JP5349101B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, program, and information storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor, an information processing method, a program and an information recording medium, with which a user's bother is reduced when using a search service. <P>SOLUTION: An identified data specifying part 70 specifies the data identified by the user. A search condition output part 74 outputs a search condition corresponding to the identified data to a search means which outputs the search result corresponding to the search condition in response to the search condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program, and an information storage medium.

  There is an information processing apparatus that can provide information to a user. In Patent Document 1, a program in which information on a website on a network is edited so as to interest the user can be created, and the information on such website can be automatically reproduced on the user terminal. An information providing apparatus that can be used is disclosed.

  In addition, among information processing devices that can provide information to a user, a search that realizes a search service that searches information on a network such as the Internet based on information received from the user and outputs a search result There are also information processing apparatuses such as servers.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0133551

  In a conventional search service, a user has to input search conditions such as a search character string one by one when performing a search. This is troublesome for users who use the search service.

  In the future, it is conceivable that there will be more opportunities for users to use search services from devices that do not have a keyboard, such as game devices and televisions, that are standard on personal computers. When using a search service from a client that does not have a keyboard as standard, such as a game device or a television, it is considered that it is more and more troublesome for a user to input a search condition such as a search character string.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a program, and an information storage medium that can reduce the troublesomeness of a user when using a search service. Objective.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a specified data specifying unit that specifies specified data specified by a user, and a search that receives a search condition and outputs a search result corresponding to the search condition. The means includes search condition output means for outputting a search condition corresponding to the specified data.

  In addition, the information processing method according to the present invention includes: a specified data specifying step for specifying specified data specified by a user; and a search unit that receives a search condition and outputs a search result corresponding to the search condition. And a search condition output step for outputting a search condition corresponding to.

  Further, the program according to the present invention corresponds to the specified data in the specified data specifying means for specifying the specified data specified by the user, the search means for receiving the search condition and outputting the search result corresponding to the search condition. A computer is caused to function as search condition output means for outputting search conditions.

  The above program can also be stored in a computer-readable information storage medium.

  According to the present invention, since the search result corresponding to the data is output by a simple operation in which the user designates the data, it is possible to reduce the troublesomeness of the user when using the search service.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a search result acquisition unit that acquires a search result that is output from the search unit and that corresponds to a search condition that is output from the search condition output unit, and a search result that is acquired by the search result acquisition unit. And a search result output means for outputting at least a part. In this way, at least a part of the search result based on the search condition corresponding to the designated data is output, so that the user can obtain the search result corresponding to the designated data.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the designated data is associated with a character string, and the search condition output means outputs a search condition based on the character string associated with the designated data. . In this way, since the search condition is utilized for the character string associated with the data designated by the user, it is possible to easily cooperate with the search means for executing the search process based on the character string.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the search condition output unit outputs a search condition corresponding to data stored in a storage unit and corresponding to a combination of the designated data and the user. . In this way, the search condition corresponding to the combination of the designated data and the user is output, so that the search result corresponding to the combination of the designated data and the user can be acquired and output.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the specified data corresponds to a game program, and the search condition output means outputs a search condition corresponding to an execution situation by the user of the game program corresponding to the specified data. It is characterized by that. In this way, since the search condition corresponding to the game execution status by the user is output, the search result according to the game execution status by the user can be acquired and output.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the specified data is associated with type data indicating a type of data, and the search condition output unit outputs a search condition corresponding to the type data. In this way, the search condition according to the type of the designated data is output, so that the search result according to the type of the designated data can be acquired and output.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the search condition output means outputs the search condition to a search means determined from a plurality of search means based on the designated data. In this way, it is possible to output a search result acquired from search means determined based on the designated data.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the search result output means outputs the search result according to a rule determined based on the attribute of the user. In this way, the output of the search result can be changed according to the user attribute.

  In the aspect of the invention, the search condition output unit outputs a plurality of search conditions, the search result acquisition unit acquires a search result corresponding to each search condition, and outputs the search result. The means outputs each search result acquired by the search result acquisition means according to a given rule. In this way, the search condition is output to a plurality of search means corresponding to the designated data, so that the search result acquired from each search means can be output according to a given rule.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the search condition output unit outputs a search condition selected by a user from a plurality of search conditions. In this way, it is possible to change the search condition output according to the user's selection.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the search condition output means outputs a search condition corresponding to designated data specified from a plurality of options. In this way, the search condition to be output can be changed according to the designated data designated.

It is a network block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the network system comprised using the entertainment system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram which shows an example of the hardware configuration of the entertainment system used as an information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a detailed block diagram which shows an example of the detail of MPU. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a controller. It is an upper side view showing an example of a controller. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the function of the entertainment system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of medal data. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of provision data. It is a figure which shows an example of a selection screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a selection screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of the process performed with the entertainment system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a search result display screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a search result display screen.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a network system 1 configured using an entertainment system (information processing apparatus) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the network system 1 includes various servers such as a management server 2 and a search server 3 connected to a network such as the Internet and a LAN, and at least one entertainment system 10. The management server 2 and the search server 3 are, for example, known server computers. Then, the search server 3 receives, for example, the search condition, and displays the search result corresponding to the search condition (for example, the URL of the website including the character string that is the search condition and the summary of the data corresponding to the URL). It is a known server computer on which a search program (search service) that outputs (including data) is executed. Details of the management server 2 will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the entertainment system (information processing apparatus) 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the entertainment system 10 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 11, a main memory 20, an image processing unit 24, a monitor 26, an input / output processing unit 28, an audio processing unit 30, and a speaker. 32, an optical disk reading unit 34, an optical disk 36, a hard disk drive 38, interfaces (I / F) 40, 44, a controller 42, a camera unit 46, and a network interface 48. System.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the MPU 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the MPU 11 includes a main processor 12, sub processors 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d, 14 e, 14 f, 14 g, 14 h, a bus 16, a memory controller 18, and an interface (I / F) 22. And comprising.

  The main processor 12 is an operating system stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown), for example, a program and data read from an optical disc 36 such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) -ROM, and a program supplied via a communication network. Based on the data and the like, various information processing is performed, and the sub-processors 14a to 14h are controlled.

  The sub-processors 14a to 14h perform various types of information processing in accordance with instructions from the main processor 12, and each part of the entertainment system 10 is read from the optical disk 36 such as a DVD-ROM or the like via a communication network. Control based on supplied programs and data.

  The bus 16 is used for exchanging addresses and data among the various parts of the entertainment system 10. The main processor 12, the sub processors 14a to 14h, the memory controller 18, and the interface 22 are connected to each other via the bus 16 so as to be able to exchange data.

  The memory controller 18 accesses the main memory 20 in accordance with instructions from the main processor 12 and the sub processors 14a to 14h. Programs and data read from the optical disk 36 and hard disk drive 38 and programs and data supplied via the communication network are written to the main memory 20 as necessary. The main memory 20 is also used for work of the main processor 12 and the sub processors 14a to 14h.

  An image processing unit 24 and an input / output processing unit 28 are connected to the interface 22. Data exchange between the main processor 12 and the sub processors 14 a to 14 h and the image processing unit 24 or the input / output processing unit 28 is performed via the interface 22.

  The image processing unit 24 includes a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) and a frame buffer. The GPU renders various screens in the frame buffer based on the image data supplied from the main processor 12 and the sub processors 14a to 14h. The screen formed in the frame buffer is converted into a video signal at a predetermined timing and output to the monitor 26. As the monitor 26, for example, a home television receiver is used.

  An audio processing unit 30, an optical disk reading unit 34, a hard disk drive 38, and interfaces 40 and 44 are connected to the input / output processing unit 28. The input / output processing unit 28 controls data exchange between the main processor 12 and the sub-processors 14a to 14h, and the audio processing unit 30, the optical disk reading unit 34, the hard disk drive 38, the interfaces 40 and 44, and the network interface 48. .

  The sound processing unit 30 includes an SPU (Sound Processing Unit) and a sound buffer. The sound buffer stores various audio data such as game music, game sound effects and messages read from the optical disc 36 and the hard disk drive 38. The SPU reproduces these various audio data and outputs them from the speaker 32. As the speaker 32, for example, a built-in speaker of a home television receiver is used.

  The optical disk reading unit 34 reads programs and data stored on the optical disk 36 in accordance with instructions from the main processor 12 and the sub processors 14a to 14h. Note that the entertainment system 10 may be configured to be able to read a program or data stored in a computer-readable information storage medium other than the optical disk 36.

  The optical disk 36 is a general optical disk (computer-readable information storage medium) such as a DVD-ROM. The hard disk drive 38 is a general hard disk device. Various programs and data are stored in the optical disk 36 and the hard disk drive 38 so as to be readable by a computer.

  The interfaces (I / F) 40 and 44 are interfaces for connecting various peripheral devices such as the controller 42 and the camera unit 46. For example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface is used as such an interface.

  The controller 42 is general-purpose operation input means, and is used by the user to input various operations (for example, game operations). The input / output processing unit 28 scans the state of each unit of the controller 42 every predetermined time (for example, 1/60 seconds), and supplies the operation state representing the result to the main processor 12 and the sub processors 14a to 14h. The main processor 12 and the sub processors 14a to 14h determine the content of the operation performed by the user based on the operation state. The entertainment system 10 is configured so that a plurality of controllers 42 can be connected, and the main processor 12 and the sub-processors 14a to 14h execute various processes based on an operation state input from each controller 42. ing.

  The camera unit 46 includes, for example, a known digital camera, and inputs black and white, grayscale, or color photographed images every predetermined time (for example, 1/60 seconds). The camera unit 46 in the present embodiment is configured to input a captured image as image data in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format. The camera unit 46 is installed on the monitor 26 with the lens facing the user, for example, and is connected to the interface 44 via a cable. The network interface 48 is connected to the input / output processing unit 28 and the network, and relays data communication between the entertainment system 10 and the management server 2, the search server 3, and other entertainment systems 10 via the network. ing.

  FIG. 4A is a perspective view illustrating an example of the controller 42. FIG. 4B is an upper side view showing an example of the controller 42. As shown in FIG. 4A, the controller 42 is connected to the entertainment system 10 by a controller cable 62, and a direction button group 60 (a left button 60L, a right button 60R, an up button 60U, and a down button on the left side of the surface 42a. A direction button 60D) and a left operation stick 54 are provided, and a button group 58 (a left button 58L, a right button 58R, an upper button 58U, and a lower button 58D) and a right operation stick 56 are provided on the right side. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the back side surface of the controller 42 is provided with a first left button 50L and a first right button 50R on the left and right sides of the front surface 42a, respectively, and a second left and right side on the back side. A left button 52L and a second right button 52R are provided. When the user holds both sides of the housing of the controller 42 with both hands, the left thumb is positioned on the direction button group 60 and the left operation stick 54, and the right thumb is positioned on the button group 58 and the right operation stick 56. And at least one of the right index finger or middle finger is positioned on the first right button 50R or the second right button 52R, and at least one of the left index finger or middle finger is the first left button 50L or second The left button 52L is located.

  The direction button group 60, the button group 58, the first left button 50L, the first right button 50R, the second left button 52L, and the second right button 52R are configured as pressure sensitive buttons and include a pressure sensor. ing. When the user presses these buttons, a 256-step digital value having a value of 0 to 255 is input to the entertainment system 10 according to the pressing force. That is, in the entertainment system 10, when the digital value input from the controller 42 is 0, the button is not pressed, and when the digital value is 255, the digital button indicates that the button is pressed with the maximum pressing force. It can be judged from the value.

  The left operation stick 54 and the right operation stick 56 are stick-like operation members standing upright on the surface of the housing of the controller 42, and can be tilted by a predetermined angle in all directions from this upright state. As shown in FIG. 4A, the casing longitudinal direction of the controller 42 is the X-axis direction (the right direction in FIG. 4A is the positive direction), and the casing depth direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction is the Y-axis direction (see FIG. 4A). Assuming that the direction from the front to the back in 4A is the positive direction), the posture (operation state) of the left operation stick 54 is the inclination in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (posture data (X, Y)). Digital values of 0 to 255 are input to the entertainment system 10 respectively. Specifically, the vicinity of X = 127 or X = 128 indicates that the left operation stick 54 is not inclined in the X-axis direction. X = 255 indicates that the left operation stick 54 is tilted to the limit in the positive direction of the X axis (rightward in FIG. 4A). Furthermore, X = 0 indicates that the left operation stick 54 has fallen to the limit in the negative direction of the X axis (leftward in FIG. 4A). The same applies to the Y-axis direction. The right operation stick 56 is the same as that of the left operation stick 54. In this way, the entertainment system 10 can grasp the current tilt state (posture) of the left operation stick 54 and the right operation stick 56. The left operation stick 54 and the right operation stick 56 are also configured as pressure-sensitive buttons similar to the direction button group 60 and the button group 58, and can be pressed in the axial direction of the stick.

  The controller 42 includes a built-in vibrator (vibrator). The vibrator vibrates in accordance with an instruction from the MPU 11.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the entertainment system 10 having the above hardware configuration is configured as an information processing device will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of functions realized by the entertainment system 10 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the entertainment system 10 according to this embodiment functionally includes a user-related data storage unit 64, a designation candidate data reception unit 66, a selection screen display output unit 68, a designation data specifying unit 70, a search. It functions as including a condition generation unit 72, a search condition output unit 74, a search result acquisition unit 76, and a search result output unit 78. The entertainment system 10 does not have to include all of these elements. Of these elements, the user-related data storage unit 64 is mainly realized by a storage device included in the entertainment system 10 such as the main memory 20 and the hard disk drive 38. The other elements are mainly realized by a control device provided in the entertainment system 10 such as the MPU 11.

  These elements are realized by executing a program installed in the entertainment system 10, which is a computer, by a control device such as the MPU 11 provided in the entertainment system 10. This program is supplied to the entertainment system 10 via an information transmission medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, or via a communication network such as the Internet.

  The user-related data storage unit 64 stores user-related data associated with the user, such as the attributes of the user of the entertainment system 10. Specifically, the user-related data storage unit 64, for example, purchase history data indicating a purchase history of a product such as content (for example, a game program or a movie) or a peripheral device, or a user's game execution status (for example, Information indicating whether or not the game has been played, game progress, execution time history such as game start and end times, cumulative time played, etc.) Save data, etc. Note that the content described above may be content that is downloaded and sold, or content that is sold as a package by DVD, Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the medal data 80 which is an example of execution status data. As shown in FIG. 6, the medal data 80 specifically includes, for example, a user ID 82 that is an identifier of a user of the entertainment system 10, a game ID 84 that is an identifier of a game associated with the medal data 80, and an identifier of the medal data 80. The medal ID 86, medal name data 88 indicating the name of the medal data 80, and medal grade indicating the medal grade (specifically, for example, any one of “copper”, “silver”, “gold”, etc.) Data 90, and acquisition data 92 indicating whether the user has achieved or not achieved the condition corresponding to the medal data 80, that is, whether or not the user has acquired this medal. . Possible values of the acquisition data 92 are, for example, “not acquired” and “acquired”. In the present embodiment, when the user achieves a predetermined condition during execution of the game program corresponding to the game ID 84, a medal corresponding to the condition can be obtained. When the user acquires a medal, the MPU 11 of the entertainment system 10 executing the game program updates the value of the acquired data 92 corresponding to the medal from “not acquired” to “acquired” ( This update process is called, for example, “medal unlock process”). In this embodiment, of the medal data 80 corresponding to the combination of the user ID 82 and the game ID 84, how many medal data 80 are “acquired” and what percentage of medals. Whether the data 80 is “acquired” can be calculated. That is, the number of medals and the acquisition rate of the user corresponding to the user ID 82 in the game corresponding to the game ID 84 can be calculated. In this embodiment, when the user has acquired all medals corresponding to the game ID 84, the user acquires platinum medals for the game.

  In the present embodiment, execution status data such as medal data 80 is also stored in a storage device provided in the management server 2. And in this embodiment, MPU11 of the entertainment system 10 respond | corresponds the execution status data memorize | stored in the user related data memory | storage part 64 and the execution status data memorize | stored in the management server 2 at predetermined timing. Execute execution status data synchronization processing.

  The designation candidate data receiving unit 66 receives designation candidate data output from the management server 2 to the entertainment system 10. In the present embodiment, the designation candidate data receiving unit 66 receives at least one provision data 94 (see FIG. 7). In the present embodiment, each provided data 94 corresponds to, for example, content such as a game program or a movie, or hardware such as a peripheral device.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the data structure of the provided data 94. As shown in FIG. 7, the provision data 94 includes, for example, provision data ID 96 that is an identifier of the provision data 94, title data 98 that indicates a title corresponding to the provision data 94, and a provider that indicates the name of the provider of the provision data 94. Name data 100, type data 102 indicating the type of provided data 94 (for example, genre such as “game”, “movie”, etc.), related page URL 104 indicating the URL of a page related to provided data 94, provided data 94 It includes a related moving image URL 106 indicating the URL of the related moving image, keyword data 108 indicating at least one character string (keyword) corresponding to the provided data 94, content data 110 indicating at least one image, and the like. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the keyword data 108 includes at least one combination of a condition and a character string corresponding to the condition. In the present embodiment, specifically, the keyword data 108 includes, for example, three combinations of conditions and character strings (for example, combinations of the condition “medal acquisition rate less than 5%” and the character string “capture”) A combination of a condition “medal acquisition rate 5% or more and less than 80%” and a character string “back skill”, and a combination of a condition “medal acquisition rate 80% or more” and a character string “hidden command”) Contains. The keyword data 108 may include a combination of a condition and a search condition other than a character string corresponding to the condition.

  The selection screen display output unit 68 displays and outputs on the monitor 26 a selection screen 112 (see FIG. 8) based on the specification candidate data received by the specification candidate data reception unit 66. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the selection screen 112. As shown in FIG. 8, the selection screen 112 includes at least one thumbnail image 114 (9 thumbnail images 114 in the example of FIG. 8). Each thumbnail image 114 corresponds to the provided data 94. Specifically, the thumbnail image 114 is, for example, an image (may be a still image or a moving image) included in the content data 110.

  The selection screen display output unit 68 includes a thumbnail image 114 corresponding to the designation candidate data selected as a display output target based on predetermined conditions from the designation candidate data received by the designation candidate data receiving unit 66. The selection screen 112 may be displayed and output. The selection screen display output unit 68 is, for example, designation candidate data corresponding to purchase history data stored in the user-related data storage unit 64 (for example, designation candidate data corresponding to content such as a purchased game program or movie). And a selection screen 112 including a thumbnail image 114 corresponding to the selected candidate data to be selected may be displayed and output. For example, for a purchased game, a thumbnail image 114 indicating a tournament or event guide about the game is displayed and output, and for an unpurchased game, a game related to the already purchased game (for example, the next version) The thumbnail image 114 of the sale announcement may be displayed and output.

  Further, the selection screen display output unit 68 specifies designation candidate data corresponding to the execution status data associated with the user (for example, whether or not the medal data 80 acquisition rate and number of each game, platinum medals have been acquired) Alternatively, designation candidate data determined based on whether at least one gold medal is acquired or the like may be specified, and the thumbnail image 114 corresponding to the designation candidate data may be displayed and output.

  As described above, if the thumbnail image 114 displayed and output is changed according to the state of the user, accurate information is provided to the user, so that the effect of the advertisement using the provided data 94 can be enhanced. .

  As shown in FIG. 8, the selection screen display output unit 68 displays and outputs a cursor image 116 so as to surround the upper left thumbnail image 114. When the user presses one of the direction buttons 60 of the controller 42, the selection screen display output unit 68 receives the operation signal and sets the display position of the cursor image 116 so as to surround the thumbnail image 114 corresponding to the button. Update.

  When the user presses the right button 58R of the controller 42, the designated data specifying unit 70 receives an operation signal and corresponds to the thumbnail image 114 surrounded by the cursor image 116 when the right button 58R is pressed. The designation candidate data to be specified (in this embodiment, for example, provided data 94) is specified as the designation data. In this embodiment, the designation data corresponds to, for example, content such as a game program or a movie, hardware such as a peripheral device, and the like. Then, the selection screen display output unit 68 displays and outputs the detailed image 118 (see FIG. 9) based on the provided data 94 specified by the designated data specifying unit 70 in the selection screen 112. For example, the detailed image 118 may be an image obtained by enlarging the thumbnail image 114, or may be an image included in the content data 110 corresponding to the thumbnail image 114, which is different from the thumbnail image 114. Here, when the user presses the upper button 58U, the selection screen display output unit 68 receives the operation signal and displays and outputs the selection menu image 120 (see FIG. 9) in the selection screen 112. FIG. 9 shows an example of the selection screen 112 including the detailed image 118 and the selection menu image 120.

  The selection menu image 120 shown in FIG. 9 includes four menus. Here, when the user presses any one of the direction buttons 60 of the controller 42, the selection screen display output unit 68 receives the operation signal and sets the display position of the cursor image 122 so as to surround the menu corresponding to the button. The selection screen 112 is updated and updated. When the user presses the right button 58R, the entertainment system 10 receives an operation signal and executes a process according to the menu (that is, the selected menu) surrounded by the cursor image 122 at that time. .

  For example, when the menu “go to web page” is selected, the entertainment system 10 activates a web browser, displays and outputs the web browser on the monitor 26, and provides the provided data 94 as designated data. A data acquisition request corresponding to the URL is output (transmitted) to the server corresponding to the related page URL 104 included, and the data output from the server is acquired. Then, the entertainment system 10 displays and outputs a screen based on this data in the web browser.

  When the menu “to store” is selected, the entertainment system 10 activates, for example, a shopping application, and uses the provided data ID 96 included in the provided data 94, which is designated data, as a parameter, for example, for shopping. Output to application. Then, the shopping application outputs (transmits) an acquisition request for data related to the product corresponding to the provided data ID 96 (for example, an image of the product, information on the price of the product, etc.) to a predetermined server, etc. Get data about. And the entertainment system 10 displays and outputs the screen based on this data in the screen which a shopping application produces | generates.

  When the menu “play video” is selected, the entertainment system 10 acquires the moving image corresponding to the URL to the server corresponding to the related moving image URL 106 included in the provided data 94 that is the designated data. The request is output (transmitted), and the moving image output from this server is acquired. Then, the entertainment system 10 reproduces and outputs this moving image.

  When the menu “search by related information” is selected, the search condition generation unit 72, the search condition output unit 74, the search result acquisition unit 76, and the search result output unit 78 execute a search process.

  Here, an example of the flow of search processing performed in the entertainment system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the search condition generation unit 72 specifies the title data 98 included in the provided data 94, which is designated data (S101). Then, the search condition generation unit 72 stores it in the user-related data storage unit 64 in association with the combination of the game ID 84 corresponding to the game indicated by the provided data 94 and the user ID 82 of the user who pressed the button (for example, the login user). The medal data 80 that has been set is specified (S102). At this time, the search condition generation unit 72 may specify the medal data 80 stored in the management server 2.

  Then, the search condition generation unit 72 calculates the medal acquisition rate of this user in the game corresponding to the provided data 94 based on the medal data 80 (S103). Then, the search condition generation unit 72 specifies a search character string corresponding to the medal acquisition rate (S104). In the present processing example, the search condition generation unit 72 selects one search character string from character strings indicated by the keyword data 108 included in the provision data 94, which is designated data, based on, for example, the medal acquisition rate. Thus, the search character string is specified. Specifically, for example, when the acquisition rate calculated in the process shown in S103 is less than 5%, the search condition generation unit 72 displays a character string “capture” with an acquisition rate of 5% or more and less than 80%. If it is, the character string “hidden” is selected, and if the acquisition rate is 80% or more, the character string “hidden command” is selected.

  Then, the search condition generation unit 72 uses the search condition (for example, the process shown in S101) based on the character string indicated by the title data 98 specified in the process shown in S101 and the search character string specified in the process shown in S104. (A search expression obtained by connecting the character string indicated by the title data 98 specified in step S104 and the search character string specified in the process shown in step S104 using an AND condition) (S105). As described above, the search condition generation unit 72 corresponds to the combination of the designation candidate data (for example, provided data 94) provided from the management server 2 and the user related data stored in the user related data storage unit 64. A search condition to be generated may be generated. Further, as in the present processing example, the search condition generation unit 72 may specify a character string included in the designation candidate data based on the user-related data and generate a search condition based on this character string.

  Then, the search condition output unit 74 outputs the search condition generated in the process shown in S105 to the search server 3, and the search server 3 acquires this search condition (S106). As described above, the search condition output unit 74 outputs the search condition corresponding to the provided data 94 that is the designated data to the search server 3. At this time, the search condition output unit 74 may output the search condition to the management server 2 in association with the user ID 82. Then, the management server 2 may store the search condition in association with the user ID 82.

  Then, the search server 3 receives the search condition output from the search condition output unit 74, outputs the search result corresponding to the search condition to the entertainment system 10, and the search result acquisition unit 76 of the entertainment system 10 performs this search. A result is acquired (S107). As described above, the search result acquisition unit 76 acquires the search result corresponding to the search condition output from the search server 3 and output from the search condition output unit 74.

  Then, the search result output unit 78 activates the Web browser, displays and outputs this Web browser on the monitor 26, and displays and outputs the search result display screen 124 shown in FIG. 11 in the Web browser (S108). As described above, the search result output unit 78 outputs at least a part of the search results acquired by the search result acquisition unit 76.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the search result display screen 124 includes a search character string input form 126, a search button 128, and at least one search result image 130. In the present embodiment, the search result image 130 includes a search result link 130a associated with the URL and a search result detailed image 130b showing a detailed description of the search result.

  In the present embodiment, in the search character string input form 126, at least one character string corresponding to the search condition output to the search server 3 is displayed and output. In this embodiment, for example, when the user adds a new character string to this character string and presses the search button 128, the search condition output unit 74 is input to the search character string input form 126 at this point. The search condition (for example, a search expression obtained by connecting the character strings input in the search character string input form 126 with the AND condition) based on the search character string is output to the search server 3. At this time, the search condition output unit 74 may output the search condition to the management server 2 in association with the user ID 82 of the user who performs the search. As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform a further search using the search result display screen 124.

  When the MPU 11 receives an operation signal indicating that the search result link 130a has been clicked, the MPU 11 outputs (transmits) a data output request to the URL corresponding to the URL corresponding to the search result link 130a. Thus, data corresponding to this URL is acquired from the server. Then, the MPU 11 displays and outputs a screen based on this data in the web browser. At this time, data indicating a search result selected by the user, such as a URL corresponding to the search result link 130a, may be output to the management server 2. Then, the management server 2 may store this data. In this way, in the present embodiment, among the search results corresponding to the provided data 94, an image corresponding to the search result selected by the user can be displayed on the monitor 26.

  The search result output unit 78 has at least an order based on user-related data stored in the user-related data storage unit 64 and associated with the user who executed the search process (for example, an order based on user attributes). One search result image 130 may be arranged and displayed on the Web browser. Further, the search result output unit 78 may determine whether to display and output the search result as the search result image 130 based on the user related data. For example, when the user has already acquired a medal, the search result output unit 78 may suppress display output of the search result describing the medal as the search result image 130. In this way, the search result displayed as the search result image 130 is selected according to the user, so that the information to be provided can be accurately given to the user rather than simply displaying the search result output by the search means. Will be able to provide.

  According to this embodiment, according to the title data 98 that the provider of the provision data 94 (for example, the content provider) wants to include as a search condition, and the medal acquisition rate indicating the progress of the user's game. A search condition is generated, and a search result corresponding to the search condition is displayed and output as a search result image 130. In this way, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the possibility that a search result with a high degree of satisfaction will be output for both the content provider and the user.

  Note that the flow of search processing is not limited to the flow illustrated in the above processing example.

  A combination of a condition relating to a user (for example, a condition relating to a value or attribute of saved data or a condition relating to a value or attribute of execution status data) and a preset character string corresponding to the condition is stored in the main memory 20 or the hard disk drive It may be stored in advance in the storage device. Then, for example, the search condition generation unit 72 sets the search condition based on the preset character string corresponding to the condition related to the user specified based on the save data and execution status data stored in the user related data storage unit 64. It may be generated.

  For example, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate the search condition based on whether or not the user has played a game corresponding to the provided data 94. If the user has played a game corresponding to the provided data 94, the search condition generation unit 72 displays a preset character string such as “capture”, “blog”, “live video”, or the stage of the game A search condition including at least one of a character string indicated by the keyword data 108 included in the provided data 94 such as a name, a character name, and an item name may be generated. If the user has never played a game corresponding to the provided data 94, the search condition generation unit 72 displays a preset character string such as “promotion video” or “demo version” or a trailer of the game. A search condition including at least one of a character string indicated by the keyword data 108 included in the provided data 94 such as an identifier and a title may be generated.

  In addition, a search basic character string group including at least one search basic character string serving as a basis of the search condition may be stored in advance in a storage device such as the main memory 20 or the hard disk drive 38. When the entertainment system 10 executes a game (game program) (for example, when starting or ending execution of the game), the character string corresponding to the game is converted into one search basic character string. May be added to the basic search character string group. Specifically, the entertainment system 10 may add, for example, a character string indicating the title of the game to be started to the search basic character string group as one search basic character string. Then, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on at least a part of the search basic character strings included in the search basic character string group. In addition, when the entertainment system 10 executes a game (game program) (for example, when the execution is started or ended), the search basic characters corresponding to the game included in the search basic character string group. You may change or delete columns.

  A combination of a game identifier (for example, a game title) and a character string corresponding to the game identifier may be stored in advance in a storage device such as the main memory 20 or the hard disk drive 38. When the entertainment system 10 executes a game (game program) (for example, when the execution starts or ends), a character string corresponding to the identifier of the game is obtained as one search basic character string. May be added to the basic search character string group. Then, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on the character string added to the search basic character string group.

  In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on, for example, a game tendency played by the user. For example, when the tendency to play an action game is strong, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition including character strings such as “rare item” and “cooperative play”. In addition, for example, when the action game tends to be weak (for example, the play time is long but the number of medals is small), the search condition generation unit 72 “how to enjoy”, “easy play”, “story” A search condition including a character string such as “” may be generated. Further, for example, when the execution time of the action game is longer than a predetermined time, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition including character strings such as “capture”, “map”, and “review”. Good.

  The search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition corresponding to the type data 102 included in the provided data 94, for example. When the type data 102 indicates a genre of “game”, the search condition generation unit 72, for example, a character string indicating the name of a game sales company based on the provided data 94, or “capture”, “blog” , A search condition including at least one of a character string such as “live video” may be generated. In the case where the type data 102 indicates a genre such as “video” or “movie”, the search condition generation unit 72, for example, “Synopsis”, “Reputation”, “Evaluation”, “Director”, “Original”, A search condition including a character string such as “prize” may be generated.

  In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate search conditions based on data stored in the management server 2 or other entertainment system 10, for example. The search condition generation unit 72 is, for example, data stored in the management server 2 or other entertainment system 10 in association with a user related to this user (for example, a user corresponding to the attribute or a friend user). Search conditions based on (for example, medal data 80) may be generated. Specifically, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on a history of search conditions searched up to now by a user whose attribute corresponds to this user.

  In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 is specified based on the browsing record of the Web browser that the Web browser outputs to the storage device such as the main memory 20 and the hard disk drive 38 and the browsing history. A search condition may be generated based on a history of search conditions in the executed search. Specifically, for example, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition including a search character string frequently used by the user as a part of the search condition. When the search condition history is stored in the management server 2, the search condition generation unit 72 generates a search condition based on the search condition history of the user stored in the management server 2. May be.

  Further, for example, the search condition generation unit 72 may determine a search condition generation rule based on a random number and generate a search condition based on the generation rule. Further, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate different search conditions each time a search process is executed. In this way, even if the user repeatedly selects the same thumbnail image 114, the user can obtain different search results for each selection.

  Further, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition different from the character string. Specifically, the search condition generation unit 72 is, for example, a search condition indicating a domain to be searched or a Web site (for example, a search condition for limiting the search target to a blog site, or a search target is a video distribution site) Search conditions or the like limited to

  In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 is frequently used by the user, which is specified based on the data stored in the user-related data storage unit 64, accumulated time spent playing the game, time zone where the game tends to be played, and the like. Or a search condition based on an application program that has been used may be generated. In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on the time at which the search is executed, the elapsed time from the start of game sales, or the like.

  The search condition generation unit 72 also includes, for example, keywords indicated by the keyword data 108 included in the provided data 94, provider name data 100, purchase history data, demographic attributes of users (demographics), and the like. A search condition based on may be generated. In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition including a NOT condition “not including a predetermined character string”. When setting data (for example, data indicating a locale or a location where the setting is made) indicating the setting of the entertainment system 10 is stored in a storage device such as the main memory 20 or the hard disk drive 38 of the entertainment system 10. The search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on the setting data. Further, the search condition output unit 74 may generate a search condition based on the combination of the above search conditions.

  In addition, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a plurality of different search conditions. Then, the search condition output unit 74 may output each of the plurality of search conditions to the search server 3 as independent search conditions. Then, the search result acquisition unit 76 may acquire search results corresponding to each of the plurality of search conditions output from the search server 3 as independent search results.

  The search result output unit 78 has, for each search result, the priority of search conditions determined according to a predetermined rule such as a rule determined based on the user attribute (for example, provided data 94 included in the provided data 94). Display based on a layout based on the value set by the provider (for example, a layout in which search results corresponding to search conditions with high priority are arranged at the top of the screen) Also good. Further, the search result output unit 78 may change the display mode of the search result for each corresponding search condition and output the display result.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the search result output unit 78 displays a screen associated with each tab 132 in a Web browser having a tab function in which a screen displayed and output by the tab 132 selected by the user is changed. As a result, the search result display screen 124 corresponding to each search result may be displayed and output. At this time, for example, the search result output unit 78 may display and output the search results corresponding to the above-described search conditions with high priority as a screen associated with the left tab 132.

  In addition, the search result output unit 78 outputs the search results in an order determined based on, for example, the user search condition history or the selected search result history stored in the management server 2 or the storage device. You may do it. The search result output unit 78 is, for example, in an order determined based on purchase history data stored in the user-related data storage unit 64 (for example, an order determined based on the user's content ownership status). The search result may be output.

  As described above, the search result output unit 78 may output each search result according to a given rule (for example, a rule determined based on a user attribute).

  Further, the search condition output unit 74 may display and output a search condition selection screen (not shown) showing a plurality of search condition candidates on the monitor 26. Then, the search condition output unit 74 may output the search condition corresponding to the search condition candidate selected by the operation of the controller 42 by the user to the search server 3.

  Further, the entertainment system 10 may output content such as a moving image in association with a hidden parameter such as a content identifier to a server connected to the network. Then, the search condition generation unit 72 may generate a search condition based on this hidden parameter. In this way, it is possible to increase the possibility that the search result acquisition unit 76 acquires the search result corresponding to the moving image output by the entertainment system 10.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, when a plurality of search servers 3 are connected to the network, the search condition output unit 74 performs a plurality of searches based on the medal data 80 associated with the user who performs the search and the provided data 94 that is designated data. The search server 3 to be output may be determined from the servers 3 and the search condition may be output to the search server 3. Further, when each of the plurality of search conditions is output to the search server 3 as search conditions independent of each other, the search condition output unit 74 may output each search condition to different search servers 3.

  For example, the search condition output unit 74 may start a Web browser and output the Web browser as a parameter including a URL of the search server 3 and a character string corresponding to the search condition. Then, the web browser may acquire a search result corresponding to the search condition from the search server 3 by transmitting a request including a character string corresponding to the search condition as a parameter to the search server 3. Then, the Web browser may display and output this search result.

  The search server 3 is stored in the user-related data storage unit 64 or the management server 2 in an order based on user-related data associated with the user who executed the search process (for example, an order based on user attributes). The search result may be output to the entertainment system 10. Further, the search server 3 may determine whether to output the search result to the entertainment system 10 based on the user related data. For example, when the user has already acquired a medal, the search server 3 may suppress output of a search result describing the medal.

  1 network system, 2 management server, 3 search server, 10 entertainment system, 11 MPU, 12 main processor, 14a to 14h sub-processor, 16 bus, 18 memory controller, 20 main memory, 22, 40, 44 interface, 24 image processing Unit, 26 monitor, 28 input / output processing unit, 30 audio processing unit, 32 speaker, 34 optical disk reading unit, 36 optical disk, 38 hard disk drive, 42 controller, 42a surface, 46 camera unit, 48 network interface, 50L first left Button, 50R first right button, 52L second left button, 52R second right button, 54 left operation stick, 56 right operation stick, 58 button group, 58L left button, 5 R Right button, 58U Up button, 58D Down button, 60 direction button group, 60L Left button, 60R Right button, 60U Up button, 60D Down button, 62 Controller cable, 64 User related data storage, 66 Candidate data receiving unit, 68 Selection screen display output unit, 70 Designated data specifying unit, 72 Search condition generation unit, 74 Search condition output unit, 76 Search result acquisition unit, 78 Search result output unit, 80 Medal data, 82 User ID, 84 game ID, 86 medal ID, 88 medal name data, 90 medal grade data, 92 acquisition data, 94 provided data, 96 provided data ID, 98 title data, 100 provider name data, 102 type data, 104 related page URL, 106 Related video URL, 08 keyword data, 110 content data, 112 selection screen, 114 thumbnail image, 116 cursor image, 118 detailed image, 120 selection menu image, 122 cursor image, 124 search result display screen, 126 search character string input form, 128 search button, 130 Search result image, 130a Search result link, 130b Detailed search result image, 132 tab.

Claims (14)

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a search apparatus that receives search conditions and outputs search results corresponding to the search conditions,
Designated data specifying means for specifying specified data associated with the game program specified by the user;
The search device, and the title of the game program associated with the said designated data, a search condition output means for outputting the execution state by the user of the game program that is correlated with the designated data, the retrieval condition based on,
An information processing apparatus comprising: The search condition output means corresponds to the character string representing the title of the game program associated with the specified data specified by the search device and the execution status of the user in the game program associated with the specified data. Output search condition including character string,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. Search result acquisition means for acquiring a search result output from the search device and corresponding to the search condition output by the search condition output means;
Search result output means for outputting at least a part of the search results acquired by the search result acquisition means,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The specified data is associated with a character string;
The search condition output means outputs a search condition based on a character string associated with the designated data;
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that. The search condition output means outputs search conditions corresponding to data stored in a storage means and corresponding to a combination of the designated data and the user;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, any one of 4, characterized in that. The specified data is associated with type data indicating the type of data;
The search condition output means outputs a search condition corresponding to the type data;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The search condition output means outputs the search condition to a search device determined from a plurality of search devices based on the designated data;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The search result output means outputs the search result according to a rule determined based on the attribute of the user.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The search condition output means outputs a plurality of search conditions,
The search result acquisition means acquires search results corresponding to the search conditions,
The search result output means outputs each search result acquired by the search result acquisition means according to a given rule.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The search condition output means outputs a search condition selected by the user from a plurality of search conditions;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The search condition output means outputs a search condition corresponding to designated data specified from a plurality of options;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. The specified data specifying means included in the information processing apparatus that can communicate with the search device that receives the search conditions and outputs the search results corresponding to the search conditions specifies the specified data associated with the game program specified by the user. A specified data identification step to be performed;
The search condition output means included in the information processing apparatus outputs a search condition based on the title of the game program associated with the designated data and the execution status by the user of the game program associated with the designated data. A search condition output step;
An information processing method comprising: A program that causes a computer to function as an information processing apparatus that can communicate with a search apparatus that receives search conditions and outputs search results corresponding to the search conditions,
Specified data specifying means for specifying specified data associated with a game program specified by a user;
Wherein the search unit, and the title of the game program associated with the said designated data retrieval condition output means for outputting the execution state by the user of the game program that is correlated with the designated data, the retrieval condition based on,
Program for causing the computer to function as a.   A computer-readable information storage medium storing the program according to claim 13.

Images