again in each free game, increasing a current number of the free games remaining.

14. The method for controlling the slot machine according to claim 13, wherein the first game sound comprises a different song than the different second game sound.

15. The method for controlling the slot machine according to claim 13, wherein the first game sound comprises a different temp than the different second game sound.

16. A method for controlling a slot machine, the method comprising:

determining, by a slot machine controller, whether a bill identifier accepted an inserted bill;

determining, by the slot machine controller, whether a wager was placed on a play of a unit game;

thereafter determining, by the slot machine controller, whether a rearrangement of symbols rearranged in the unit game satisfies a predetermined condition;

when the predetermined condition is satisfied, reading out, by the slot machine controller, a first sound data stored in a storage device in communication with the slot machine controller, and transmitting the first sound data to a speaker drive circuit to change a current game sound in the unit game to a first game sound while displaying at least a first one of a plurality of free games on a display device;

determining, by the slot machine controller, whether a rearrangement of symbols in the free games satisfies a predetermined retrigger condition;

when the predetermined retrigger condition is satisfied, reading out, by the slot machine controller, a second sound data stored in the storage device and transmitting the second sound data to the speaker drive circuit to change the first game sound to a second game sound while displaying at least a subsequent one of the plurality of free games, the second game sound being different than the first game sound; and

when the controller determines that the predetermined retrigger condition is satisfied, increasing a current number of the plurality free games remaining.

17. The method for controlling the slot machine according to claim 16, wherein the first game sound comprises a different song than the second game sound.

18. The method for controlling the slot machine according to claim 16, wherein the first game sound comprises a different tempo than the second game sound.