Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – Data storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-05
2003-10-07
Nguyen, Kim (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
Data storage or retrieval
C463S030000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06629893
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a game system and an information storage medium.
BACKGROUND ART
Game machines that are known in the art permit the selection of a manipulation object to play a game therewith. Examples of these are game machines that present a game such as baseball or soccer.
The description below concerns a game machine that presents a baseball game, by way of example. In a prior-art game machine, data on a plurality of teams is previously stored When a player inserts a coin, a team selection screen is displayed. The player selects a personal favorite from the plurality of teams displayed, and plays the game.
In a system that presents a baseball game, for example, 12 professional baseball teams are displayed as manipulation objects that can be selected. The player selects the team that the player likes, from these 12 baseball teams, to play the game.
With competitive games between teams that are sponsored in different regions, the popularity of each team often varies with the regions in which the game machines are installed. In addition, game machines installed in cities with large populations of people from other areas, such as Tokyo or New York, it often happens that the favored teams vary according to the places of origin of the players.
Moreover, if it were possible for players to know selection rates when selecting teams, as a barometer of how popular each team is, that would often increase the degree of satisfaction of the players with respect to the game. Assume, by way of example, that game machines are installed in Hiroshima and Los Angeles. If it were possible to display to each player the selection rate of local teams sponsored within these regions, together with the selection rate of other teams, when it comes to selecting teams, each player can enjoy the game while being satisfied that the player's own favorite team is highly popular. Unfortunately, it has not been possible in the art to produce a game that reflects the players' own interests in the manipulation objects, when such objects are selected.
In a known prior-art game machine, the abilities of baseball teams or other manipulation objects that can be selected are fixed therein when the game machine is shipped.
Thus the abilities of the teams or characters that are the manipulation objects are always the same, no matter which game machine is used for playing the game. This raises a problem in that it is difficult to increase the player's feeling of participation in the game and thus make the game more interesting.
Particularly with a game in which the selection and game-play relates to manipulation objects that are closely linked to regions, the allegiances of players towards the teams or characters that are the manipulation objects vary widely between regions. For example, in St. Louis, the allegiances to St. Louis baseball teams are high whereas in Los Angeles, the allegiances to Los Angeles baseball teams are high. If it were possible to vary the abilities of a favorite team in accordance with the way in which a player plays the game, this would provide a game that has more interesting contents.
However, no game has yet been provided in prior-art game machine to address this point.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
This invention was devised in the light of the above described problems and has as an objective thereof the provision of a game system and information storage medium that reflects the allegiances of a player in the selection objects of the game.
(1) In order to solve the above described technical problems, there is provided a game system which permits selection of any manipulation object from a plurality of manipulation objects, to play a game therewith, the game system comprising:
assessment computation means for computing and storing previous selection assessments for each manipulation object; and
selection processing means for displaying on a display means information indicating the plurality of selectable manipulation objects and information indicating selection assessments for each of the manipulation objects, and for executing processing for enabling a player to select any manipulation object.
An information storage medium in accordance with this aspect of the invention is an information storage medium which can be used by a computer and which comprises information (a program) for implementing (executing) the above described means. A program in accordance with this aspect of the invention is a program that can be used by a computer for implementing (executing) the above described means. A program in accordance with this aspect of the invention could also be embodied in carrier wave.
With this aspect of the invention, it is possible to confirm from the display of selection assessments which manipulation object is the most popular at that location, during the selection. When the selection rate of the manipulation object that is the player's own favorite object is high, this enables the player to play the game with a feeling of satisfaction.
Conversely, if the selection rate of the player's favorite manipulation object is low, this could give the play incentive to play the game repeatedly, to increase the selection rate of the team that is the player's own favorite.
In this manner, this aspect of the invention makes it possible to provide a game system, information storage medium, or program that can provide players with a game that reflects the players' allegiances with respect to selection objects.
In this case, it does not matter what the contents of the game are, provided that the game involves the appearance of selected manipulation objects, but it is preferably a competitive type of game in which a manipulation object fights against an opponent. A manipulation object is any type of manipulation object that is set for each type of game, such as a team or character. The information indicating selection assessments includes various selection details, such as selection rate or number of selections. The display of selection assessments is a direct display or indirect display of selection assessments, such as a direct display of selection rate and selection count either numerically or in a bar chart or pie-chart, for example, or an indirect display such that the manipulation object with the highest selection rate is displayed larger.
The display means preferably displays the selection assessments of the manipulation objects on the selection screen for specific manipulation objects in sequence of height of selection rate, or number of selections.
(2) This invention also relates to a game system in which a host machine and a plurality of game terminals are connected by communications lines, such that each of the game terminals selects a manipulation object from among a plurality of manipulation objects, to play a game therewith;
wherein each of the game terminals sends a first signal to the host machine during the selection of the manipulation object and sends information concerning the selected manipulation object as a second signal after the selection of the manipulation object;
wherein the host machine comprises:
means for computing and storing previous selection assessments for the manipulation objects for each region in which the game terminals are installed, based on received second signals; and
means for, when the first signal has been received, sending to a game terminal that is the transfer source of the first signal a third signal comprising selection assessments for the selected manipulation object for the region in which that game terminal is installed; and
wherein the game terminal displays information indicating selection assessments for these selected manipulation object that is based on the received third signal, during the selection processing of the manipulation objects.
This invention further relates to an information storage medium in which is stored information that can be used by a host computer for sending selection assessments of a plurality of manipulation objects through communications lines to a plurality of g
Funatsu Tetsuya
Natsui Toshio
Yamada Michio
Namco Ltd.
Nguyen Kim
LandOfFree
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