JP2022043126A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance an advertising effect by a network game.

SOLUTION: In a game terminal 104, a first advertisement screen 146 is displayed at prescribed timing when a game is executed. When the first advertisement screen 146 is displayed, game content for advantageously progressing the game is provided to a player as a reward. On the first advertisement screen 146, it is notified that a sponsor provides the reward because advertisement is displayed. Also, the reward is provided at any time not only by an advertisement display but also by various behaviors of accessing a site opened by the sponsor, registering a mail address, answering a questionnaire, purchasing a product, or the like.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to advertising control for network games.

The use of smartphones not only as communication terminals but also as game terminals is becoming common. Network games, which are popular on smartphones, are provided by accessing the platform built on the game server from the smartphone. Network games often focus on character development, cooperation and competition with other players, and collection of cards and items.

Network games are often played during travel times, breaks, and gaps such as before bedtime. Since there are many opportunities for the player to visually recognize the product, it is considered that it is easy to raise the recognition of the product by displaying the advertisement in the network game. The advertisement referred to here may be a game advertisement, a product advertisement such as a soft drink or a toy, or various advertisements such as a movie, a sport, or a TV program.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-095367

However, if the advertisement is displayed during the game, the player may find the advertisement display complicated. In particular, if an advertisement is displayed so conspicuously that it interferes with game play, there is a concern that the corporate image of the advertiser may be deteriorated.

The present invention is an invention completed based on the above-mentioned problem recognition, and a main object thereof is to provide a technique for enhancing an advertising effect by a network game.

The information processing device according to an aspect of the present invention has a game execution unit that controls the progress of the game, an advertisement display unit that displays an advertisement at a predetermined timing, and an advertisement display as an opportunity to advance the game advantageously. It is provided with a reward providing unit that provides game contents to the player as a reward.
The advertisement display unit notifies that the advertiser has provided a reward when displaying the advertisement.

The game server in one embodiment of the present invention is connected to a game terminal capable of executing a first and second network game via a communication network.
The game server has a game management unit that manages the progress of the first and second network games on the game terminal, and an advertisement that sends an advertisement to be displayed on the game terminal during execution of the first and second network games to the game terminal. It includes a transmission unit and a reward providing unit that provides a player with game content for advancing the game in an advantageous manner when the advertisement is displayed.
The advertisement transmission unit indicates that when the first network game is executed on the game terminal, the advertiser provides a reward for advancing the first network game in an advantageous manner, and the second network game. Also, the advertiser sends an advertisement indicating that a reward for advancing the second network game in an advantageous manner is provided.

The information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention displays in-game the name of the sponsor of the game and the fact that the game content for advancing the game is provided by the sponsor.

According to the present invention, it becomes easy to enhance the advertising effect of the network game.

It is a hardware configuration diagram of a game system. It is a functional block diagram of a game system. It is a data structure diagram of an advertisement setting table. It is a screen view of the 1st advertisement screen. It is a screen view of the 2nd advertisement screen.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of types of network games are provided to the game terminal by the game server, and the game content is provided to the player from the advertiser (hereinafter referred to as "sponsor") who is a sponsor company of the game. The game content referred to here may be anything that is useful for the player to advance the game in an advantageous manner, such as characters, equipment, items, and lottery rights for items, or content that is a collection target in the game world. Hereinafter, the game content provided at the expense of the sponsor is referred to as "sponsor reward". When the player starts the game, the game terminal is displayed to the effect that the sponsor reward has been provided. By presenting game content at the expense of the sponsor, the player's liking for the sponsor is increased.
Hereinafter, the provision of sponsor rewards and the method of notifying them will be mainly described.

FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of the game system 100.
In the game system 100, a plurality of game terminals 104a, 104b, 104c ... 104n (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "game terminal 104" when collectively referred to or not particularly distinguished) are connected to the Internet 106 with respect to the game server 102. Connected via. The game terminal 104 in this embodiment assumes a smartphone. The game terminal 104 may be a portable game-dedicated machine or a general-purpose computer such as a laptop PC. The game terminal 104 and the Internet 106 are wirelessly connected, but may be connected by wire. A unique ID called a player ID is assigned to the player of the game in advance. The game server 102 provides a game to each game terminal 104.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the game system 100.
As described above, the game system 100 includes a game server 102 and a game terminal 104. Each component of the game terminal 104 and the game server 102 includes hardware including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a computing unit such as various coprocessors, a storage device such as memory and storage, and a wired or wireless communication line connecting them. , Which is stored in a storage device and realized by software that supplies processing instructions to a processor. The computer program may be composed of a device driver, an operating system, various application programs located on the upper layer thereof, and a library that provides common functions to these programs. Each block described below shows a block for each function, not a configuration for each hardware.
The game server 102 may be configured to include a web server, or the game terminal 104 may be configured to include a portable communication terminal and a web browser installed therein.

(Game server 102)
The game server 102 includes a communication unit 108, a data processing unit 110, and a data storage unit 112.
The communication unit 108 is in charge of communication processing with the game terminal 104 via the Internet 106. The data storage unit 112 stores various data. The data processing unit 110 executes various processes based on the data acquired by the communication unit 108 and the data stored in the data storage unit 112. The data processing unit 110 also functions as an interface between the communication unit 108 and the data storage unit 112. The data storage unit 112 stores various information such as a game program.

The data storage unit 112 includes an advertisement storage unit 136 and a player data storage unit 138.
The player data storage unit 138 stores information on each player's play state, for example, the player's rank, game content (characters, equipment, items, etc.) owned by the player, play time, player attributes, and the like. The player attribute is information that defines a player's personal attribute such as gender, age, and place of residence. The advertisement storage unit 136 stores advertisement information. The advertisement information is image or character information of the advertisement displayed on the game terminal 104. The advertisement storage unit 136 also stores information regarding sponsor rewards. Details will be described later.

The communication unit 108 includes an advertisement transmission unit 142. The advertisement transmission unit 142 transmits the advertisement information to the game terminal 104.

The data processing unit 110 includes a reward providing unit 126, a game management unit 114, and a player registration unit 128.
The player registration unit 128 accepts player registration from the game terminal 104 via the communication unit 108. When the player registration is requested, the player registration unit 128 assigns a player ID to the player and registers the player in the player data storage unit 138.

The reward providing unit 126 provides a reward to the player. Rewards are game content available in the game. The reward may be provided when the player achieves a predetermined condition during the game, or may be provided as a sponsor reward. The game management unit 114 manages the progress status of a plurality of types of games for each game and each player.

(Game terminal 104)
The game terminal 104 includes a user interface unit 118, a communication unit 116, a data processing unit 120, and a data storage unit 122.
The user interface unit 118 accepts operations from the player via the touch panel, and is in charge of processing related to the user interface such as image display and audio output. The communication unit 116 is in charge of communication processing with the game server 102 and other game terminals 104 via the Internet 106. The data storage unit 122 stores various data. The data processing unit 120 executes various processes based on the data acquired by the user interface unit 118 and the communication unit 116 and the data stored in the data storage unit 122. The data processing unit 120 also functions as an interface for the user interface unit 118, the communication unit 116, and the data storage unit 122.

The data processing unit 120 includes a game execution unit 132. The game execution unit 132 controls the progress of the game in cooperation with the game server 102. The game execution unit 132 may be formed as a software module downloaded from the game server 102.
The communication unit 116 acquires various game information from the game server 102, and the data processing unit 120 causes the user interface unit 118 to display the game screen. Further, the user interface unit 118 detects various inputs by the user, and the data processing unit 120 notifies the game server 102 of the input information via the communication unit 116. In response to this input information, the game management unit 114 of the game server 102 controls the progress of the game in cooperation with the game execution unit 132 of the game terminal 104.

The communication unit 116 includes an advertisement receiving unit 140. The advertisement receiving unit 140 receives an advertisement from the advertisement transmitting unit 142.

The user interface unit 118 includes an input unit 124 that accepts input from the player and an output unit 134 that outputs various information such as images and sounds to the player. The input unit 124 mainly detects a player's touch operation on the screen as an input. The output unit 134 includes an advertisement display unit 130 that displays the advertisement received by the advertisement receiving unit 140 on the screen.

Normally, the game play screen is generated by the game execution unit 132 and displayed by the output unit 134. In the case of multiplayer, the game management unit 114 of the game server 102 manages game setting information common to each player. The game execution unit 132 of the game terminal 104 generates a play screen according to the game setting information provided by the game server 102 and the operation input by the player. The game management unit 114 of the game server 102 updates the game setting information based on the operation input from each player.

FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of the advertisement setting table 144.
The advertisement setting table 144 is stored in the advertisement storage unit 136. The game server 102 provides a plurality of games G1 to Gn. The player downloads an arbitrary game to the game terminal 104. The sponsor places an advertisement on one or more games by paying the advertisement fee to the game management company. In FIG. 3, the sponsor S1 places an advertisement in the three games G1, G2, and G3.

Part of the advertising fee is provided to the player as a sponsor reward. Details will be described later, but when playing the game G1, the advertisement screen is displayed at the start of the game (at the time of login). When the advertisement screen is displayed, the communication unit 116 of the game terminal 104 notifies the game server 102 which player has displayed the advertisement screen of which game. The reward providing unit 126 refers to the advertisement setting table 144 and provides the sponsor reward to the player.

According to FIG. 3, when the advertisement screen of the game G1 is displayed, the sponsor S1 provides 10 "stones" to the player. The "stone" here is a kind of game content, and the player can execute a lottery by consuming a predetermined number of stones. Depending on the lottery result, the player can acquire various characters, equipment, and items. Stones are currency-like game content that expands the player's chances of advancing the game. The reward providing unit 126 updates the player data of the player data storage unit 138 and provides the sponsor reward to the player by adding 10 stones as the game content owned by the player.

A link to the official website of sponsor S1 is also posted on the advertisement screen. When the player selects this link to access the site of the sponsor S1, the sponsor S1 provides the player with 30 stones. Further, when the player registers an e-mail address with the sponsor S1, the sponsor S1 presents 40 stones to the player as a sponsor reward. If the player sees the in-game advertisement of the sponsor S1, accesses the site of the sponsor S1 and registers the e-mail address, a total of 80 stones can be obtained by the sponsor S1's "giving".

Stones are game content that is unique to each game. For example, stones obtained in Game G1 can only be used in Game G1. As a modification, the stone obtained in the game G1 may be used in other games.

According to FIG. 3, the sponsor S2 places an advertisement in two games, the games G4 and G5. When playing the game G4, an advertisement screen is displayed at the start of the game, and the player is provided with five stones that can be used in the game G4. In addition to stones, various sponsor rewards may be offered. When the official website of the sponsor S2 is accessed via any of the games G4 and G5, the character C1 is provided as a sponsor reward. In addition, when the e-mail address is registered, the magic book M, which is an item for strengthening the magical ability of the character, is provided.

Since game contents such as stones, characters C1, and spellbook M are all valuable values for the player, they cannot be supplied indefinitely in order to maintain the game balance. Usually, the player obtains such game contents by clearing a mission such as a lottery or defeating a boss character set in the game. In other words, the game content is obtained as a consideration for the cost (labor) that the player spends on the game.

In the present embodiment, the game content (sponsor reward) is further provided by the sponsor. Sponsor rewards may be obtained automatically when the game is run, or may be obtained subject to additional actions such as access to the site or registration of an email address. The sponsor can pay the advertising fee to the game operating company and display the advertisement in the game. The advertising fee is the profit of the game management company, but a part of it is returned to the player as a sponsor reward. The game management company adjusts to prevent oversupply of sponsor rewards in order to maintain the game balance. The reward providing unit 126 of the game terminal 104 may provide a cap on the total supply amount of the sponsor reward within a predetermined period.

FIG. 4 is a screen view of the first advertisement screen 146.
The advertisement display unit 130 displays the first advertisement screen 146 as an initial screen when the game G1 is played. As shown in the advertisement setting table 144 of FIG. 3, it is the sponsor S1 that advertises in the game G1. Therefore, the first advertisement screen 146 is an advertisement for the sponsor S1.

The first advertisement screen 146 includes a banner advertisement 148 and an introduction advertisement 150. A link to the official website of sponsor S1 is attached to the banner advertisement 148. The player can access the official website of the sponsor S1 by selecting the banner advertisement 148. When the access to the banner advertisement 148 occurs, the communication unit 116 notifies the game server 102 of the access occurrence. At this time, the reward providing unit 126 provides the player with 30 stones as a sponsor reward (see FIG. 3).

You can register your e-mail address on the official website of sponsor S1. When the e-mail address is registered, the communication unit 116 notifies the game server 102 to that effect. At this time, the reward providing unit 126 provides the player with 40 stones as a sponsor reward (see FIG. 3).

The advertisement storage unit 136 stores the image of the banner advertisement 148 and the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the official site as advertisement information for each sponsor. The advertisement transmitting unit 142 transmits the advertisement information to the game terminal 104, the advertisement receiving unit 140 receives the advertisement information, and the advertisement display unit 130 displays the banner advertisement 148 based on the advertisement information.

When the first advertisement screen 146 is displayed on the referral advertisement 150, it is indicated that the sponsor reward (10 stones) has been provided. The text described in the referral advertisement 150 is automatically generated by the reward providing unit 126, and is transmitted from the advertisement transmitting unit 142 to the advertisement receiving unit 140 as a part of the advertisement information. In the referral advertisement 150, the sponsor may set arbitrary text data. In FIG. 4, it is shown that 10 stones were presented as a sponsor reward from the sponsor S1 who provides the movie "AX", and that more stones can be obtained by accessing the official website of the movie "AX" from the banner advertisement 148. Is done.

When playing the game G1, the first advertisement screen 146 is automatically displayed. In other words, the player can get the sponsor reward just by playing the game G1 as usual. In the introduction advertisement 150 of the first advertisement screen 146, it is notified that the sponsor reward has been given by the sponsor S1. Since the sponsor reward is provided without acting for the sponsor S1, the player tends to have a favorable impression on the sponsor S1.

Usually, when the advertisement is displayed at the start of the game, the player may find the advertisement annoying. However, the first advertisement screen 146 in the present embodiment is also a screen for notifying the player that the sponsor reward has been given. In other words, the first advertisement screen 146 is not a screen for forcibly displaying an advertisement to the player. Since the first advertisement screen 146 conveys information preferable to the player, the player is less likely to feel the annoyance of displaying the first advertisement screen 146.

Players who have a sense of familiarity with the sponsor S1 will be able to respond more easily by taking additional actions such as accessing the official website of the sponsor S1, registering their e-mail address, and answering the questionnaire as a thank-you for the sponsor reward. In addition, the sponsor not only recognizes the movie "AX" by looking at the first advertisement screen 146, but also rewards the player's actions step by step by the sponsor reward, such as accessing the official website and registering the e-mail address. be able to. As a result, it becomes easier to concentrate the advertising budget (sponsor reward) on customers who are likely to purchase products.

FIG. 5 is a screen view of the second advertising screen 152.
The advertisement display unit 130 displays the second advertisement screen 152 after displaying the first advertisement screen 146 in the game G1. The second advertisement screen 152 includes a guided advertisement 154 and a download button 156. Sponsor S1 also advertises in games G2 and G3 in addition to game G1 (see FIG. 3). In the guided advertisement 154, it is shown that the sponsor S1 provides the sponsor reward not only to the game G1 but also to the other games G2 and G2. The description content of the guided advertisement 154 is also generated by the reward providing unit 126 as a part of the advertisement information.

The download button 156 allows the player to download the games G2 and G3. Since the player actually experiences the merit of getting the sponsor reward by playing the game G1, it is easy to think that he wants to get the sponsor reward in another game as well. By such a method, the opportunity for the games G2 and G3 to be downloaded via the game G1 can be expanded. This has a merit for the game management company, and the sponsor S1 also has a merit that the amount of advertisement exposure can be increased. For example, when the player has already downloaded the game G2, a button for activating the application of the game G2 may be displayed on the second advertisement screen 152 instead of the download button 156 for the game G2.

The game system 100 has been described above based on the embodiment.
Network games are often played little by little and frequently in the gap time. Therefore, it is considered that the advertisement of the network game is effective in raising the product recognition. In this embodiment, the sponsor reward is provided virtually unconditionally just by playing the game before giving the sponsor reward on the premise of actions such as accessing the official website and registering the e-mail address. There is. By providing the sponsor reward before asking the player to take action, it is possible to increase the liking for the sponsor.

Players who like the sponsor will find it easier to perform additional actions such as accessing the official website, registering their email address, answering surveys, and purchasing products related to the sponsor. In addition, as an incentive for additional actions, sponsor rewards are set for each action. For example, if the advertising period is set to 15 days, the sponsor reward will be provided every time the first advertisement screen 146 is displayed for the first 5 days, and every time the official website is accessed from the 6th to the 8th day. Sponsor rewards may be provided. From the 9th day onward, sponsor rewards may be set for each consumption or behavior that leads to consumption, such as e-mail address registration, questionnaire response, and product purchase.

The first advertisement screen 146 in the present embodiment is displayed at the start of the game, not during the game. Since it is not an advertisement during gameplay, it is easy to protect the world view of the game. Further, as described in connection with FIG. 5, the sponsor reward can be used as an incentive to guide the player to various games.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment or modification, and the components can be modified and embodied within a range that does not deviate from the gist. Various inventions may be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the above-described embodiments and modifications. In addition, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the above embodiments and modifications.

Although the game system 100 has been described as being configured by the plurality of game terminals 104 and one game server 102, some of the functions of the game terminal 104 may be realized by the game server 102, or the functions of the game server 102 may be realized. A part may be assigned to the game terminal 104. Further, a third device other than the game server 102 and the game terminal 104 may play a part of the function.
The aggregate of each function of the game terminal 104 and each function of the game server 102 described with reference to FIG. 2 can be grasped as one "information processing device" in a broad sense. How to allocate the plurality of functions necessary for realizing the present invention to one or more hardware is determined in consideration of the processing capacity of each hardware, the specifications required for the game system 100, and the like. It should be decided.

In general, people tend to have a psychological tendency that the more frequently they are exposed to a lot of information about a product, the higher their desire for the product. Since the network game is frequently visually recognized by the player, it is possible to increase the player's interest in the product by gradually disclosing the product information on the first advertisement screen 146. For example, when the product is a movie work, the outline of the movie is explained on the first advertisement screen 146 displayed for the first time, and the cast of the movie is explained on the first advertisement screen 146 displayed for the second time. The comment of the actor may be displayed on the first advertisement screen 146 displayed for the third time. When the first advertisement screen 146 is displayed a plurality of times, the content of the introduction advertisement 150 can be changed to increase the player's interest in the product.

Sponsor rewards may be given when purchasing products. The store terminal acquires the player ID from the game terminal 104, and notifies the game server 102 of the product purchase together with the player ID. Upon receiving the notification, the reward providing unit 126 provides the sponsor reward to the player. The game server 102 can collect various information such as a player who has just seen the first advertisement screen 146, a player who has registered an e-mail address, and a player who has actually purchased a product. Based on this information, the data processing unit 110 of the game server 102 creates a "profile generation" such as whether each player (customer) is interested in the product or is a type that facilitates positive action. It may have a "part". The advertisement transmission unit 142 may transmit advertisement information introducing a product other than the advertisement product to a highly responsive customer. Also, collaboration between the game and the sponsor is conceivable. For example, a mini-game may be provided that can only be played by those who have seen the advertisement, registered their email address, or answered the questionnaire.

The data processing unit 110 of the game server 102 may include a "posting control unit". The advertisement control unit determines which game and for how long the advertisement is to be placed according to the advertising fee provided by the sponsor and the corporate image of the sponsor. For example, an advertisement for a product targeting women is considered to be more effective if it is placed in a game with many female players. The advertisement control unit may select a game to be advertised by matching the target layer of the product with the customer profile of each game, or may propose to the sponsor.

Only one sponsor may be able to place an ad for a game. The display period of the advertisement may be set according to the advertisement fee. Further, when the sponsor S1 has the right to display the advertisement on the first advertisement screen 146 for 5 days, the same product may be advertised for 5 days, or different products may be advertised for each of the 5 days.

Multiple sponsors may be able to display advertisements in a game at the same time. For example, when the advertisement fee of the sponsor S1 and the sponsor S2 is 7: 3, the advertisement of the sponsor S1 is displayed on the first advertisement screen 146 with a probability of 70%, and the advertisement of the sponsor S2 is displayed with a probability of 30%. It may be displayed.

The larger the player population, the higher the advertising effect. Therefore, if the game is popular, it is worth paying even if the advertising fee is high. A game management company that provides high-quality games is more advantageous.

In order to ensure that the advertisement is visually recognized, the first advertisement screen 146 may be closed only after being displayed for a predetermined time, for example, about 3 seconds.

The first advertisement screen 146 has been described as being displayed at the start of the game (at the time of login), but in addition to this, at the end of the game, at the time of completing the mission in the game, at the time of opening the received message, and at the time when the predetermined time is reached. For example, the first advertisement screen 146 and the second advertisement screen 152 may be displayed at any timing that does not interfere with the play.

100 game system, 102 game server, 104 game terminal, 106 internet, 108 communication unit, 110 data processing unit, 112 data storage unit, 114 game management unit, 116 communication unit, 118 user interface unit, 120 data processing unit, 122 data Storage unit, 124 input unit, 126 reward provision unit, 128 player registration unit, 130 advertisement display unit, 132 game execution unit, 134 output unit, 136 advertisement storage unit, 138 player data storage unit, 140 advertisement reception unit, 142 advertisement transmission unit. Department, 144 advertisement setting table, 146 first advertisement screen, 148 banner advertisement, 150 introduction advertisement, 152 second advertisement screen, 154 guidance advertisement, 156 download button

Claims (5)

A game execution unit that controls the progress of the game,
An advertisement display unit that displays advertisements at a predetermined timing,
With the display of the advertisement as an opportunity, it is provided with a reward providing unit that provides the player with game contents for advancing the game in an advantageous manner.
The advertisement display unit is an information processing device characterized in that when displaying the advertisement, the advertiser notifies that the reward has been provided. The reward providing unit provides the first reward triggered by the display of the advertisement, and after the provision of the first reward, the player accesses a predetermined external site via the advertisement. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reward of 2 is provided. Connected to a game terminal capable of executing the first and second network games via a communication network,
A game management unit that manages the progress of the first and second network games on the game terminal, and
An advertisement transmission unit that transmits an advertisement to be displayed during execution of the first and second network games to the game terminal on the game terminal, and an advertisement transmission unit.
With the display of the advertisement as an opportunity, it is provided with a reward providing unit that provides the player with game contents for advancing the game in an advantageous manner.
The advertisement transmission unit indicates that when the first network game is executed on the game terminal, the advertiser provides a reward for advancing the first network game in an advantageous manner. Also in the second network game, the game server is characterized by transmitting an advertisement indicating that the advertiser provides a reward for advancing the second network game in an advantageous manner. An information processing device characterized in that the name of the sponsor of the game and the fact that the game content for advancing the game in an advantageous manner is provided by the sponsor are displayed in the game. A function to control the progress of the game and
A function to display advertisements at a predetermined timing,
With the display of the advertisement as an opportunity, the computer is provided with a function of providing the player with game content for advancing the game in an advantageous manner.
A game program characterized in that when the advertisement is displayed, the advertiser notifies that the reward has been provided.

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