HANDHELD DEVICE WIRELESS MUSIC STREAMING FOR GAMEPLAY

• US 20090088247A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: BOOTH, Jesse Nathanie, OBERG, Gregory Keith
• Granted Patent: US 8,409,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/35
• 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 13/327 using wireless networks, e.g. Wi-Fi® or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• 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 2300/405 being a wireless ad hoc network, e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Pico net
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6081 generating an output signal, e.g. under timing constraints, for spatialization
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/12 the excitation function being a code excitation, e.g. in code excited linear prediction [CELP] vocoders

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for streaming of audio data of separate streams in at least two different formats. In some embodiments handheld game devices are in wireless communication and a first of the handheld game devices streams audio data during game play to a second of the handheld game devices. In some embodiments the audio data includes audio data from a plurality of streams of audio data. In some embodiments the streams of audio data include streams of audio data in different formats, generally different compressed formats, some of which may be selected based on whether a device includes circuitry specifically configured to decompress audio data in a specific data format.

Claims

1. A method for providing audio information from a first handheld device to a second handheld device during game play of an interactive multiplayer video game engaged in by users of the first handheld device and the second handheld device, the first handheld device configured to execute program instructions of the interactive multiplayer video game and the second handheld device also configured to execute program instructions of the game, each of the first handheld device and the second handheld device having wireless communications capability, comprising:

executing at least some program instructions of the interactive multiplayer video game by the first handheld device;

transmission of at least some audio information by the wireless communications capability of the first handheld device;

executing at least some program instructions of the interactive multiplayer video game by the second handheld device;

reception by the wireless communications capability of the second handheld device of the at least some audio information transmitted by the wireless communication capability of the first handheld device, the reception occurring after the second handheld device has executed at least some of the program instructions of the interactive multiplayer video game;

providing an audio presentation by the second handheld device of the at least some audio information received by the second handheld device; and

executing at least some further program instructions of the interactive multiplayer video game by the first handheld device, the execution of the at least some further program instructions occurring after the transmission of the at least some audio information by the wireless communications capability of the first handheld device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least some program instructions of the multiplayer game and the at least some further program instructions of the interactive multiplayer video game are the same program instructions.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the interactive multiplayer video game is a multiplayer music game.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least some audio information is a portion of a song.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the at least some audio information includes audio information in a first data format and audio information in a second data format.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the interactive multiplayer video game is a multiplayer music game in which users of the handheld devices simulate play of a song in accordance with instructions to the users of the handheld devices;

wherein the at least some audio information comprises portions of the song; and

further comprising;

providing instructions to a user of the second handheld device to simulate play of the song, the instructions indicating to the user of the second handheld device timing and operation of input devices of the second handheld device;

not providing the audio presentation by the second handheld device of the at least some audio information received by the second handheld device if the second handheld device determines in accordance with program instructions of the multiplayer game that the user of the second handheld device has not simulated play of the song in accordance with the instructions; and

transmission of further audio information by the wireless communications capability of the first handheld device substantially throughout play of the interactive multiplayer video game by the first handheld device.

7. A method for use in communicating audio information from a first handheld device to a second handheld device, the method comprising:

providing a first audio stream in a first data format;

providing a second audio stream in a second data format, the second data format being different from the first data format;

combining the first audio stream and the second audio stream into an output stream; and

transmitting the output stream from the first handheld device to the second handheld device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the first data format is Ogg; and

the second data format is ADPCM.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the first handheld device and the second handheld device are each a handheld game device.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the transmitting the output stream from the first handheld device to the second handheld device is performed in accordance with an 802.11 standard.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the providing a first audio stream in a first data format comprises loading data of the first audio stream from a memory cartridge.

12. A method for use in communicating audio information from a first handheld device to a second handheld device, the method comprising:

receiving an input stream at the second handheld device from the first handheld device, the input stream including data of a first audio stream in a first format and data of a second audio stream in a second format, the first data format and the second data format being different formats;

decompressing data of the first audio stream;

decompressing data of the second audio stream; and

playing at least one sound indicative of data of the first audio stream and data of the second audio stream.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the first data format is Ogg; and

the second data format is ADPCM.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving an input stream at the second handheld device from the first handheld device is performed in accordance with an 802.11 standard.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the first handheld device and the second handheld device are each a handheld game device.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising combining the data of the first audio stream and the data of the second audio stream into at least one output audio signal, wherein the playing at least one sound indicative of data of the first audio stream and data of the second audio stream includes playing at least one sound indicative of the at least one output audio signal on at least one speaker.

17. An audio stream transmitting system for transmitting information from a first handheld device to a second handheld device, the audio stream transmitting system comprising:

a first buffer configured to receive a first audio stream in a first format;

a second buffer configured to receive a second audio stream in a second format, the second data format being different from the first data format;

a processor configured to combine the first audio steam and the second audio stream into an output stream; and

a transmitting system configured to transmit the output stream from the first handheld device to the second handheld device.

18. The audio stream transmitting system of claim 17, wherein:

the first data format is Ogg; and

the second data format is ADPCM.

19. The audio stream transmitting system of claim 17, further comprising a third buffer configured to receive data of the output stream.

20. The audio stream transmitting system of claim 17, the transmitting system is configured to transmit data in accordance with an 802.11 standard.

21. The audio stream transmitting system of claim 17, further comprising a memory cartridge configured to provide data of the first audio stream and data of the second audio stream.

22. An audio stream receiving system for receiving information at a second handheld device from a first handheld device, the audio stream receiving system comprising:

a receiving system configured to receive an input stream from the second handheld device, where the input stream includes a first audio stream in a first format and a second audio stream in a second format, the second data format being different from the first data format;

a processor configured to retrieve the first audio stream from the input stream and to store the first audio stream in a first buffer;

the processor configured to retrieve the second audio stream from the input stream and to store the second audio stream in a second buffer;

the processor configured to generate at least one audio signal indicative of the first audio stream and the second audio stream; and

at least one speaker configured to play a sound indicative of the at least one audio signal.

23. The audio stream receiving system of claim 22, wherein:

the first data format is Ogg; and

the second data format is ADPCM.

24. The audio stream receiving system of claim 22, the receiving system is configured to receive data in accordance with an 802.11 standard.

25. The audio stream receiving system of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured to:

decompress data of the first audio stream; and

decompress data of the second audio stream.