JP3020588B2 - Network game system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention can play a game by selecting and instructing a favorite game software at home, particularly a network game system having a communication function using a telephone line. It relates to an improved network game system.

(Prior Art) FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional game system, in which a user first mounts a cassette ROM 10 storing game software he / she wants to use on a main body 11 of a game machine. When the start button is operated, the game software stored in the cassette rom 10 is read into the game machine main body 11. On the other hand, the game software read from the cassette rom 10 into the game machine body 11 is analyzed by the operation signal input to the game machine body 11 via the controller 12 by the user, and the television monitor 13 is sent out. The screen and sound are controlled, and game information is transmitted to the user as visual information or auditory information. Then, the user senses the game information on the TV monitor 13 and operates the controller 12 to execute the game.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional game system described above, the game is read from the ROM cassette of the game software into the main body of the game machine to play the game. When I wanted to, I had to buy a new ROM cassette. That is, it was necessary to buy a ROM cassette for each game, and the purchase was troublesome and the management of the ROM cassette was complicated.
In addition, there has been a demand for a system that can uniformly handle the handling of telephone numbers for an unspecified number of users and that does not have to worry about an emergency call such as "110".

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to be able to play a variety of games while staying at home, and to register a telephone number easily and accurately. An object of the present invention is to provide a network game system in which only a telephone number having a predetermined digit or more can be registered.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to a network game system for accessing a host computer from a game system owned by a user via a telephone line, and the above object of the present invention is provided by the user. When registering the telephone number of the host computer in the game system, the game system is provided with registration means for registering only the telephone number having a predetermined digit or more. If “(” ”or“ 0 ”,
This is achieved by providing conversion means for converting to a "predetermined symbol 0". Further, the game system can be more effectively achieved by including a transmitting means for transmitting the telephone number registered by the registering means to a telephone line via a modem. Further, the conversion means is more effectively achieved by providing conversion display means for displaying the converted "predetermined symbol 0" instead of the input "predetermined symbol" or "0".

(Operation) According to the present invention, a game can be played by loading favorite game software from a plurality of game software stored in a host computer into a home game system using a telephone line, and by inputting a telephone number. You can access the desired host computer. In addition, the phone number of the host computer is set in the network game system by setting the phone number notation style and the minimum number of input digits, so that the phone number can be registered correctly (input) without input errors.
It is not necessary to make an emergency call such as "110" or a telephone service of "104".

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a network game system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof.
The host computers 8 are set up with telephone numbers registered and installed in various parts of the country, and are connected to the game system GS of each home via a telephone line 7 and a modem 6. Each home game system GS has a game machine main body 1, to which a control pad 3 is connected and a television monitor (home television receiver) 4 is connected. The game machine body 1 is equipped with a boot ROM 5 in which programs necessary for playing a game are stored.

The communication software stored in the boot ROM 5 is read into the game machine main body 1 and analyzed to create a monitor control signal SA. The monitor control signal SA is transmitted to the television monitor 4 and the communication information is displayed on the television monitor 4. First, a connection request signal to the host computer 8 is transmitted to the game machine main body 1 via the control pad 3 by the operator who has viewed the communication information displayed on the television monitor 4. Upon receiving the connection request signal from the control pad 3, the game machine main body 1 transmits a telephone number to a host computer 8 registered in advance to the telephone line 7 via the modem 6 to connect the game system and the host computer 8 to each other. The connection is made via the line 7. Further, the host computer 8 confirms the user's name, ID, and the like sent from the game console 1 via the telephone line 7. Next, an operation signal is transmitted to the game machine main body 1 via the control pad 3. The operation signal read from the control pad 3 to the game console 1 is transmitted to the boot ROM 5
Is analyzed in accordance with the communication software read into the game machine main body 1, a menu request digital signal is created and sent to the modem 6, converted into a menu request analog signal, and sent to the host computer 8 via the telephone line 7. Is done. When the menu request analog signal is read into the host computer 8, the analog menu signal is sent from the host computer 8 to the modem 6 via the telephone line 7, converted into a digital menu signal, and converted into a digital menu signal.
Sent to The digital menu signal is read from the modem 6 into the game console 1 and analyzed, and the monitor control signal
The SA is created and transmitted to the television monitor 4, and the game menu 8A is displayed on the television monitor 4.

The operator looks at the game menu 8A displayed on the television monitor 4 and sends an operation signal to the game machine body 1 via the control pad 3. The operation signal read from the control pad 3 into the game machine body 1 is analyzed in accordance with the communication software read from the boot ROM 5 into the game machine body 1, a game software request digital signal is created and sent to the modem 6, The signal is converted into a soft request analog signal and transmitted to the host computer 8 via the telephone line 7. When the game software request analog signal is read into the host computer 8, the analog game software signal is transmitted from the host computer 8 to the modem 6 via the telephone line 7, converted into a digital game software signal, and transmitted to the game machine body 1. Is done. The digital game software signal is read from the modem 6 into the game machine main body 1, analyzed, converted into game software, and temporarily stored in a memory in the game machine main body 1.

The game software once stored in the memory in the game machine main body 1 is further read via the boot ROM 5 and analyzed together with the operation signal SB input to the game machine main body 1 via the control pad 3 by the user, and the monitor control signal Is generated and sent to the television monitor 4 to control the screen and sound of the television monitor 4. The user senses visual information and auditory information obtained from the television monitor 4 as game information, operates the control pad 3, and inputs a user input signal to the game machine body 1 to play a game.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the above-described network game system.
Displays a message on the television monitor 4 to allow the user to select whether to register a telephone number for accessing the host computer 8 via the telephone line 7 in accordance with the communication software read from the boot ROM 5 (step 1). ). When the user registers a telephone number, the game machine body 1 sends a monitor control signal to the television monitor 4 to display a telephone number registration screen as shown in FIG. The operator looks at this registration screen, operates the control pad 3 to move the cursor 41, selects a number or symbol in the number table 42, and inputs the telephone number of the host computer in the telephone number display column 43. go, and selectively inputs the if the input is completed "E _D" of the telephone number to complete the setting input of a telephone number and repeats the processing from step Sl (step S2). At this time, the notation type of the telephone number to be input and the minimum number of input characters are set, and the notation type must be the area code with "(" and ")", and the minimum number of input characters is 9 characters And Then, if the first input number or symbol is “0” or “(”, the game machine body 1 automatically inputs and writes “(0”. That is, the first area code is entered. The number is always "0", and the first of the local office numbers will not be "0", so if the first of the number input is "(" or "0", it will automatically be "(0" And enter it.To register a phone number,
From among a large number of host computers, a telephone number of a host computer near a place of installation (game system) or a host computer storing game software for playing a game is inputted and registered. For example, when registering a host computer installed in Tokyo, (03)
It is registered with 9 digits like 722-1234, and an emergency telephone number such as "119" cannot be registered. Therefore, even if " _ED " is input in order to end the input with less than eight digits, the input is not accepted. “←” in the number table has a function of returning the input number by one character.

On the other hand, if the user does not register the telephone number in step S1, the game machine main body 1 displays a necessary message on the television monitor 4 and allows the user to select whether to register the name or ID ( Step S3). When the user registers the name or ID, the user inputs and registers the name or ID according to the instruction of the television monitor 4, and repeats this processing from step S1 (step S4). If the user does not register a name or ID, the game machine body 1 is connected to the host computer 8 via the modem 6 and the telephone line 7.
Is accessed (step S5). At this time, it is checked whether or not the host computer 8 has been correctly accessed (step S6). If the telephone line 7 is congested or the telephone number is incorrect, the host computer 8 cannot be accessed. Is displayed on the television monitor 4 (step S7), and the process is repeated from step S1. Each home game system SG is given a membership registration number (ID) at the time of purchase, and at the same time, the number is also registered in host computers in various places. It is possible to immediately identify whether or not there is, and can access only the menu dedicated to the guest. Further, a desired host computer can be selected from a plurality of host computers and accessed. However, when a host computer to which a member registration number (ID) is not registered is accessed, only a menu dedicated to a guest can be accessed. When the host computer 8 can be accessed, the accessed host computer 8 sends out the game menu 8A as an analog game signal. The television monitor 4 displays a game menu in accordance with a monitor control signal obtained by analyzing the analog menu signal by the modem 6 and the game console 1. The operator operates the control pad 3 and sends an operation signal from the control pad 3 to the game machine main body 1 to select a desired game software from the game menu 8A (step 8). The game machine main body 1 reads the game software stored in the host computer 8 via the telephone line 7 and the modem 6 in accordance with the operation command, and stores the game software in the memory inside the game machine main body 1 (step S9). When loading is completed, the modem 6 disconnects the telephone line 7 (step
S10) The game software is read from the memory of the game machine body 1 via the boot ROM 5 and executed (step S11).

When one game is ended and another game is played as described above, another game can be selected and executed by operating the control pad 3 and accessing the host computer again.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the network game system of the present invention, when registering the telephone number of the host computer in the game system owned by the user, only the telephone number having a predetermined digit or more (for example, 9 digits) is registered. Is not possible, and if the first input is “(” or “0”, it can be automatically converted to “(0” and input (displayed). The telephone number can be registered, and it is possible to prevent a child or the like from accessing an emergency telephone line such as "110" from the game system at each home.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the network game system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example thereof, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a telephone number setting screen, FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional game system. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine main body, 2 ... ROM cassette, 3 ... Control pad, 4 ... TV monitor, 5 ... Boot ROM, 6 ... Modem, 7 ... Phone line, 8 ... Host computer.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-166875 (JP, A) JP-A-62-188458 (JP, A) JP-A 2-141160 (JP, U) JP-A 63-188458 178948 (JP, U)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] In a network game system in which a game system owned by a user accesses a host computer via a telephone line, when registering a telephone number of the host computer in a game system owned by the user, a predetermined digit or more is used. Registering means for registering only a telephone number is provided in the game system, and the registering means includes a converting means for converting, when the first input is a "predetermined symbol" or "0", into a "predetermined symbol 0". A network game system comprising: 2. The network game system according to claim 1, wherein said game system includes a transmission unit for transmitting a telephone number registered by said registration unit to a telephone line via a modem. 3. The conversion means according to claim 1, wherein said conversion means includes a conversion display means for displaying a converted "predetermined symbol 0" instead of the input "predetermined symbol" or "0".
Or the network game system according to 2. 4. The network game system according to claim 1, wherein the “predetermined symbol” is “(”.