JP2005176993A - Remaining ball managing device in game hall - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique of easily gathering the information of visiting motives or the like from players. <P>SOLUTION: For instance, by a remaining ball managing device which manages remaining balls, the information is inputted by taking advantage of player's natural action of registering remaining balls, and the information is gathered. For instance, the remaining ball managing device comprises a storage means for storing questions to the player, a means for displaying the questions, an answer reception means for receiving an answer to the question, and a means for receiving the input of the information relating to the remaining balls of the player in the case of receiving the answer to the question by the answer reception means and performing display for urging the answer to the question in the case of not receiving the answer to the question. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to technology for managing excess balls in pachinko and other gaming machines.

  A gaming machine such as a pachinko executes a game using the inserted gaming medium, and pays out a gaming medium as an award (for example, in the case of a pachinko gaming machine, it is called a prize ball) according to the realized gaming state. . Then, at the end of the game, the player can exchange the remaining game medium (for example, in the case of a pachinko gaming machine, called a prize ball) with various prizes according to the quantity.

  By the way, the quantity of prize balls to be exchanged for various kinds of prizes is determined in advance according to the amount corresponding to the prize, and generally no prize that can be exchanged for one prize ball is prepared. .

  Therefore, the player cannot exchange all the prize balls for prizes depending on the quantity of the prize balls. The prize balls that could not be exchanged for prizes at this time are called “remainder balls” and are exchanged as edge prizes.

  However, the reality is that the player's intention is not prosperous for the processing of the surplus balls, and there are many players who are dissatisfied with this point.

  In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that records the number of prize balls on a recording medium, and allows the player to receive a return as a prize ball again by causing the reader to read the recording medium. Is described. Further, there is a technique for managing the extra balls by exchanging them for the amount of money when the unit price of the balls is different for each gaming machine island or each gaming machine.

JP-A-5-92075

  By the way, it is important to collect various information from the players for the rational management of the game hall. For example, if information relating to which advertisements the player has seen and visited the game hall can be collected, the game hall can carry out more effective advertisement development thereafter.

  However, the technique of Patent Document 1 simply records the number of prizes on a recording medium, and cannot collect such various information from a player.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for easily collecting information from a player.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, information is collected from a player by a surplus ball management device that manages surplus balls. For example, piggybacking on a player's natural act of registering extra balls, and receiving information and collecting information.

  The present invention is configured as follows, for example. The surplus ball management device that manages the surplus ball includes a storage unit that stores a question to the player, a unit that displays the question, an answer reception unit that receives an answer to the question, and an answer reception unit that receives the question. When an answer is accepted, an input of information regarding the player's surplus ball is accepted, and when an answer to the question is not accepted, a means for displaying a prompt for an answer to the question is provided.

  Further, the surplus ball management device for managing the surplus ball is a player side output device, a storage means for storing a question to the player, an input request accepting means for accepting an input request for information on the surplus ball of the player, When the input request accepting means accepts an input request for information on the player's surplus ball, means for displaying the question on the player side output device, answer accepting means for accepting an answer to the question, When an answer to the question is received by the answer receiving means, an input of information regarding the extra ball of the player is accepted, and when the answer to the question is not accepted, a message for prompting an answer to the question is displayed. And a means for displaying on the side output device.

  Further, the surplus ball management device further includes means for accepting a totaling request for answers to the question, means for summing up answers to the question, creating a totaling result, and means for displaying the totaling result. It may be.

  Further, the surplus ball management device, when receiving an input of the advertising medium by the advertising medium receiving means and the advertising medium receiving means for receiving the input of the advertising medium that motivated the player to visit the game hall, Information regarding a player's surplus ball may be received, and when input of the advertising medium is not received, a means for displaying to prompt input of the advertising medium may be included.

Further, the surplus ball management device further includes means for storing a plurality of advertising media,
The advertisement medium accepting means may accept selection of advertisement media from the displayed advertisement media.

  In addition, the surplus ball management device may further include means for totalizing the number of players that have visited the advertising medium for each of the advertising media and creating advertising medium validity information.

  According to the said invention, the technique which can collect information easily from a player is provided.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a game arcade to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, a gaming machine 2, a game medium counting device 3, and a surplus ball management device 1 are installed in the game hall. The surplus ball management device 1 is communicably connected to the player terminal 7 via the network 8. Examples of player terminals include mobile phones, personal computers, mobile terminals, and the like.

  The gaming machine 2 has a function of paying out a predetermined amount of gaming media as a prize when a specific gaming state is realized. Examples of such gaming machines 2 include pachinko gaming machines and slot machines. Below, it demonstrates taking the case of a pachinko machine.

  The game medium counting device 3 counts the number of game media (for example, pachinko balls 12) paid out from the gaming machine 2. The counted result is recorded on the counting result recording medium 4 and output. For example, in the case of a pachinko gaming machine, the game medium counting device 10 counts the number of pachinko balls stored in the ball box. And the receipt which recorded the count result and the card | curd which recorded the count result by light and magnetism are issued.

  Next, the remainder ball management device 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the surplus ball management device 1. As shown in the figure, the surplus ball management device 1 includes a CPU 901, a memory 902, an external storage device 903 such as an HDD, a reading device 904 that reads information from a portable storage medium 910 such as a memory card, and a display. It can be executed by a computer system including an output device 905 such as a printer, an input device 906 such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a scanner, and a network communication device 907 such as a FAX modem and a LAN card.

  Each function shown in FIG. 3 described later can be constructed by the CPU 901 executing a program loaded in the memory 902. At that time, a memory 902 or an external storage device 903 is used for the storage unit 110 described later.

  Next, the functional configuration of the surplus ball management device 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the surplus ball management device 1 includes an information processing device 100, a recording medium reading device 500, an input device 200, an output device 300, and a network communication device 400.

  The counting result recording medium reading device 500 reads the counting result of the game medium recorded on the counting result recording medium 4. Then, the read information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 100.

  The input device 200 receives input of information from the outside and transmits the received information to the information processing device 100. As described above, the input device 200 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, and the like.

  The output device 300 is a device that outputs information received from the information processing device 100. As described above, the output device 300 includes a display, a printer, and the like.

  The network communication device 400 mediates between the information processing device 100 and the player terminal 7 through a network. For example, when the communication network is WWW, CGI (Common Gate Interface) can be used as an interface.

  The information processing apparatus 100 includes a storage unit 110, an arithmetic processing unit 120, and an input / output unit 140.

  In the storage unit 110, player information 111, surplus amount information 112, history information 113, exchange unit price information 114, premium data 115, information 116 about output messages, and statistical data 119 are placed. .

  The player information 111 includes information about the player for each player. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, for each player ID 1111, information about the player such as the player's name 1112, age 1113, gender 1114, occupation 1115, address 1116, telephone number 1117, e-mail address 1118, etc. Is included. Here, the player ID 1111 is recognition information given to recognize each player. Further, the player ID 1111 is constituted by, for example, a number or a code. As described later, the player ID 1111 is given by the player information management unit 121 every time a new player is registered.

  Note that for a player who may be given a plurality of information such as occupation 1115 and e-mail address 118, the player information 111 may include a plurality of such information.

  The surplus amount information 112 includes information regarding the total surplus amount for each player. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, each player ID 1121 includes a total 1122 of the accumulated surplus amounts.

  Here, the surplus amount is an amount obtained by converting the number of surplus balls into an amount. That is, at the end of the game, the player exchanges the remaining game media (called a prize ball in the case of a pachinko gaming machine) with various prizes according to the quantity. However, the quantity of prize balls to be exchanged for various prizes is determined in advance according to the amount corresponding to the prize, and usually no prize that can be exchanged for a small quantity of prize balls is prepared. Therefore, in this embodiment, first, the surplus balls that could not be exchanged for prizes are converted into money. Then, the surplus amount is accumulated in the surplus ball management device 1. This makes it possible to manage surplus balls even when the ball replacement unit price differs for each gaming island or gaming machine.

  That is, the total surplus amount 1122 increases as the surplus amount accumulates. Further, in the game hall to which this embodiment is applied, when the total amount 1122 of the surplus amount reaches an amount that can be exchanged for a prize, the surplus amount can be exchanged for a prize at the request of the player. Therefore, when the surplus amount is exchanged for a premium, the total amount 1122 of the surplus amount is reduced by the amount of the premium. This process is performed by the surplus amount calculation unit 123 described later.

  The history information 113 includes information regarding the player's history (including the result of the gaming state). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, each player ID 1131 includes information such as the registration date and time 1132, the counted number of game media 1134, the number of extra balls 1135, and the exchanged prize name 1136. The registration date and time 1132 is the date and time when information such as the counted number 1134 of game media, the number of extra balls 1135, and the exchange prize name 1136 is input (registered). The counted number of game media 1134 is the number of game media counted by the game media counting device 3. These pieces of information are registered, added, deleted, and the like by the history information management unit 122, which will be described later, according to an instruction from the operator.

  The exchange unit price information 114 includes information related to the exchange unit price, which is a rate when the number of extra balls is converted into an amount of money. In this embodiment, the exchange unit price is determined for each player ID. As shown in FIG. 7, the exchange unit price 1142 is associated with the player ID 1141.

  The free gift data 115 includes information related to free gifts. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the exchange amount 1152 for each prize name 1151 is included.

The information 116 related to the output message includes a message output to the output device 300, a message output to the player terminal 7, and a condition for outputting the message. As shown in FIG. 11, the surplus ball management apparatus 1 of the present embodiment displays a questionnaire on the display when registering the surplus balls. The information 116 regarding the output message includes a message when displaying such a questionnaire. Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 17, a message to the player is displayed on the player terminal 7 such as a mobile phone. Information 116 about the output message includes a message to such a player. When the message is displayed as a graphic, the information 116 related to the output message includes graphic data. The statistical data 119 includes data created by statistically processing information obtained from the questionnaire. The surplus ball management device 1 according to the present embodiment performs a questionnaire to collect information from the player when registering the surplus amount. Then, the questionnaire results are totalized and stored in the storage unit 110 as statistical data 119.

  For example, in the case of conducting a questionnaire as to what triggered the game hall, the statistical data 119 becomes data on the number of votes 1192 for each advertising medium 1191 as shown in FIG. Processed and output according to the request of the operator. It is used to determine management policies, such as searching for effective advertising methods.

  Each information stored in the storage unit 110 may be obtained by being input by the operator via the input device 2 or may be obtained by communication means from an external device that collects each information. Also good. For example, you may make it obtain directly from the game media counter which has a communication means.

  Next, the arithmetic processing unit 120 will be described. The arithmetic processing unit 120 is a central unit that performs various processes. The arithmetic processing unit 120 includes a player information management unit 121, a history information management unit 122, a surplus amount calculation unit 123, a free gift data management unit 124, a message management unit 125, a statistical data creation unit 126, and output information. And a creation unit 130.

  The player information management unit 121 manages player information. The player information management unit 121 receives the player information 111 input by the operator via the input device 200, and stores it in the storage unit 110 for each player ID 1111 as shown in FIG. Here, information related to the player such as the player's name 1112 is obtained by, for example, a person on the game hall side such as an operator (for example, a store clerk at the prize exchange office) asking the player. In addition, the player information management unit 121 assigns a player ID 1111 to the player every time a new player is registered.

  In addition, the player information management unit 121 rewrites, deletes, etc. the player information 111 according to instructions from the operator. For example, when a new address is input for the same player, the old address in the player information 111 has already been deleted, and the new address is registered and the address is updated instead.

  Note that the surplus ball management device 1 of this embodiment has a player search function, and by inputting the player's name 1112, player ID 1111 and the like, the player's occupation 1115, address 1116, etc. are shown in FIG. Information about the player as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed.

  The history information management unit 122 manages player history information 113. The history information management unit 122 receives information such as the registration date and time 1132, the counted number of game media (prize balls) 1134, the number of extra balls 1135, the exchanged prize name 1136, etc., and stores them as the history information 113 in the storage unit 110.

  Of the history information 113, the counted number of game media 1134 is input when the count result recording medium reading device 500 reads the count result recording medium 4. However, the operator may input via the input device 200.

  Of the history information 113, the number of extra balls 1135 and the exchange prize name 1136 are input via the input device 200 by the operator. That is, the player brings the counting result recording medium 4 such as a receipt in which the number of prize balls is recorded to the prize exchange and exchanges it for a prize. At this time, the number 1134 of extra balls that could not be exchanged for the prize is exchanged. Information such as a prize name 1136 is input to the surplus ball management apparatus 1 by an operator (for example, a clerk at the prize exchange office).

  As for the registration date 1132, the operator may directly input the registration date, or the date and time when the information is input may be specified by the clock inside the extra ball management device 1 and set as the registration date.

  Further, the history information management unit 122 adds, rewrites, deletes, etc. the history information 113 according to instructions from the operator. That is, when information such as the number of extra balls 1135 is newly input for the same player, the information is added to the history information 113 and registered together with the registration date and time. Further, the history information management unit 122 corrects, deletes, etc., the registered history information 113 in response to an operator request.

  The surplus amount calculation unit 123 calculates the total surplus amount for each player. Each time it is calculated, the total amount 1122 of the surplus amount included in the surplus amount information 112 is updated. Specifically, the surplus amount is calculated using the number of remaining balls 1135 and the replacement unit price 1142. For example, when the exchange unit price α per surplus ball is given, the surplus amount N can be obtained by the formula: N = αn (n is the number of surplus balls). Then, the calculated surplus amount is added to the already registered surplus amount 1122 to update the total surplus amount 1122.

  Further, when the sum of the surplus amounts reaches a predetermined amount, and the player consumes the surplus amount by exchanging the surplus amount with a prepaid card or the like, the consumed amount is input via the input device 2 by the operator. In such a case, the surplus amount calculation unit 123 subtracts the consumed amount from the total amount 1122 of the surplus amount.

  The free gift data management unit 124 manages information related to free gifts. Specifically, information such as the exchange prize name and exchange amount is obtained from the input device 200 and stored in the storage unit 110.

  The message management unit 125 manages information related to messages to be output. Specifically, a message to be displayed and a condition for displaying the message are received via the input device 2 and stored in the storage unit 110. Further, according to an instruction from the operator, information related to the message is changed or deleted.

  The statistical data creation unit 126 creates statistical data 119 by performing statistical processing based on the questionnaire results collected from the players. Specific processing for generating specific statistical data will be described later.

  The output information creation unit 130 converts information output to the output device 300 such as a display or a printing device into an output signal suitable for the output device 300 and outputs the output signal. In addition, information to be transmitted to the player terminal 7 via the network 8 is created and output to the network communication device 400.

  The input / output processing unit 140 mediates transmission / reception of information between the information processing apparatus 100 and the input apparatus 200 connected thereto.

  In the surplus ball management device 1 configured as described above, the player information 111 is registered and accumulated according to the following flow.

  Information such as a player's name, age, gender, occupation, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. is collected by an operator or a game shop clerk asking the player. The surplus ball management device 1 accepts input of such information from the operator, for example, by displaying an input acceptance screen on the display. Next, the received information is stored in the storage unit 110 for each player. At this time, a player ID is assigned to a newly registered player. To correct the player information, after receiving the input of information specifying the player, such as the player name, player ID, etc., the input of the correction content is accepted and updated so that the corresponding player information becomes the correction content. To do.

  The history information 113 is registered and accumulated as follows.

  The player causes the game medium counting device 3 to count the game media remaining after the game. The game medium counting device 3 issues a count result recording medium 4 on which the count result is recorded to the player. The player goes to the prize exchange with the count result recording medium 4. At the prize exchange, the counting result recorded on the counting result recording medium 4 is read by the counting result recording medium reading device 500 of the surplus ball management device 1.

  The player receives prizes at the prize exchange according to the counted number of game media. When the game room is requested to manage the surplus balls that could not be exchanged for prizes, the player transmits information specifying the player such as a name and a player ID to an operator (for example, a shop clerk). The operator inputs information identifying the player into the surplus ball management device 1. The surplus ball management device 1 identifies the player with reference to the player information 111 based on the input information for identifying the player. Then, the information of the counted number of game media read by the count result recording medium reader 500 is added to the history information 113. Furthermore, the surplus ball management device 1 accepts input of information on the number of surplus balls that could not be exchanged for a prize and information on the name of the exchange prize. The surplus ball management device 1 adds information input by the operator to the history information 113 together with the registration date and time. Next time, when the same player requests management of surplus balls, the history information 113 is accumulated by repeating the same processing as described above.

  [Description of Operation] Next, the operation of the surplus ball management device 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the questionnaire response collection process will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flow of questionnaire answer collection processing.

  This flow is started by receiving a surplus ball registration request from the operator.

  First, the statistical data creation unit 126 displays a questionnaire on the output device 300 as shown in FIG. 11 (S308). The output device 300 is arranged so that the player can see the output contents. Further, the surplus ball management device 1 may include a plurality of output devices 300 as shown in FIG. 3, and may be used separately for the output device 300a on the operator side and the output device 300b on the player side. Then, information to be displayed to the operator is displayed on the output device 300a on the operator side, and information to be displayed to the player such as a questionnaire is displayed on the output device 300b on the player side. Good.

  The contents of the questionnaire to be output are predetermined by the operator, and are stored in the storage unit 110 as the output message 116. FIG. 11 shows an example in which a questionnaire for asking about the reason for the visit is displayed. As shown in the figure, on the display screen 310, the option 312 of the advertisement recording medium is displayed together with the check box 311 so that the option can be easily selected. When any (or a plurality of) options are selected and the OK button 316 is pressed, the statistical data creation unit 126 determines that a questionnaire has been answered (Yes in S310), and proceeds to the processing of S311.

  On the other hand, if neither option is selected, it is determined that the questionnaire has not been answered (No in S310), and the statistical data creation unit 126 continues to display the questionnaire and waits until the questionnaire is answered (S308). ). Further, a message 313 for prompting an answer is also displayed.

  When there is an answer to the questionnaire (Yes in S310), the history information management unit 113 receives information regarding the surplus ball (S306). Specifically, the output information creation unit 130 prompts the operator to input information on the number of extra balls and causes the operator to input the information. Then, the history information management unit 122 adds the input number of surplus balls to the history information 113.

  Further, the statistical data creation unit 126 adds up the collected questionnaire results in response to a request from the operator. For example, in the example of FIG. 11, the number of votes for each advertising medium is calculated, and a questionnaire result as shown in FIG. 9 is created.

  As described above, the questionnaire results are processed and output in response to the operator's request. Then, it is used to determine advertising policies.

  The above flow may be started when the counting result is read by the counting result recording medium reading device 500.

  [When there is an access from the player terminal] Next, the operation of the surplus ball management device 1 when there is an access from the player terminal 7 will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the surplus ball management device 1 when accessed from the player terminal 7 together with the operation of the player terminal 7.

  This flow starts when the player terminal 7 receives an access request to the surplus ball management device 1 from the player.

  When the player terminal 7 receives the access request, the player terminal 7 accesses the surplus ball management device 1 via the network 8 (S102).

  After confirming access from the player terminal 7, the output information creation unit 130 of the surplus ball management device 1 instructs the player terminal 7 to display a menu screen after performing authentication processing (S <b> 104).

  The player terminal 7 receives the instruction from the surplus ball management device 1 and displays the menu screen on its own display (S106). FIG. 13 is a display example of a menu screen. As shown in the figure, the menu screen 710 displays a mode 714 for receiving a surplus amount display request, a mode 716 for receiving a gift list display request, and the like. The player selects these modes via the input device of the player terminal 7. When the OK button 717 is pressed, the player terminal 7 transmits the contents of the selected mode to the surplus ball management device 1.

  The authentication process is performed as follows, for example. The output information creation unit 130 requests information required for authentication from the player terminal 7. Examples of information necessary for authentication include a player name, a player ID, a connection password, and the like. The player terminal 7 prompts the player to input information necessary for authentication in order to respond to the request from the surplus ball management device 1. When information necessary for authentication is input by the player, the player terminal 7 transmits these pieces of information to the surplus ball management device 1. The output information creation unit 130 refers to the received information necessary for authentication and the player information 111. When the connection password is set, it tries to collate with the password for each player registered in the storage unit 110 in advance. If the player name, player ID, password, and the like match, it is determined that the player has been authenticated, and the process proceeds to the next process (S104). On the other hand, if they do not match, the player terminal 7 is requested to transmit information necessary for authentication again without authenticating. In response to this, the player terminal 7 displays that it has not been authenticated, prompts the user to input information necessary for authentication again, and transmits the input information to the surplus ball management device 1.

  Next, a case where a mode for displaying surplus amount information is selected on the menu screen 710 will be described.

  When a request for surplus amount information is made from the player terminal 7 via the network 8 (S108), the output information creation unit 130 of the surplus ball management device 1 identifies the player with reference to the player information 111. Thereafter, the surplus amount information 1122 of the player is transmitted to the player terminal device 7. Then, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display these pieces of information (S120). At this time, if the output message 116 includes information that informs the player such as campaign information and prize arrival information, these information are also transmitted. Then, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display these pieces of information. Further, when the message is displayed as a graphic, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display graphic data.

  In response to the instruction from the surplus ball management device 1, the player terminal 7 displays the received surplus amount information on the display (S122).

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a display example on the display. As shown in the figure, a surplus amount 722 is displayed on the surplus amount display screen 720. Further, the amount of the surplus is displayed as a graphic 724 so that it can be easily understood visually. In addition, when the campaign information 726, the premium arrival information 727, etc. are received, these information are also displayed. The display screen 720 also displays a button 728 for returning to the menu screen 710.

  Next, a case where a mode for displaying a prize list is selected on the menu screen 710 will be described.

  When receiving the prize list display request, the player terminal 7 requests the surplus ball management apparatus 1 to send a prize list (S108).

  When a prize list request is received from the player terminal 7, the output information creation unit 130 of the surplus ball management device 1 transmits prize data 115 including the prize name 1151 and the exchange amount 1152 of the prize to the player terminal 7. . Then, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display these pieces of information (S120). Further, the difference amount with respect to the exchange amount 1152 is calculated for each premium name with reference to the surplus amount 1122, and the calculated difference amount is also transmitted. Then, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display these pieces of information. At this time, the player terminal 7 is instructed to accept the designation of the exchange desired prize.

  When the prize data 115 is received, the player terminal 7 displays a prize list display screen 730 on the display as shown in FIG. 13 (S122). On the display screen 730, a prize name 7312 and its amount 7313 are displayed as a prize list. Further, a difference 7314 from the surplus amount is displayed for each prize. When the contents of the prize list are large, the displayed prize list is changed by scrolling the screen.

  In addition, a selection button 7311 is displayed on the display screen 730 so that the designation of the exchange desired prize is accepted. The player can designate a desired exchange prize by selecting a desired exchange prize with the selection button 7311 and pressing a registration button 732. The player terminal 7 transmits the designated exchange desired prize name to the surplus ball management apparatus 1 (S124).

  When the exchange desired prize name is received from the player terminal 7, the surplus ball management device 1 stores the exchange desired prize name in the storage unit 110 in association with the player (S126).

  Next, the output information creation unit 130 determines whether or not the player's surplus amount 1122 has reached the amount of the prize desired for exchange (S128). When the sum of the surplus amounts has not reached the amount of the desired prize for exchange (No in S128), the output information creation unit 130 gives the player terminal 7 the remaining amount 1122 and the difference between the surplus amount and the desired exchange amount. Send. Then, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display these pieces of information (S130).

  In response to this, the player terminal 7 displays the surplus amount 744 and the difference amount 746 on the display as shown in FIG. 16 (S140). At this time, the exchange prize name 742 may be displayed. Further, the surplus amount may be indicated by a graphic 745 so that the remaining amount can be easily understood visually. Further, the display mode of the surplus amount and the difference amount may be different. For example, the difference may be displayed as a graphic, for example, as a broken line graphic 745b.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the surplus amount has reached the amount of the prize to be exchanged (No in S128), the output information creation unit 130 displays a message notifying that the prize can be exchanged. (S136).

  When the player terminal 7 receives an instruction from the surplus ball management device 1, as shown in FIG. 17, the player terminal 7 displays a message notifying that the prize can be exchanged (S140). The display screen 750 shown in FIG. 17 displays a replacement desired gift name 752 and a current surplus amount 754 in addition to a message 756 notifying that the remaining amount has reached the amount of the desired replacement free gift.

  From this display screen 750, the player knows that the surplus amount of confidence has reached the amount that can be exchanged for prizes. Then, he goes to the amusement hall and exchanges the surplus for prizes.

  The case where the surplus ball management device 1 is accessed from the player terminal 7 has been described above.

  [When exchange desired prize is designated] Next, the case where the exchange desired prize is registered in S126 of the flow shown in FIG. 12 will be described.

  As described above, when a free gift to be exchanged is registered, it is determined whether or not the free gift can be exchanged with the current surplus, and if it can be exchanged, this is indicated. Are displayed on the player terminal 7. The surplus ball management device 1 of the present embodiment further has a configuration for periodically displaying information on whether or not it is possible to exchange the desired prize for exchange on the player terminal 7. A case relating to the following will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a flow for periodically displaying information such as whether or not prizes can be exchanged on the player terminal.

  After determining whether or not a predetermined period (for example, one week) has elapsed since the last transmission of the surplus amount or the like (S226), the output information creation unit 130 determines that the player has elapsed (Yes in S226). It is determined whether or not the surplus amount 1122 has reached the amount of the exchange desired prize (S228). When the sum of the surplus amounts has not reached the amount of the desired prize to be exchanged (No in S228), the output information creation unit 130 gives the remaining amount 1122 and the difference between the surplus amount and the amount of the desired prize to be exchanged to the player terminal 7. Transmit (S230). Then, the player terminal 7 is instructed to display these pieces of information. And it returns to S226 and continues a process.

  When the player terminal 7 receives the surplus amount 1122 and the difference between the surplus amount and the exchange desired prize amount, as shown in FIG. 16, the surplus amount 744 and the difference 746 are displayed on the display (S240). .

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the surplus amount has reached the amount of the prize to be exchanged (No in S228), the output information creation unit 130 displays a message notifying that the prize can be exchanged. (S236). Then, this process (a process for regularly informing the surplus amount, etc.) is terminated.

  When the player terminal 7 receives an instruction to display a message notifying that the prize can be exchanged, the player terminal 7 displays a message notifying that the prize can be exchanged as shown in FIG. 17 (S240). ). From this display screen, the player knows that the surplus amount of confidence has reached the amount that can be exchanged for a prize. Then, he goes to the amusement hall and exchanges the surplus for prizes.

  In the above flow, the surplus amount and the like are regularly notified, but the timing to notify can be selected as appropriate.

  Further, when notifying the surplus amount or the like, the campaign information or the like can be notified at the same time.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

  According to the above-described embodiment, since a questionnaire survey can be performed with the registration of the surplus ball, it is possible to easily collect information from the player.

  Further, the player can easily know his / her surplus amount using the player terminal.

  In addition, the player can easily obtain a free gift list.

Further, the player can easily grasp the difference between the surplus amount and the amount of the prize to be exchanged.
Further, since the difference between the surplus amount and the amount of the prize to be exchanged is periodically notified to the player terminal, the player can easily grasp whether or not the prize can be exchanged.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist.

  For example, when the surplus ball management device 1 receives registration of exchange desired prizes from a plurality of player terminals, the statistical data creation unit 126 creates prize exchange scheduled data 200 from the received prize names and the total number of prizes. You may do it.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration of the prize exchange schedule data 200 including the exchange schedule number 2003 for each prize 2002.

  The prize exchange schedule data may be created for each type of player (age, sex, occupation).

  The output information creation unit 130 processes and outputs the exchange-scheduled prize data in response to an operator request. Such exchange prize schedule data is used for the purchase plan of prizes.

  [Surplus ball management system using player ID] In the above embodiment, the player is asked for information identifying the player such as the name and player ID, the player is identified from the information, and history information is added. The structure to be taken is taken. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 20, when a player ID card 64 in which a player ID is recorded is issued to a player and the surplus number of balls is registered, the player ID card 64 is presented to the player. A configuration may be adopted in which a player is identified by the player ID recorded in the ID card 64 and history information is added.

  In such a case, the surplus ball management device 1 includes a player ID card issuing device 60 and a player card reading device 62 in addition to the configuration of the above embodiment. The player ID card 64 is composed of an information recording medium for recording the player ID with magnetism or light. For the newly registered player, the player ID given by the player information management unit 121 is recorded on the player ID card 64 by the player ID card issuing device 60, and the player ID card 64 is stored in the player ID card 64. Issued to those who When a player registers the number of extra balls, the player ID card reader 62 reads the player ID recorded on the player ID card 64 of the player. The player information management unit 121 receives the read player ID and identifies the player.

  In this way, the player can be identified easily and reliably when registering the extra number of balls. Further, fraud due to the player's disguise can be prevented.

  In the above embodiment, the player information, history information, etc. are stored in the surplus ball management device, but may be recorded in the player ID card 64. In such a case, the surplus ball management device reads player information and history information from the player ID card 64, and performs processing in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

  Further, the questionnaire collection processing described in the above embodiment may be started when the player ID card 64 is inserted into the player ID card reader 62 or when recorded information is read. Good.

  As described above, several embodiments have been described. In the above embodiment, among the gaming machines in the game hall, the slot machine is also used as the surplus ball of the pachinko gaming machine, and the valuable value of the surplus medal is changed to the valuable value of the pachinko ball. You may make it manage by converting, or you may make it manage a surplus medal similarly to a surplus ball. Even in this case, the above embodiment can be applied.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a game arcade to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the hardware configuration of the surplus ball management device 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the surplus ball management device in the game hall to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the player information 111. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the surplus amount information 112. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the history information 113. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the replacement unit price information 114. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the premium data 115. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of data 119 obtained by statistically processing the questionnaire results. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of statistical questionnaire collection processing. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a questionnaire screen. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow of processing including information exchange between the player terminal and the surplus ball management device when the player terminal accesses. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of the menu screen of the player terminal. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example of the surplus amount display screen of the player terminal. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of a prize list display screen of the player terminal. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the surplus amount and difference display screen of the player terminal. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of a display screen that informs that the surplus amount can be exchanged. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a flow of processing including information exchange between the player terminal and the surplus ball management device when the exchange desired prize is registered. FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the exchange scheduled prize data 200. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the outline of a surplus ball management system using a player ID card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Surplus ball management apparatus, 2 ... Game machine, 3 ... Game medium counting apparatus, 4 ... Count result recording medium, 5 ... Game medium, 7 ... Player terminal, 8 ... Network 100 ... Information processing apparatus, 110 ... Memory | storage part 111 ... Player information, 113 ... History information, 114 ... Exchange unit price information, 115 ... Premium data, 116 ... Output message, 119 ... Statistical data 120 ... Arithmetic processing unit, 121 ... Player information management unit, 122 ... History information Management unit, 123: Remaining amount calculation unit, 124 ... Premium data management unit, 126 ... Statistical data creation unit, 130 ... Output information creation unit, 140 ... Input / output processing unit,
200 ... input device, 300 ... output device, 500 ... counting result recording medium reader,
901 ... CPU, 902 ... memory, 903 ... external storage device, 904 ... reading device, 905 ... output device, 906 ... input device, 910 ... information recording medium

Claims (12)

A surplus ball management device for managing surplus balls,
Storage means for storing questions to the player;
Means for displaying the question;
An answer accepting means for accepting an answer to the question;
If the answer to the question is accepted by the answer accepting means, an input of information relating to the player's surplus ball is accepted, and if the answer to the question is not accepted, means for prompting an answer to the question A surplus ball management device in a game hall characterized by comprising: A surplus ball management device for managing surplus balls,
A player-side output device;
Storage means for storing questions to the player;
An input request accepting means for accepting an input request for information on the player's extra ball;
Means for displaying the question on the player-side output device when the input request accepting means accepts an input request for information relating to the player's surplus ball;
An answer accepting means for accepting an answer to the question;
When the answer to the question is accepted by the answer accepting means, input of information regarding the player's surplus ball is accepted, and when the answer to the question is not accepted, a message prompting the answer to the question is received. A surplus ball management device in a game hall, characterized by comprising means for displaying on a player-side output device. The surplus ball management device according to claim 1, further comprising:
Means for accepting an aggregation request for answers to the question;
Means for counting the answers to the question and creating a counting result;
A surplus ball management device in a game hall, characterized by comprising means for displaying the counting results. A surplus ball management device for managing surplus balls,
An advertising medium accepting means for accepting an input of an advertising medium that has motivated the player to visit the amusement hall;
When receiving the advertisement medium input by the advertisement medium receiving means, information regarding a player's surplus ball is received. A surplus ball management device in a game hall characterized by comprising: The surplus ball management device according to claim 4,
And means for storing a plurality of promotional media;
Means for displaying the plurality of advertising media,
The surplus ball management device in a game hall, wherein the advertising medium receiving means receives selection of an advertising medium from the plurality of displayed advertising media. The surplus ball management device according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising:
A surplus ball management device in a game hall, characterized by having means for counting the number of players who have visited with the advertisement medium for each advertisement medium and creating advertisement medium validity information. A surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management device in an amusement hall,
The surplus ball management device
Having storage means for storing questions to the player;
Displaying the question;
An answer receiving step for receiving an answer to the question;
When an answer to the question is accepted in the answer accepting step, an input of information related to the player's surplus ball is accepted, and when an answer to the question is not accepted, a display for prompting an answer to the question is performed. A surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management device in a game hall, characterized in that: A surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management device in an amusement hall,
The surplus ball management device
A player-side output device;
Storage means for storing questions to the player,
An input request accepting step for accepting an input request for information on the player's extra ball;
When the input request receiving step receives an input request for information regarding the player's surplus ball, the step of displaying the question on the player side output device;
An answer receiving step for receiving an answer to the question;
If the answer to the question is accepted in the answer accepting step, input of information regarding the player's surplus ball is accepted, and if the answer to the question is not accepted, a message prompting the answer to the question is displayed. A surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management device in a game hall, comprising: displaying on the player side output device. It is a surplus ball management method of the surplus ball management apparatus in the game hall of Claim 7 or 8, Comprising: The said surplus ball management apparatus is further,
Receiving an aggregation request for answers to the question;
Summing up the answers to the questions and creating a summary result;
And a step of displaying the counting result. A method of managing a surplus ball of a surplus ball management device in a game hall. A surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management device in an amusement hall,
The surplus ball management device
An advertising medium reception step for accepting input of an advertising medium that has motivated the player to visit the amusement hall;
When receiving the advertisement medium input in the advertisement medium receiving step, information regarding a player's surplus ball is received. A surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management device in a game hall, characterized in that: It is a surplus ball management method of the surplus ball management device in the game hall according to claim 10,
The surplus ball management device further includes:
Storing a plurality of promotional media;
Displaying the plurality of advertising media,
The surplus ball management method of a surplus ball management apparatus in a game hall, wherein the advertisement medium reception step accepts selection of an advertisement medium from the displayed plurality of advertisement media. It is a surplus ball management method of the surplus ball management apparatus in the game hall of Claim 10 or 11, Comprising: The said surplus ball management apparatus is further,
A surplus ball management method for a surplus ball management device in a game hall, wherein the number of players who visit the advertising medium for each of the advertising media is totaled to create advertising medium validity information.

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