JP2021171467A - Game machine management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable prevention of reduction in the sales of a game hall where game machines are installed of which rate change is possible by players.SOLUTION: In a storage portion 31 of a management device 3, rate ratio setting information 311 that indicates a setting value of a running ratio for each rate is stored in advance. The management device 3 receives and totals, from inter-machine units 2, game machine information and rate information of the game machines and generates running information 312 and running rate ratio information 313. When the running ratio of a One-yen rate reaches 20%, use of the One-yen rate is not allowed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a game machine management system that manages game machines used in a game hall.

As a gaming machine used in a game hall such as a pachinko parlor, an enclosed gaming machine that circulates and uses a plurality of bullets enclosed inside is known (Patent Document 1). In the enclosed gaming machine, the player can change the preset rate to a favorite rate by a selection operation. The rate means the unit price (4 yen, 1 yen, etc.) of a game ball provided to a player in ball lending.

JP-A-2019-134844

However, if the number of players playing games at a low rate increases, there is a problem that the sales of the amusement park decrease.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a decrease in sales of a game hall in which a game machine in which a player can change the rate is installed. be.

The present invention is a game machine management system that manages a game machine whose rate can be changed by a player, and stores a set value of a rate ratio to a game machine for each predetermined group installed in a game hall. By the set value storage means, the operation ratio calculation means for acquiring the operation information including the game machine information and the rate information of the operating game machine, and calculating the operation ratio of the rate for each group, and the operation ratio calculation means. A determination means for determining whether or not the calculated operating ratio of a predetermined rate is equal to or greater than the set value stored in the rate setting value storage means, and a predetermined value when the determination means determines that the operation ratio is equal to or greater than the set value. It is a gaming machine management system having a rate limiting means that makes it impossible to change to a rate.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a decrease in sales of a game hall in which a game machine in which a player can change the rate is installed.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the game system including the game machine management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a platform machine. It is a figure which shows the rate setting selection screen in the inter-unit machine. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a management device. It is a flowchart which shows the schematic operation of the game machine management system. It is a figure which shows the rate ratio setting information. It is a figure which shows the map which set the priority according to the installation place of a game machine. It is a figure which shows the map which set the permissible rate range according to the priority of the map. It is a figure which shows the state which updated the rate range allowed for other gaming machines when the gaming machine with a high priority is used at a high rate.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Composition of game system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gaming system including a gaming machine management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This gaming system consists of n gaming machines (here, n is an integer of 3 or more) 1-1, 1-2, ... 1-n, and each of them is a gaming machine 1-1, 1-2, ... -N units of inter-unit machines 2-1, 2-2, ... 2-n connected to 1-n, and inter-unit machines 2-1, 2, ... 2-n via the network NW. It is composed of a management device 3 configured to be able to communicate with 2-n. The platform machines 2-1 and 2, ... 2-n and the management device 3 constitute a game machine management system. In the following description, when each gaming machine is not distinguished, it is referred to as gaming machine 1, and when each inter-machine machine is not distinguished, it is referred to as inter-unit machine 2.

The gaming machine 1 is a gaming machine whose rate can be changed by a player, for example, an enclosed pachinko machine. Identification information (ID) including maker information and model information is stored in the internal storage unit of the gaming machine 1.

The platform machine 2 controls or monitors the game machine 1 when the player plays a game on the game machine 1. The platform machine 2 authenticates the player at the time of login operation. The authentication of the player at the time of login operation is, for example, biometric authentication such as face authentication and vein authentication, and the platform machine 2 transmits the read ecological information to the management device 3. For a player who has a membership card, the machine 2 may transmit a card ID including the player's identification information read from the membership card instead of transmitting biometric information. For a player who does not have a membership card, the authentication password entered by the player may be transmitted to the management device 3. When the authentication is completed, the player is logged in, and the player can play the game on the gaming machine 1 in the logged-in state.

Further, the platform machine 2 acquires the game machine information from the game machine 1 and transmits it to the management device 3, and also transmits the rate information to the management device 3. The rate information is information representing the rate of the game machine 1 set in advance in the machine 2 by the manager or the player of the game hall. The game machine information and the rate information are collectively called operation information. Operation information is transmitted when an event such as a rate change occurs or at regular intervals.

The management device 3 is a server capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from each of the plurality of inter-unit machines 2. The management device 3 collects the operation information of each gaming machine 1 transmitted from each machine 2 and calculates the operation ratio. The operating ratio is information indicating how much ratio of gaming machine 1 is operating at what rate for each predetermined group (all gaming machines, islands, models, specifications, the entire amusement park, etc.). be.

Further, when the operating ratio of the calculated predetermined rate (for example, the lowest rate) exceeds a preset threshold value (for example, 20%), the management device 3 notifies that the rate cannot be changed. (Hereinafter, notification that the rate cannot be changed) is transmitted to the machine 2.

<Internal configuration of the stand-in machine>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the stand-in machine. The platform machine 2 has a control unit 20, a storage unit 21, a communication unit 22, a game machine connection unit 23, an operation unit 24, a display unit 25, and a card insertion unit 26, each of which is connected to the control unit 20.

The storage unit 21 is a storage medium such as a RAM, a ROM, and a rewritable non-volatile memory. The ROM stores a control program, fixed data, and the like necessary for operating the machine 2. Further, the RAM stores programs being executed by the control unit 20 and data necessary for their execution. In addition, the rewritable non-volatile memory stores the current rate setting value, the settable (selectable) rate, the unusable (unchangeable) rate, and the like.

The communication unit 22 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving information between the management devices 3. The communication unit 22 includes, for example, a LAN controller. The gaming machine connection unit 23 includes an interface for interlocking with the gaming machine 1.

The operation unit 24 as an operation means has, for example, an operation button as a device for the player to perform an input operation. The operation unit 24 may have a touch panel provided so as to overlap the display unit 25. The display unit 25 as a display means is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display unit 25 displays various information to be notified to the player. The card insertion unit 26 is an insertion slot for a player to insert a general card or a membership card.

The control unit 20 is, for example, a CPU, and functions as a communication control unit 201, a game control unit 202, an operation control unit 203, a display control unit 204, and a card control unit 205 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 21. do.

The communication control unit 201 performs data communication with the management device 3 via the communication unit 22. In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 201 transmits operation information (game machine information and rate information) to the management device 3. In addition, the rate change impossibility notification is received from the management device 3.

The game control unit 202 controls the game machine 1 by performing data communication with the game machine 1 via the game machine connection unit 23.

The operation control unit 203 acquires information indicating the operation content performed by the operation unit 24 from the operation unit 24, and notifies each unit of the control unit 20 related to the operation content of the operation content based on the acquired information.

The display control unit 204 causes the display unit 25 to display various types of information. The display control unit 204 causes the display unit 25 to display, for example, the user's card balance, the number of balls held, and the number of stored balls that can be paid out.

The card control unit 205 reads information from the card, which is a storage medium inserted in the card insertion unit 26, and writes information to the card. The card control unit 205 updates the balance information in the card when the player pays the cash used for lending the ball using the operation unit 24.

<Rate setting selection screen>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a rate setting selection screen displayed on the display unit 25. Here, FIG. 3A shows a state before the player selects the rate, and FIG. 3B shows a state in which the player selects the rate of “1 yen”.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the rate setting selection screen 251 includes an image 252 indicating that the rate setting screen is displayed, a button 253 indicating the currently set "4 yen" rate, and selection. A button 254 representing a possible rate of "1 yen" is displayed. Then, in FIG. 3B, since the rate of "1 yen" selected by the player is set to be immutable (unusable), "x" is added to "1 yen".

<Internal configuration of management device>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the management device. The management device 3 has a control unit 30, a storage unit 31, an operation unit 32, a display unit 33, and a communication unit 34, each of which is connected to the control unit 30.

The storage unit 31 is a storage medium such as a ROM, RAM, or a hard disk. The ROM stores a control program, fixed data, and the like necessary for operating the management device 3. Further, the RAM stores programs being executed by the control unit 30, data necessary for their execution, and the like. In addition, a large amount of data is stored in the hard disk. Here, the rate ratio setting information 311 and the operation information 312, and the operation rate ratio information 313 are illustrated.

The rate ratio setting information is information representing a set value of the ratio of the rate to the total number of gaming machines of a predetermined group installed in the game hall. In the figure, the rate of 4 yen is set to 80% and the rate of 1 yen is set to 20%. Therefore, when the number of gaming machines is 100, the rate of 4 yen is 80 and the rate of 1 yen is 20.

Further, the operation information is information indicating the number of gaming machines actually used for gaming for each rate among the gaming machines of a predetermined group. In the figure, of the 100 machines, 70 are operating at a rate of 4 yen and 20 are operating at a rate of 1 yen.

The operating rate ratio information is information representing the ratio of the number of operating machines at each rate to the total number of gaming machines in the operating information. In the figure, the operating ratio of the 4 yen rate is 70%, and the operating ratio of the 1 yen rate is 20%.

The operation unit 32 is a device that accepts input operations of a user (such as a game hall administrator), such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 33 is a display that displays information input from the operation unit 32, information acquired from the machine 2 and the like. The communication unit 34 is a part of a communication interface for transmitting / receiving data to / from the inter-unit machine 2 via the network NW, and is configured by, for example, a LAN controller.

The control unit 30 is, for example, a CPU, and controls the entire management device 3 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 31. Further, the control unit 30 aggregates the operation information of each gaming machine 1 transmitted from each machine 2 to generate the operation information 312 and stores it in the storage unit 31. Here, the operation information is aggregated for the model or specifications of the gaming machine 1, or for each island of the gaming field or for all gaming machines.

Further, the control unit 30 calculates the operation rate ratio information 313 from the operation information 312 and stores it in the storage unit 31. Further, the control unit 30 compares the calculated operating rate ratio information 313 with the set ratio of the rate ratio setting information 311 and sets the ratio of the predetermined rate (here, 1 yen) to the set value (here, 20%) or more. It is determined whether or not the ratio is equal to or higher than the predetermined ratio, and if the ratio is equal to or higher than the predetermined ratio, a notification is transmitted to the machine 2 so that the current setting (4 yen in this case) for the predetermined rate cannot be changed to the predetermined rate.

<Operation of game machine management system>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the gaming machine management system. This operation is an example of an operation when the player selects a desired rate from the operation unit 24 of the platform machine 2. The schematic operation of the management device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5.

The rate selection operation is performed in the machine 2 (step S1). That is, when the player inputs a rate change operation from the operation unit 24, the rate setting selection screen 251 shown in FIG. 3A is displayed on the display unit 25. The player inputs an operation to select "1 yen" in order to change the initial value of "4 yen" to a low rate of "1 yen". The platform machine 2 transmits the selected rate information and the operation information including the game machine information of the game machine 1 to the management device 3 in response to the rate selection operation (step S2).

The management device 3 that has received the operation information reads the rate ratio setting information 311 and the operation rate ratio information 313 from the storage unit 31 (step S11), and determines whether or not the operation rate ratio is less than the set value (step S12). Here, it is determined whether or not the gaming machine 1 operating at the rate of "1 yen" is less than 20%.

If it is determined that the operating rate ratio is less than the set value (step S12: Yes), the management device 3 transmits a rate change permission notification to the machine 2 (step S13). If it is determined that the operating rate ratio is equal to or higher than the set value (step S12: No), the management device 3 transmits a rate change impossibility notification to the machine 2 (step S14). When the rate ratio setting information 311 and the operating rate ratio information 313 at the time of executing step S12 are the values shown in FIG. 4, the operating rate ratio of "1 yen" is equal to or more than the set value, so that the management device 3 has a rate. An immutable notification will be sent.

After transmitting the rate change permission notification or the rate change impossibility notification, the management device 3 updates the operation information and the operation rate ratio information stored in the storage unit 31 according to the type of the transmitted notification (step S15). .. That is, when the game is started at the rate of "1 yen" after sending the rate change permission notification, the number of the changed rate in the operation information 312 (here, the rate of "1 yen") is increased by 1, and the operation rate is increased. Increase the ratio of the changed rate in the ratio information 313 by one unit. If the game is started at the rate of "4 yen" after sending the rate change impossible notification, the number of the initial value rate (here, the rate of "4 yen") in the operation information 312 is increased by 1 and the operation rate is increased. Increase the ratio of the initial value rate in the ratio information 313 by one unit (1% when the total number is 100 units).

The inter-unit machine 2 determines whether the rate change permission notification has been received from the management device 3 or the rate change impossibility notification has been received (step S3). Then, when it is determined that the rate change permission notification has been received (step S3: permission notification), the display unit 25 indicates that the rate change has been permitted, and the current rate stored in the storage unit 31 (step S3: permission notification). Here, the rate is changed by updating the rate (“4 yen”) to the changed rate (here, “1 yen”) (step S4). If it is determined that the rate change impossible notification has been received (step S3: non-notification), the display unit 25 displays that the rate cannot be changed to the selected rate. Here, the rate setting selection screen 251 shown in FIG. 3B is displayed on the display unit 25 (step S5).

When the player starts the game, the pachinko machine 2 acquires the game information from the game machine 1 and transmits it to the management device 3. At this time, if the rate change is permitted and implemented, the game is played at the changed rate (here, the rate of "1 yen"), and if the rate change is not permitted and is not implemented, it is the initial value. Play the game at a rate of "4 yen".

As described in detail above, according to the gaming machine management system according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to limit the ratio of gaming machines that are allowed to play at a low rate, so that the rate can be changed by the player. It is possible to prevent a decrease in sales of amusement machines where various gaming machines are installed.

In addition to the above embodiments, the present invention has the following modifications (1) to (6).
(1) Aggregate by manufacturer and specifications of gaming machines.
(2) The use of low rates is not permitted until the operating ratio of high rates reaches a predetermined value.
For example, in the case of the rate ratio setting information 311 in FIG. 4, the 1-yen rate is not allowed until the operating ratio of the 4-yen rate reaches 80%. Instead of the operating ratio, it may be set not to allow the rate of 1 yen until the number of operating units reaches a predetermined number (for example, the rate of 4 yen is 80 units).

(3) Models with specific conditions are not subject to rate ratio restrictions.
For example, newly installed gaming machines will be fixed at 4 yen and will not be subject to rate ratio restrictions.
(4) No rate ratio is set for the highest rate.

(5) The operating ratio of each rate includes the operating ratio of the lower rate.
For example, in the case of the rate ratio setting shown in FIG. 6, for 4 yen, up to 100% including the rate of 4 yen or less is allowed, and for 2 yen, up to 60% including the rate of 2 yen or less is allowed. For 1 yen, up to 30% is allowed including the rate of 1 yen or less, and for 0.1 yen, up to 10% is allowed.
Therefore, for example, if 2 yen, 1 yen, and 0.1 yen are all 0%, 4 yen may be 100%. In other words, each rate does not limit changes to that rate if the sum of its rate and the lower rate operating ratio is less than the sum of its rate set value and the lower rate set value. By processing in this way, it is possible to increase the operating ratio of high rates.

(6) The range of rates that can be set by the player is changed according to the installation location of the game machine.
For example, prioritize places where players want to gather, such as near the entrance or on the aisle side. As shown in FIG. 7, for 10 gaming machines on one island, a map with a higher priority set as it is closer to the entrance is created, and it is shown in FIG. 8 according to the priority on the map. Set the allowable rate range. In the case of the same rate ratio setting as in FIG. 6, A allows 0.1 yen or more, B allows 1 yen or more, C allows 2 yen or more, and D allows only 4 yen.

Then, when a gaming machine with a high priority is used at a high rate, the rate range of other gaming machines is updated according to the priority. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 9, since the gaming machine having the first priority is used at a rate of 4 yen, the rate range of the gaming machine having the second to tenth priority is the first priority. Updated in the rate range of the pachinko machine, which was in 9th place. By processing in this way, the rate range of the 10 gaming machines as a whole can be maintained.

If the rate is changed from "4 yen" to "1 yen" during the game, it will be disadvantageous for the player if the "4 yen" coin remains in the game machine, and conversely from "1 yen". When changing to "4 yen", if the "1 yen" coin remains in the game machine, it will be disadvantageous to the store. Therefore, when the rate is changed during the game, the process shown in FIG. 5 is executed after the automatic counting process of the balls held is executed.

1-1, 1-2 ... 1-n ... game machine, 2-1, 2-2 ... 2-n ... machine, 20, 30 ... control unit, 24 ... operation unit, 25 ... display Unit, 31 ... Storage unit, 202 ... Game control unit, 311 ... Rate ratio setting information, 312 ... Operation information, 313 ... Operation rate ratio information.

Claims (8)

It is a game machine management system that manages game machines whose rates can be changed by the player.
A rate setting value storage means for storing a set value of a rate ratio to a game machine for each predetermined group installed in a game hall, and a rate setting value storage means.
An operation ratio calculation means that acquires operation information including game machine information and rate information of a game machine in operation and calculates an operation ratio of the rate for each group.
A determination means for determining whether or not the operation ratio of a predetermined rate calculated by the operation ratio calculation means is equal to or higher than the set value stored in the rate setting value storage means.
When the determination means determines that the value is equal to or greater than the set value, the rate limiting means for disallowing the change to a predetermined rate, and the rate limiting means.
A game machine management system that has. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
The gaming machine management system in which the predetermined rate is the lowest rate. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
The group is a game machine management system that is all game machines, islands, models, or specifications installed in a game hall. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
An operating means that accepts a predetermined input operation by the player,
It has a display means for displaying a selectable rate according to an input operation of a rate change by the player from the operation means.
When the rate selected by the player with respect to the selectable rate is the predetermined rate, the display means displays that the rate cannot be changed to the predetermined rate. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
Even if the determination means determines that the operating ratio of a predetermined rate is less than the set value, the rate limiting means shifts to the lower rate when the operating ratio of a rate lower than the predetermined value is less than the predetermined value. A gaming machine management system that cannot be changed. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
A gaming machine management system that excludes gaming machines that meet certain conditions from the rate restrictions based on the operating rate ratio. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
In the rate limiting means, even when the operating ratio of a predetermined rate is determined by the determining means to be equal to or higher than the set value, the sum of the rate and the operating ratio lower than the rate is the set value of the rate. And, if it is less than the total of the set values of the lower rate than the relevant rate, the gaming machine management system that does not restrict the change to the relevant rate. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
A game machine management system in which a rate range that can be set by a player is set according to the installation location of the game machine in the game hall.

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