JP5419801B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an application that allows a user to acquire an item and a technology related thereto.

  In recent years, a wide variety of game software has appeared. One way to give the user motivation to continue playing is to recognize the achievement level when the user accomplishes various missions in the game. In this case, instead of awarding only in a world closed to one game, if the total achievement level of various games can be presented to the user, or if the achievement level can be competed with other users, the appeal of the game system Will give the user the significance of playing to the end. Therefore, there has been proposed an achievement level management system that, when a user achieves a mission, causes the user to acquire an item and derives a user level at a point corresponding to the item acquisition (Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-5255 A

  As various game software is developed, game makers are striving to introduce new games to users by distributing free trial version software in addition to product advertisements through TV commercials and the like. In recent years, game devices have been introduced in which game software is stored in a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk so that an installed game can be enjoyed without a game disc. In such a game device, it is also possible for a user to download game software from the virtual game shop via the Internet, and an attempt is made to acquire a new user by distributing trial version software from the virtual game shop. ing.

  In the system proposed in Patent Document 1, when a user plays a trial version of software, a mission may be achieved to acquire an item. At this time, since the software is a trial version to the last, it is not preferable that the acquired item is added to the point expressing the user level because it lacks fairness to the user who purchased the product version software. In addition, since the acquired item is a result of game play even though it is a trial version, it is preferable to be able to notify the user of the acquired fact, but on the other hand, it is also shown that it is not acquired by the product version software It is preferable. In order to realize such processing, it is necessary to appropriately manage item acquisition information.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a technique for appropriately managing item acquisition information.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a holding unit that holds execution information of an application program, and a condition that is achieved when a preset condition is achieved in the application. A first item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an associated item ID, and a storage device that stores the generated item acquisition information. The first item acquisition processing unit determines the attribute information of the acquired item based on the execution information held in the holding unit, and generates item acquisition information in which the item ID is associated with the determined attribute information To do.

  Another embodiment of the present invention is also an information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus is generated with an item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application. A storage device for storing the acquired item acquisition information, and an acquired item display unit for displaying an image of the acquired item on the screen using the item acquisition information. The acquired item display unit is an image of an item acquired when the application program is executed under a predetermined environment, and an image of an item acquired when the application program is executed under an environment different from the predetermined environment. Display differently.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, a game environment using items can be realized.

It is a figure which shows the information processing system concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware block of a game device. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the information processing system which performs the management process of an item. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of a game device. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the content of a mission, and item ID. It is a figure which shows a trophy acquisition table. It is a figure which shows the trophy acquisition table in two game devices and an achievement degree management server. It is a figure which shows the condition where the synchronous process of item acquisition information is performed between a 1st game device and an achievement level management server. It is a figure which shows the condition where the synchronous process of item acquisition information is performed between a 2nd game device and an achievement degree management server. It is a figure which shows the condition where the synchronous process of item acquisition information is performed between a 1st game device and an achievement level management server. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen expressing a game achievement degree. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen expressing the acquired trophy. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen which compares a game achievement level of self and others. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen expressing a user level. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of an item acquisition process. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of acquisition trophy display screen production | generation.

  First, the outline of the present invention will be described. As an embodiment of the present invention, a game system which is an example of an information processing system is shown. In the game system, when the user clears a condition (mission) preset by the game software during game play, an item according to the achieved condition is given from the game software. The mission is appropriately set in the game software such as winning a special race in a racing game or defeating a specific enemy character in a fighting game.

  In the present embodiment, the given item is referred to as “trophy”. There are a plurality of types of trophy, and in this embodiment, four grades (types) of bronze, silver, gold, and platinum are prepared. The game software assigns missions in order of difficulty to the three grades of bronze, silver, and gold. Therefore, a mission that is easy to achieve is assigned to the bronze trophy, and a mission that is difficult to achieve is assigned to the gold trophy. The platinum trophy does not correspond to individual missions in the game. For example, when all the missions prepared by the game software are cleared, the system software gives the platinum trophy to the user.

  The user can compare his acquired trophy with other users' acquired trophy through the achievement management server on the network. The achievement level management server manages the acquired trophy of the user. For example, when the user plays a game on a plurality of game devices, the trophy acquired on each game device is aggregated to obtain trophy acquisition information on each game device. Synchronize (file synchronization). Also, points are set for each type of trophy, and the user can increase his or her level as a game player by increasing the number of points acquired.

  The file synchronization of the trophy acquisition information is performed for the trophy acquired by the user using the product version of the game software, and the trophy acquired using the trial version of the game software is not the target. That is, in the information processing system of the present embodiment, the user can acquire a trophy by playing a trial version game, but the trophy acquisition information is not synchronized by the achievement management server, that is, is not added as a point. . This ensures fairness with the user who purchased the product version. The trophy obtained by playing the trial version game is displayed on the game device so that the display mode is distinguishable from the trophy obtained by playing the product version game. Confirmation of acquisition is made possible.

  Here, the product version of the game software includes not only what the user has regularly purchased but also what the user has regularly rented with a time limit, for example. On the other hand, for example, when the same game software as the product version is distributed as a trial version with a time limit such as one day limitation, this game software does not correspond to the product version in this embodiment. In other words, in the present embodiment, the product version of the game software means that the user is authorized to execute the software. In other words, in the present embodiment, whether or not the product version is a product version is specified by the presence or absence of a legitimate authority. Therefore, game software that is rented by the user for a fee is also handled as the product version. Further, for example, when the save software of another user is loaded and the game software is executed, since this user does not have a right authority to use the save data, in this embodiment, It is treated differently from the game software of the product version.

  FIG. 1 shows an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 includes a game controller 40, a game device 10 that executes a game program, and a display device 12 that outputs an image of a processing result by the game device 10. The game apparatus 10 may be a game-dedicated machine or a computer that installs an emulator and operates as a game apparatus. The game controller 40 is an input interface device that allows a user to input an operation to the game apparatus 10. The game controller 40 may transmit an operation input wirelessly, or may be connected to the game apparatus 10 with a cable. The display device 12 may be a television having a speaker. The display device 12 may be connected to the game apparatus 10 by a wired cable, or may be wirelessly connected by a wireless local area network (LAN) or the like. The game apparatus 10 is communicably connected to the providing server 17 and the achievement level management server 18 connected to the network 16 via the router 15 and can transmit / receive desired data. The providing server 17 is operated by a game creator, a game sales company, or the like, and provides the game apparatus 10 with right information and additional information regarding execution of the game software. A file containing rights information and additional information is called a rights file. The achievement level management server 18 is operated by a subject that manages game achievement levels, and manages the trophies acquired by the user in the game.

  The right information provided from the providing server 17 includes key information for decoding the encrypted game software. Further, the additional information includes license information related to execution of the downloaded game software, and includes, for example, information specifying whether the product version is a trial version. Further, when downloaded in the rental format, the additional information includes the rental version and the start time and end time of the rental valid period. The game apparatus 10 can recognize whether the downloaded game software is a product version, a trial version, or rental content by acquiring additional information. Generally, in the case of the trial version, the execution of the game function is limited as compared with the product version, while in the case of the rental version, the same function as the product version is executed.

  When recognizing that the game software is a trial version, the function is limited according to a program coded in advance. Whether the function is restricted depends on the beam software, and may be a trial version or a specification that does not restrict the function. For example, in the case of trial version software that executes the same function as the product version for a limited time, a playable period is written in the right information, and a trial version is written in the additional information. Thereby, after the limited period, the game software cannot be decoded, and the user cannot play the game. Note that if the software is a trial version software that can be executed without any time limit while restricting some functions of the product version, the playable period is not written in the right information, and the additional information may be a trial version. Written.

  In the present embodiment, the providing server 17 provides the game device 10 free of charge as a trial version of game software without limiting the functions of the product version of the game software and limiting the play period. When the game apparatus 10 downloads the trial version of the game software from the provision server 17 in accordance with a user instruction supplied from the game controller 40, the user can play the downloaded game software as a trial version. 17 can be purchased to purchase the product version.

  At this time, the game apparatus 10 does not download the product version of the game software, but only acquires a rights file including rights information that has no play period limitation and additional information that describes the product version. It's okay. When the game apparatus 10 acquires this right file, the game apparatus 10 can handle the trial version of the game software as the product version of the game software. In other words, the game apparatus 10 can handle the downloaded game software as the product version by acquiring the right file of the product version. For example, when the trial version of the game software has a restriction on the play period of “available only for one day”, the play period restriction is lifted by acquiring the right file of the product version, and the game apparatus 10 Will be able to run the game software at any time. If the downloaded game software is rental content, the user can play the game for one month by acquiring a rights file in which an extension period of, for example, one month is described in the additional information as additional information. become able to. In this case, when one month has passed and the rental period has passed, for example, the game software may be automatically deleted from the game apparatus 10 so that the user cannot play.

  In this way, the information processing system 1 makes it unnecessary to download the product version again by downloading the game software of the product version as a trial version by limiting the play period with the rights information. Thereby, the trouble of downloading the product version game software can be eliminated, and the waste of storing the software of the same game twice in the storage device of the game apparatus 10 can be eliminated. Also, by downloading the game software of the product version, for example, by restricting the play period with additional information and downloading it as a rental version, the user can play the game software of the product version within the valid period. it can.

  In the information processing system 1, when a user clears a condition (mission) set in advance by game software during game play, a trophy according to the condition is given. The user's trophy acquisition information is recorded in the storage device of the game apparatus 10, and if the game software is a product version (or rental version), that is, if a trophy is acquired by a user with a legitimate authority, achievement level management is performed. It is transmitted to the server 18 and accumulated. The achievement level management server 18 accumulates trophy acquisition information for each user based on an account ID that identifies the user on the network. For example, when a single user plays on a plurality of game apparatuses 10, the achievement management server 18 merges new trophy acquisition information into the trophy acquisition information accumulated in the past and aggregates them if the account ID is the same. I will do it. At the same time, the achievement level management server 18 transmits the merged trophy acquisition information to a plurality of game devices 10 of one user, and the trophy acquisition information is synchronized between each game device 10 and the achievement level management server 18. It is done.

  FIG. 2 shows a hardware block diagram of the game apparatus 10. The game apparatus 10 includes a power button 20, an LED 22, a system controller 24, a device controller 30, a media drive 32, a hard disk drive 34, a switch 36, a wireless interface 38, a main controller 100, a main memory 102, and an output processing unit 104. Composed.

  The power button 20 is an input unit where an operation input from the user is performed, and is operated to turn on or off the power supply to the game apparatus 10. The LED 22 illuminates and displays the power on / off state. When the system controller 24 detects the pressed state or the non-pressed state of the power button 20 and detects a state transition from the power-off state to the pressed state, the system controller 24 starts up the main controller 100 and starts up the operating system boot sequence. At the same time, the lighting of the LED 22 is controlled. When the power cable is inserted into the game apparatus 10, the system controller 24 maintains the standby mode even when the power is off and monitors the pressing of the power button 20.

  The device controller 30 is configured as an LSI (Large-Scale Integrated Circuit) that exchanges information between devices like a south bridge. As illustrated, devices such as a system controller 24, a media drive 32, a hard disk drive 34, a switch 36, and the main controller 100 are connected to the device controller 30. The device controller 30 absorbs the difference in electrical characteristics of each device and the difference in data transfer speed, and controls the timing of data transfer. The hard disk drive 34 drives an internal hard disk to write / read data. The built-in hard disk functions as a storage device that stores data. The media drive 32 is a drive device that drives and recognizes the recording medium 50 and reads out necessary data from the recording medium 50 when a read-only recording medium 50 in which game software is recorded is loaded. The recording medium 50 may be a medium such as an optical disk or a magneto-optical disk.

  The switch 36 is an Ethernet switch (Ethernet is a registered trademark), and is a device that transmits and receives data by connecting to an external device in a wired or wireless manner. The switch 36 receives game software and a rights file from the providing server 17 via the network 16. The switch 36 transmits / receives expected data such as trophy acquisition information to / from the achievement management server 18. The switch 36 is connected to a wireless interface 38, and the wireless interface 38 is connected to a game controller 40 having a wireless communication function using a communication protocol such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol or IEEE802.11 protocol. User operation information input to the game controller 40 is supplied to the main controller 100 through the wireless interface 38, the switch 36, and the device controller 30.

  The main controller 100 includes a multi-core CPU, and includes one general-purpose processor core and a plurality of simple processor cores in one CPU. The general-purpose processor core is called a PPU (Power Processing Unit), and the remaining processor cores are called a SPU (Synergistic-Processing Unit). The main controller 100 executes an operating system (hereinafter simply referred to as “OS (Operating System)”) that provides functions and an environment for efficiently using the game apparatus 10 and comprehensively controls the entire apparatus. . The OS hierarchy of the game apparatus 10 in the present embodiment has three layers from the top, the user layer, the kernel (Kernel) layer, and the hypervisor (Hypervisor) layer, and the software of the user layer, the kernel layer, and the hypervisor layer are integrated. Thus, it functions as the “OS” of the game apparatus 10.

  When power is turned on by the power button 20, the system controller 24 supplies power to the main controller 100 and the output processing unit 104 via the device controller 30. When power is supplied to the main controller 100, the PPU first executes the OS boot loader to start the hypervisor layer. Subsequently, the PPU activates the kernel layer of the OS, and further activates the user layer, and prepares to receive data supplied from the hard disk drive 34 or the recording medium 50. Thereby, the main controller 100 can execute a game program.

  The main controller 100 includes a memory controller connected to the main memory 102. The PPU has a register, has a main processor as an operation execution subject, and efficiently assigns a task as a basic processing unit in an application to be executed to each SPU. Note that the PPU itself may execute the task. The SPU has a register, and includes a sub-processor as an operation execution subject and a local memory as a local storage area. The main memory 102 and the local memory are configured as a RAM (random access memory). The SPU has a dedicated DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller as a control unit, and can transfer data at high speed by transferring data between the main memory 102 and the local memory, and is built in the output processing unit 104. High-speed data transfer can be realized between the frame memory and the local memory.

  The output processing unit 104 is connected to the display device 12 and outputs a video signal and an audio signal that are processing results of the application. The output processing unit 104 includes a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that realizes an image processing function. The GPU employs HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and can digitally output video signals.

  The processing functions of the game apparatus 10 described in the present embodiment are not limited to games, and can be applied to information processing apparatuses that execute other applications. In the information processing apparatus, system software, application software, and an item management utility are executed. Hereinafter, as an example of the information processing apparatus, processing functions of the game apparatus 10 realized by system software, game software, and an item management utility will be described.

  When the game software detects the achievement of a preset game play condition in the game progress by the user, the game software calls an item management utility installed in the game apparatus 10 to give the user an item (a trophy).

  Specifically, a trophy acquisition table indicating all trophy IDs prepared by the game software and whether or not the trophy has been acquired is prepared in the hard disk drive 34 of the game apparatus 10. In the initial state, the acquisition flag value is set to 0. When the game software passes the trophy ID corresponding to the achieved condition to the item management utility, the item management utility refers to the acquisition flag value of the corresponding trophy ID. Set to 1 if present. Trophy IDs whose acquisition flag value is set to 1 constitute trophy acquisition information. As a result, when the game software detects the achievement of the set condition, it updates the trophy acquisition table and increases the trophy acquisition information.

  Further, the trophy acquisition table includes attribute information (attribute flag) indicating whether or not the game software is being executed in a predetermined environment when the trophy is acquired. Whether or not it is under a predetermined environment is determined by additional information included in the rights file, for example. For example, when the additional information includes information indicating a product version or a rental version, the attribute flag value is set to 1. On the other hand, when the additional information includes information indicating the trial version, the attribute flag value is set to 0. Even if the additional information includes information indicating that it is a product version or a rental version, for example, if save data of another user other than the user is used, that time The attribute flag value of the trophy acquired in is set to 0. As will be described later, in this case, a second attribute flag may be provided and the value thereof may be set to zero.

  Even if the game software at the time of acquiring the trophy is a trial version and the attribute flag value is set to 0, the user subsequently acquires a rights file for the product version, and the game software is converted to the product version. When upgraded, the attribute flag value is changed to 1. As a result, the trophy acquired in the trial version is also treated as the trophy acquired in the product version after the acquisition of the rights file of the product version, and becomes a target of merging acquired information in the achievement level management server 18. Note that if you use another person's save data to acquire a trophy, that trophy will not be merged.

  The item management utility transmits trophy acquisition information to the achievement level management server 18. The achievement management server 18 merges and accumulates new trophy acquisition information in the trophy acquisition information accumulated in the past based on the user's account ID. This merging process is not performed for each game but for each trophy. That is, at the time of merging, even if the game software running on the game device 10 is a trial version, there is a trophy acquired during the play of the product version game among the trophies acquired in the game If so, the item is subject to merge processing.

  The item management utility receives trophy acquisition information from the achievement level management server 18. For example, when a user plays a game using a plurality of game apparatuses 10, trophy acquisition information acquired by one game apparatus 10 is synchronized in another game apparatus 10. Thereby, even if it is a case where the same game is played with the some game device 10, trophy acquisition information is synchronized with the some game device 10 and the achievement management server 18. FIG. Here, “synchronization” means that the acquired trophy acquisition information is kept in the same state, for example, the latest updated state, among a plurality of information processing apparatuses. In this embodiment, the combination of the trophy ID and the acquisition flag value only needs to be synchronized, and the attribute flag value does not necessarily have to be synchronized.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the information processing system 1 that executes an item (trophy) management process. The game apparatus 10 executes system software 200, game software 300, and item management utility software (hereinafter “item management utility”) 400. The system software 200 is an operating system (OS) and has a display processing function in the game apparatus 10 and the like. The item management utility 400 provides a function for the game software 300 to use the information processing system 1. The game software 300 uses the function of the item management utility 400 for the process of installing the item setting information 60a, the process of generating the item acquisition information 70a, and the process of acquiring the item setting information 60b and the item acquisition information 70b from the achievement management server 18. Do it.

  The achievement level management server 18 includes a controller 500 and a storage device 80. The storage device 80 includes the latest item setting information 60b and item acquisition information 70b, 70c of a plurality of users registered in the information processing system 1. 70d is held. In the following, it is assumed that the item acquisition information 70b is item acquisition information of the user of the game apparatus 10, and the item acquisition information 70c and 70d is item acquisition information of another user.

  The game software 300 calls a “trophe registration function” from the item management utility 400 when the game software 300 is activated. As a result, the item setting information 60 is extracted from a predetermined file (hereinafter referred to as “item file”) included in the game software recorded in the recording medium 50 or the hard disk drive 34 and installed in the hard disk drive 34. . As a result, the game software 300 is in a state where a trophy can be acquired. This installation process only needs to be executed once, and is therefore executed when the game software 300 is first activated.

  At this time, if the user is signed in to the service provided by the information processing system 1, the trophy registration function checks the item acquisition information 70 b associated with the user account ID in the achievement level management server 18. When the item acquisition information 70b in the achievement level management server 18 includes a trophy other than the trophy specified by the item acquisition information 70a held in the hard disk drive 34, the trophy registration function stores the item acquisition information 70b. Acquire and additionally store in the hard disk drive 34. At this time, the trophy registration function can reduce the transfer data amount by acquiring the difference between the item acquisition information 70a and the item acquisition information 70b.

  In the trophy registration function, when the item acquisition information 70 a includes a trophy other than the trophy specified by the item acquisition information 70 b in the achievement level management server 18, the item acquisition whose attribute flag value is set to 1 is acquired. The information 70a is transmitted to the achievement level management server 18, while the item acquisition information 70b whose attribute flag value is set to 0 is not transmitted to the achievement level management server 18. By determining the item acquisition information 70a to be transmitted in this way, only the item acquisition information 70b acquired in the product version is stored in the achievement level management server 18.

  When the item setting information 60b in the achievement level management server 18 is updated to the latest one, the trophy registration function acquires the item setting information 60b and overwrites and saves it on the hard disk drive 34.

The item setting information 60 includes attributes such as an image (a trophy image) representing each trophy, a name and a description of each trophy. The item setting information 60 may be updated to increase the number of trophies. Therefore, the trophy registration function of the item management utility 400 checks whether the item setting information 60 has been updated with respect to the achievement level management server 18. It has. The item setting information 60 is stored in one item file and included in the game software recorded on the recording medium 50 or the hard disk drive 34. One trophy has the following attributes:
(1) Trophy ID
ID to identify the trophy
(2) Name / detailed information Trophy name and description (3) Grade (Type)
Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum (4) Platinum Link Whether the acquisition of the trophy is included in the conditions for acquiring the Platinum trophy.
When the item setting information 60 includes a plurality of trophies, the attributes (1) to (4) and the trophy images shown above are set in the item setting information 60 by the number of trophies.

  The system software 200 uses the item setting information 60a and the item acquisition information 70a supplied by the item management utility 400 to display a display device using a GUI (Graphical User Interface) such as generation of a screen showing a trophy acquisition status. 12 display screens are generated. In the trophy acquisition table, the trophy with the attribute flag value set to 0 is displayed in a different form from the trophy with the attribute flag value set to 1. Thereby, it can be shown to the user that the trophy has been acquired with the trial version of the software.

Details of the game apparatus 10 will be described below.
FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration of the game apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The game apparatus 10 executes system software 200, game software 300, and an item management utility 400.

  The system software 200 operates as an operating system (OS), and includes a special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202, a message generation unit 204, an item information acquisition unit 210, an achievement degree derivation unit 220, a level derivation unit 222, and a display processing unit 230. Prepare. The item information acquisition unit 210 includes an item setting information acquisition unit 212 and an item acquisition information acquisition unit 214. The display processing unit 230 includes an icon image display unit 232, an achievement level information display unit 234, a level information display unit 236, an acquired item display unit 238, and a message display unit 240.

  The item management utility 400 includes a registration processing unit 402, a communication unit 404, an item information supply unit 406, a special item processing unit 410, an item ID acquisition unit 420, a play item acquisition processing unit 422, and an execution information holding unit 430. The special item processing unit 410 includes a special item acquisition processing unit 412, an item acquisition status investigation unit 414, a special item ID notification unit 416, and an item ID acquisition unit 418. The game software 300 includes an application execution unit 302, a condition achievement detection unit 304, and an item ID notification unit 306.

  In FIG. 4, each element described as a functional block for performing various processes can be configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and other LSIs in terms of hardware. This is realized by a program loaded on the computer. As described above, the main controller 100 is provided with one PPU and a plurality of SPUs, and each of the PPUs and SPUs can be configured individually or in cooperation with each other. Therefore, it is understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof, and is not limited to any one.

  The above-described trophy registration function is executed by the registration processing unit 402. The registration processing unit 402 confirms the item acquisition information 70b in the achievement level management server 18 via the communication unit 404 at a predetermined timing. At this time, if the item acquisition information 70 of the trophy that is not held in the hard disk drive 34 exists in the achievement level management server 18, the registration processing unit 402 acquires the item acquisition information 70. The registration processing unit 402 transmits the item acquisition information 70 from the communication unit 404 if there is any item acquisition information 70 of the trophy held in the hard disk drive 34 that is not held in the achievement management server 18. To do.

  The registration processing unit 402 refers to the attribute flag value, and does not transmit the item acquisition information 70 with the attribute flag value 0 from the communication unit 404, and only the item acquisition information 70 with the attribute flag value 1 is achieved from the communication unit 404. To the management server 18. As a result, the achievement level management server 18 acquires only the trophy acquisition information 70 acquired by the product version game software. That is, in the information processing system 1, the trophy item acquisition information 70 acquired by the product version game software is synchronized between the game apparatus 10 and the achievement level management server 18.

  The game software 300 includes at least parameter information that defines an execution program for executing a game, game data used by the execution program, setting information related to game execution, and the like. The execution program is a program for progressing the game. The game data includes stage data developed in the game, character data, and the like. The execution program and the game data may be collectively referred to as a game program.

  The parameter information is data for determining the operation of the game apparatus 10 such as the drawing resolution of the game and access restriction age information related to the parental lock function. The parameter information is read into the game apparatus 10 before the execution program is started, and is used for setting the output resolution, determining whether the execution program can be executed by the parental lock function, or the like.

  In the hard disk drive 34, game software right information 75 and additional information 77 are registered. The right information 75 includes key information for decoding the game software, and includes a play period to be restricted when the game software is a trial version that restricts the play period. The additional information 77 includes information relating to game software, for example, information specifying whether it is a product version, a trial version, or a rental version.

  When the user operates the game controller 40 to input a game execution request, the system software 200 confirms the right information 75 and determines whether the play period is limited. At this time, if the play period is limited and the play period has passed, the game program is not started. When the play period is not limited or when the play period is limited, but within the play period, the game program is decoded with the key information, and the application execution unit 302 starts the game program.

In the following, the trophy acquisition process will be described first, and then the acquired trophy display process will be described.
<Trophy acquisition process>
The registration processing unit 402 extracts the item setting information 60 from the item file included in the game software recorded on the recording medium 50 or the hard disk drive 34 and installs it on the hard disk drive 34. Thereby, the trophy acquisition process can be started.

  In the game software 300, the application execution unit 302 receives the operation input of the game controller 40 by the user and executes the game program. In this embodiment, the game software 300 presets play conditions for acquiring a trophy. This condition is called a “mission”, and the contents of the mission may be disclosed to the user or may not be disclosed. Each mission is associated with an ID (item ID) of a trophy given to the user when the mission is achieved.

  When the game software 300 detects the achievement of preset game play conditions in the progress of the game by the user, the game software 300 calls the item management utility 400 and notifies the item management utility 400 of the item ID. This process is coded in the game program. The contents of each mission and the ID (item ID) of the trophy given to the user when the mission is achieved are associated one-to-one. FIG. 5 shows an example of the relationship between mission contents and item IDs.

  The condition achievement detection unit 304 detects from the progress of the game that the mission has been achieved, that is, the game play conditions set in advance in the game have been achieved. This detection process is hard-coded in the game program, and when a mission is achieved, a process for acquiring an item ID associated with the mission is written in the game program. Detection of the achievement of the condition corresponds to acquiring the item ID. The item ID notification unit 306 notifies the item management utility 400 of the acquired item ID.

  In the item management utility 400, the item ID acquisition unit 420 acquires the notified item ID and passes it to the play item acquisition processing unit 422. The play item acquisition processing unit 422 generates item acquisition information 70 using the item ID. The item acquisition information 70 is information indicating that an item has been acquired, and includes an attribute flag value indicating whether or not the game program at the time of item acquisition is being executed in a predetermined environment. The execution information holding unit 430 holds the information included in the additional information 77 as execution information, and the play item acquisition processing unit 422 refers to the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430 and stores the item acquisition information 70. It is generated and stored in the hard disk drive 34. The execution information holding unit 430 holds execution information for specifying whether the game program being executed is a product version, a trial version, or a rental version. The item acquisition information 70 is generated in the following table format.

  FIG. 6 shows a trophy acquisition table. The trophy acquisition table records an item ID, an acquisition flag value indicating whether or not an item has been acquired, and an attribute flag value that specifies attribute information of the acquired item in association with each other. An acquisition flag value of 0 indicates that an item has not been acquired, and an acquisition flag value of 1 indicates that an item has been acquired.

  The attribute flag is information indicating whether or not the acquired item is acquired when the game program is executed under a predetermined environment. Here, the predetermined environment means an environment in which the user has a legitimate authority to execute the game program, and specifically, an environment in which a product version or rental version game program is executed. And / or an environment in which the user has a valid user account ID. If an item is acquired while the game program is being executed in this environment, the attribute flag value is set to 1, while the game is being executed with the account ID for the guest while the trial version of the game program is being executed. If an item is acquired while playing, the attribute flag value is set to zero.

  The attribute flag value is used for processing related to the acquired item and processing related to the image of the acquired item. As processing related to the acquired item, the attribute flag value is handled as information that determines whether or not the item acquisition information 70 is synchronized with another information processing apparatus such as the achievement level management server 18. As processing related to the acquired item image, the attribute flag value is handled as information for determining whether the item image is displayed in a standard mode or a mode different from the standard mode. Here, the standard display mode is a display mode of the item image acquired in the product version.

  When the mission is achieved, the item ID acquisition flag value corresponding to the mission is set to 1. Specifically, when the play item acquisition processing unit 422 receives an item ID from the item ID acquisition unit 420, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 checks whether the acquisition flag value associated with the item ID is 1, and changes if it is 1. If it is 0, it is set to 1. At this time, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 refers to the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430. The execution information holding unit 430 may be a cache that reads and holds the additional information 77 from the hard disk drive 34. Note that the play item acquisition processing unit 422 may refer to the additional information 77 held in the hard disk drive 34. In this case, the hard disk drive 34 functions as a holding unit that holds additional information 77 that is execution information.

  When the play item acquisition processing unit 422 recognizes that the game program is being executed under an environment different from the predetermined environment with reference to the execution information, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 sets the attribute flag value associated with the item ID to 0. On the other hand, when the execution information recognizes that the game program is being executed under a predetermined environment, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 sets the attribute flag value to 1. In the example shown in FIG. 6, since the game software at the time of item acquisition of item IDs “1” and “3” is a trial version, the state where the attribute flag values are set to 0 is shown. As described above, the item acquisition information 70 stored in the hard disk drive 34 is information in which the item ID, the acquisition flag value, and the attribute flag value are associated with each other.

  When receiving the item ID from the item ID acquisition unit 420, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 determines the attribute flag value with reference to the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430 each time. Therefore, each time the condition is achieved in the game, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 refers to the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430, determines the attribute flag value of the acquired item, and acquires the item Information 70 is generated.

  The game apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a mechanism that enables the purchase of a rights file for a product version while the user is playing a game with a trial version. The game apparatus 10 transmits a rights file acquisition request input from the game controller 40 to the providing server 17. The acquisition request includes identification information for identifying the game software. Upon receiving the right file acquisition request, the providing server 17 generates game purchase screen configuration data based on the identification information of the game software, and transmits it to the game apparatus 10. The game apparatus 10 displays a purchase screen on the display device 12, and when a user selects and operates a purchase button provided on the purchase screen, a purchase request including game software identification information is transmitted to the providing server 17. . In response to this, the providing server 17 charges the user and returns a product version right file. The registration processing unit 402 creates and holds the received rights file by creating a directory in the hard disk drive 34 based on the identification information. As described above, the additional information 77 of the rights file held in the hard disk drive 34 is read out to the execution information holding unit 430.

  Thus, in the information processing system 1, even when the game software is a trial version at the start of play, it may be changed to a product version during the play. Therefore, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 refers to the execution information of the execution information holding unit 430 each time the play condition is achieved, and whether the game program being executed is a product version, a trial version, or I check to see if it is a rental version. The play item acquisition processing unit 422 refers to the execution information stored in the execution information holding unit 430, sets an attribute flag value, and generates item acquisition information 70. The generated item acquisition information 70 is stored in the hard disk drive 34.

  When the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430 indicates that the game program is being executed under a predetermined environment, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 generates the item acquisition information already generated for the same game. 70, when the game program is executed under a predetermined environment, the user can receive information indicating that the game program is an item acquired by the user when the game program is executed under an environment different from the predetermined environment. Change the information to indicate that it is an acquired item. That is, when the play item acquisition processing unit 422 indicates that the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430 is a product version or a rental version, the acquisition flag value is set to 1 in the trophy acquisition table in the game. All the attribute flag values set to 1 are set. That is, the attribute flag value 0 is changed to the attribute flag value 1, and the trophy acquired in the trial version is changed to the trophy acquired in the product version. In this way, when a user purchases a rights file for the product version, the trophy obtained in the trial version is treated as the trophy acquired in the product version, thereby giving a privilege for becoming a product version user. Can do.

  The items that the play item acquisition processing unit 422 performs acquisition processing are three types of trophies of bronze, silver, and gold, and do not include platinum trophy. Platinum trophy item ID is “0” and bronze, silver and gold item IDs are assigned “1” or more. In this way, the game software 300 can give the user three types of trophies: bronze, silver, and gold. On the other hand, the platinum trophy is given to the user by the system software 200.

  When the play item acquisition processing unit 422 performs an item acquisition process, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 causes the item acquisition state investigation unit 414 to investigate the item acquisition state. The item acquisition status investigation unit 414 refers to the item setting information 60 and the item acquisition information 70, investigates the item acquisition status, and notifies the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202. The special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 determines whether or not an item acquisition condition for acquiring a special item has been achieved based on the investigation result of the item acquisition situation investigation unit 414. Normally, this item acquisition condition is set to acquire a plurality of items (trophies).

  As described above, information of “platinum link” is set in the trophy as an attribute. The information of the platinum link is set as a flag value. A flag value of 1 means that the acquisition of the trophy is included in the conditions for acquiring the platinum trophy, and a flag value of 0 indicates that the acquisition of the trophy is Means that it is not included in the conditions for earning a platinum trophy. The item setting information 60 is updated when an item is added. In the default item setting information 60, the platinum link flag value of all items is set to 1, and the flag value of the additional item is set to 0. You may be made to do.

  The item acquisition status investigation unit 414 refers to the item setting information 60, extracts the item ID for which the platinum link flag value (hereinafter, platinum flag value) is set to 1, and then refers to the trophy acquisition table. Then, it is investigated whether the acquisition flag values of all the extracted item IDs are 1.

  If an item with a platinum flag value of 1 has not been acquired, the item acquisition status survey unit 414 notifies the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 of the survey result. In response, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 determines that the item acquisition condition for acquiring the special item, that is, the platinum trophy, has not been achieved.

  On the other hand, if all of the items for which the platinum link is set have been acquired, the item acquisition status investigation unit 414 refers to the trophy acquisition table and investigates whether the attribute flag value of all the acquired items is 1. . If all the attribute flag values of the items for which the platinum link is set are 1, the item acquisition status investigation unit 414 notifies the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 of the investigation result, and the special item acquisition condition achievement determination The unit 202 determines that the item acquisition condition is achieved on the product version or the rental version game software. On the other hand, if at least one of the acquired items for which the platinum link is set has an attribute flag value of 0, the item acquisition status survey unit 414 displays the survey result as a special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit. 202, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 determines that the item acquisition condition is achieved on the trial version game software.

  Note that the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 may have a survey function by the item acquisition status survey unit 414. In this case, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 is supplied with the item setting information 60 and the item acquisition information 70 from the item information supply unit 406, and checks the item acquisition status.

  When the acquisition condition of the platinum trophy is achieved, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 notifies the item ID acquisition unit 418 of the item ID of the platinum trophy together with the attribute flag value. This item ID value is 0. The attribute flag value is 1 when the item acquisition condition is achieved on the product version or rental version game software, and is 0 when the item acquisition condition is achieved on the trial version game software. The item ID acquisition unit 418 acquires the notified item ID and attribute flag value and passes them to the special item acquisition processing unit 412. The special item acquisition processing unit 412 generates the item acquisition information 70 using the item ID, and specifically sets the acquisition flag value of the item ID 0 to 1 in the trophy acquisition table and is notified of the attribute flag value. Set to value.

  At this time, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 instructs the special item ID notification unit 416 to notify the game software 300 of the item ID 0. The special item ID notification unit 416 notifies the game software 300 of the item ID 0 of the platinum trophy, and in response to this, the application execution unit 302 displays a message indicating that the platinum trophy has been acquired on the game screen. Good.

  This message may be displayed on the game screen by the system software 200. When the acquisition condition of the platinum trophy is achieved, the message generation unit 204 generates a message related to the acquisition of the platinum trophy in response to an instruction from the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202. At this time, a message corresponding to the attribute flag value may be generated. For example, if the attribute flag value is 0, that is, if a platinum trophy is acquired on the trial version game, “Congratulations on acquiring a platinum trophy (because it is a trial version, it will not be counted as a point on the achievement management server. Message is generated. The message display unit 240 superimposes the generated message on a predetermined area in the game screen being executed. Thereby, even if the game software 300 does not display a message for acquiring the platinum trophy, the system software 200 displays the message on the game screen so that the user can have an opportunity to confirm the message.

  As described above, in the game apparatus 10, the game software 300 gives the user the bronze, silver, and gold trophy as a result of achieving the mission of the game, and the system as a result of the user acquiring the bronze, silver, and gold trophy. Software 200 grants a platinum trophy to the user. This gives you a premium feeling of platinum trophy. When the system software 200 performs platinum trophy acquisition processing, the processing load on the game software 300 can be reduced, and the development burden on the game developer can also be reduced.

  In the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the game is executed in the trial version and the trophy is acquired, if the product version rights file is properly purchased, the attribute flag value is updated to 1 in the trophy acquisition table. The Therefore, in many cases, the acquired trophy attribute flag values 0 and 1 are rarely mixed in the trophy acquisition table, and are usually unified to either 0 or 1.

  However, for example, if a friend borrows a recording medium 50 of game software and inserts it into the media drive 32 to play a game, the attribute flag of the acquired trophy is set to 1, but then the recording medium 50 is set to a friend. It is also assumed that the game is played by downloading the trial version of the game software from the providing server 17. In that case, the attribute flag is set to 0 for the trophy acquired with the trial version of the game software. In such a case, the attribute flag values 0 and 1 may be mixed in the trophy acquisition table of one game.

  Also, when the user plays a game at a plurality of places, for example, the first game device 10a plays the trial version and the second game device 10b plays the product version, the trial version is executed. In the first game device 10a, attribute flag values 0 and 1 may be mixed in the trophy acquisition table of one game. Hereinafter, a process of synchronizing the item acquisition information 70 between the two game apparatuses 10a and 10b and the achievement level management server 18 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 shows a trophy acquisition table in the game apparatuses 10 a and 10 b and the achievement level management server 18. A trophy acquisition table is stored in each of the hard disk drive 34a of the game apparatus 10a and the hard disk drive 34b of the game apparatus 10b. It is assumed that the game device 10a executes a trial version of the game program, and the game device 10b executes the product version of the game program to generate item acquisition information. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the achievement level management server 18 is not connected to the game device 10a and the game device 10b, and the item acquisition information is not synchronized with the storage device 80 of the achievement level management server 18.

  FIG. 8 shows a situation in which the game apparatus 10a and the achievement level management server 18 are connected, and the item acquisition information synchronization processing is performed between the game apparatus 10a and the achievement level management server 18. In the game apparatus 10 a, the registration processing unit 402 confirms item acquisition information in the achievement level management server 18 via the communication unit 404. The registration processing unit 402 acquires the item acquisition information if the item acquisition information of the trophy that is not held in the hard disk drive 34 a exists in the achievement level management server 18. In this case, since the item acquisition information does not exist in the achievement level management server 18, the registration processing unit 402 does not acquire the item acquisition information. In addition, the registration processing unit 402 transmits the item acquisition information from the communication unit 404 if there is any item acquisition information of the trophy held in the hard disk drive 34 a that is not held in the achievement management server 18. At this time, the registration processing unit 402 determines whether or not to transmit item acquisition information according to the attribute flag value. Specifically, the registration processing unit 402 refers to the attribute flag value and determines that the item acquisition information with the attribute flag value 1 is transmitted and the item acquisition information with the attribute flag value 0 is not transmitted. Since only item acquisition information having an attribute flag value 0 exists in the hard disk drive 34a, item acquisition information is not transmitted from the communication unit 404.

  FIG. 9 shows that the connection between the game device 10a and the achievement level management server 18 is released from the situation shown in FIG. 8, the game device 10b and the achievement level management server 18 are connected, and the game device 10b and the achievement level management server 18 are connected. Shows the situation in which the item acquisition information synchronization processing is performed. In the game apparatus 10 b, the registration processing unit 402 confirms item acquisition information in the achievement level management server 18 via the communication unit 404. If the item acquisition information of the trophy that is not held in the hard disk drive 34b exists in the achievement level management server 18, the registration processing unit 402 acquires the item acquisition information. In this case, since the item acquisition information does not exist in the achievement level management server 18, the registration processing unit 402 does not acquire the item acquisition information. In addition, the registration processing unit 402 transmits the item acquisition information from the communication unit 404 if there is any item acquisition information of the trophy held in the hard disk drive 34 b that is not held in the achievement level management server 18. At this time, the registration processing unit 402 refers to the attribute flag value, does not transmit the item acquisition information with the attribute flag value 0 from the communication unit 404, and transmits the item acquisition information with the attribute flag value 1 from the communication unit 404. The registration processing unit 402 reads item acquisition information of item IDs 1, 2, and 4 from the hard disk drive 34b, and causes the communication unit 404 to transmit it to the achievement level management server 18. Thereby, the achievement level management server 18 records the item acquisition information of the item IDs 1, 2, and 4 in the storage device 80.

  FIG. 10 shows that the connection between the game device 10b and the achievement level management server 18 is released from the situation shown in FIG. 9, the game device 10a and the achievement level management server 18 are connected, and the game device 10a and the achievement level management server 18 are connected. Shows the situation in which the item acquisition information synchronization processing is performed. In the game apparatus 10 a, the registration processing unit 402 confirms item acquisition information in the achievement level management server 18 via the communication unit 404. The registration processing unit 402 acquires the item acquisition information if the item acquisition information of the trophy that is not held in the hard disk drive 34 a exists in the achievement level management server 18. At this time, the registration processing unit 402 recognizes that the item acquisition information in which the attribute flag value is set to 0 is an item that is not held, and acquires the item acquisition information that is not held in the hard disk drive 34a. Contact In this case, since the item acquisition information of the item IDs 1, 2, and 4 exists in the achievement level management server 18, the registration processing unit 402 sends a transmission request to the achievement level management server 18 via the communication unit 404. send. The achievement level management server 18 transmits the requested item acquisition information to the game apparatus 10a, and the registration processing unit 402 acquires the item acquisition information. The acquired item acquisition information is written in the trophy acquisition table of the hard disk drive 34a.

  As described above, the item acquisition information is synchronously processed between the plurality of game apparatuses 10a and 10b and the achievement level management server 18. As shown in FIG. 10, in the game apparatus 10a in which the trial version of the game program is executed, in the item acquisition information in which the acquisition flag value 1 is set, attribute flag values 0 and 1 may be mixed. . The trophy display process according to the attribute flag value will be described below.

<Trophy display processing>
In response to a trophy display request from the user, the item information supply unit 406 reads item information including the item setting information 60 and the item acquisition information 70 from the hard disk drive 34 and supplies the item information to the item information acquisition unit 210. The item setting information acquisition unit 212 acquires the item setting information 60, and the item acquisition information acquisition unit 214 acquires the item acquisition information 70.

The achievement level deriving unit 220 calculates points using the item acquisition information 70 and the item setting information 60, and derives the achievement level of the game based on the calculated points. There are four types of trophies: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Points are set as follows for each type.
Bronze 10 points Silver 30 points Gold 100 points Platinum 200 points

  In the default item setting information 60, for example, the type and number of trophy are allocated so that the total point of all the trophies is around 1000 points. This is to eliminate unfairness between games when deriving a user level to be described later. The point setting table describing the above relationship is held in the hard disk drive 34, and the achievement level deriving unit 220 acquires the point setting table through the item information supply unit 406.

  The achievement level deriving unit 220 extracts the number of trophy types included in the item setting information 60 and calculates the total points. For example, if the bronze trophy is 20, the silver trophy is 10, the gold trophy is 3, and the platinum trophy is 1, the total point is 1000 (= 20 × 10 + 10 × 30 + 3 × 100 + 1 × 200).

  Next, the achievement level deriving unit 220 extracts the number of acquired trophies included in the item acquisition information 70 for each type, and calculates acquisition points. At this time, the achievement level deriving unit 220 separates the trophy with the attribute flag value set to 1 and the trophy with the attribute flag value set to 0 among the acquired trophy included in the item acquisition information 70. To calculate earned points. For example, among the acquired trophies whose attribute flag value is set to 1, if 16 bronze trophies, 8 silver trophies, 1 gold trophy and 0 platinum trophy, the earned points are 500 ( = 16 × 10 + 8 × 30 + 1 × 100). In addition, if there is one gold trophy as the acquired trophy with the attribute flag value set to 0, the acquired points are 100 (= 1 × 100).

  The achievement level deriving unit 220 calculates the achievement level of the game as (acquired points / total points in the product version) × 100, and derives 50% (= 100 × 500/1000) here. The achievement level deriving unit 220 also calculates the achievement level of the game in consideration of the points acquired in the trial version, and derives 60% (= 50% + 10%) here.

  By deriving the achievement level of the game as (acquired points / total points) × 100, the achievement level deriving unit 220 can derive the achievement level taking into account the difficulty level of the mission. For example, when the achievement level of the game is expressed by the acquired points, the achievement level cannot be expressed because the total points are not taken into consideration. Even if the achievement level is expressed by the number of acquired trophies, it is not an accurate achievement level because the difficulty level is not taken into consideration. In this way, the achievement level deriving unit 220 can derive an objective game achievement level. The derived achievement level is sent to the achievement level information display unit 234. The achievement level information display unit 234 displays the derived achievement level on the display device 12.

  When the item setting information 60 and the item acquisition information 70 for a plurality of games are stored in the hard disk drive 34, the achievement level deriving unit 220 derives the achievement levels of the plurality of games. Accordingly, the achievement level information display unit 234 can display the achievement levels of a plurality of games on the display device 12.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a screen expressing the game achievement level. On the achievement level display screen 260, the game achievement level is expressed by an achievement level indicator 250 and an achievement level value 252. The achievement level display screen 260 is generated by the display processing unit 230.

  The icon image display unit 232 arranges the icon images 258 a to 258 e in the achievement level display screen 260. The icon images 258a and 258b are images prepared by the system software 200, and the icon images 258c, 258d and 258e are images extracted from the item setting information 60. In the area below the icon image 258b, that is, the area where the icon images 258c, 258d, and 258e are displayed, the icon image 258 of the game that the user has played in the past and acquired the trophy is displayed. A game title is displayed on the right of each icon image 258c, 258d, 258e, an achievement indicator 250 is displayed below each game title, and an achievement value 252 is displayed on the right. The achievement level display screen 260 displays a game achievement level based on the achievement level indicator 250 and the achievement level value 252 for each of the plurality of games. Among them, the achievement level of the DEF baseball is 100%, and the platinum trophy A platinum trophy image 254 is shown, indicating that the player has won.

  In this example, the achievement value 252 of the ABC racer is displayed as 50%, and “60% when adding points of the trial version” is displayed beside it. In the achievement indicator 250, half representing 50% is colored, and a dotted line is drawn at a position of 60%. This indicates that 50% of the achievement level was acquired with the product version of the game software, but 10% of the achievement level was acquired with the trial version of the game software. The user can know that the achievement level is increased to 60% immediately after purchasing the rights file for the product version of the ABC racer. Such a display can increase the incentive to purchase the product right file.

  FIG. 12 shows a screen example expressing the acquired trophy. On the acquired trophy display screen 266, the acquired trophy is represented by trophy images 268a to 268d and trophy images 262a to 262d. The acquisition trophy display screen 266 is generated by the display processing unit 230 when the user instructs the icon image 258c of FIG.

  The icon image display unit 232 arranges the icon image 258 c and the acquired item display unit 238 arranges the trophy images 268 a to 268 d and the trophy images 262 a to 262 d in the acquisition trophy display screen 266. The trophy images 268a to 268d are icon images extracted from the item setting information 60, and the trophy images 262a to 262d are images prepared by the system software 200. For example, the trophy images 262a to 262d are configured with a bronze, silver, or gold color scheme. The acquired item display unit 238 extracts the item ID of the trophy acquired by the user from the item acquisition information 70 of the game indicated by the icon image 258c, and the trophy image associated with the item ID in the item setting information 60 268 and the explanation information 264 are acquired and arranged on the right side of the trophy image 262 in the acquired trophy display screen 266. As a result, the user can know which trophy has been acquired so far, the type of trophy, and the content of the mission completed, from the display information on the acquired trophy display screen 266.

  In this way, the acquired item display unit 238 displays the acquired trophy image on the acquired trophy display screen 266 using the item acquisition information 70. Here, the trophy image 268c and the trophy image 262c are each a trial version. Marks 269a and 269b indicating the trophy acquired by the game software are added. This addition processing is performed when the attribute flag value associated with the acquired trophy is 0, and thus, a display of a different mode is displayed compared to the display of the standard mode of the trophy images 268 and 262 acquired in the product version. It is said. It should be noted that the display form may be different from the trophy image acquired in the product version. For example, the display color may be different, the display may be blurred, or a completely different trophy image may be used. In this way, the trophy image acquired in the trial version is displayed in a different display mode from the trophy image acquired in the product version. When the user looks at the acquired trophy display screen 266, he / she wants to neatly arrange the acquired trophy images, which has the effect of increasing the willingness to purchase the right file for the product version.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen for comparing the game achievement levels of oneself and another person. On the achievement level comparison screen 270, the achievement level deriving unit 220 derives the achievement level from the item acquisition information 70 acquired by executing the product version of the game software for a game in which at least one of the user and the other person has acquired an icon. Then, the display processing unit 230 generates the achievement level comparison screen 270. In the achievement level display screen 260 shown in FIG. 11, the total achievement level is provisionally presented to the user using the trophies acquired by executing the trial version of the game software, but the achievement level comparison screen shown in FIG. 13. In 270, in order to ensure fairness with the user who purchased the product version, only the trophies acquired in the game of the product version are set as targets for achievement comparison.

  The registration processing unit 402 acquires item acquisition information 70 of another specific user from the achievement level management server 18 via the communication unit 404 and stores it in the hard disk drive 34. Another user is a user whose network account ID is recorded in the game apparatus 10. As a result, the registration processing unit 402 can notify the achievement management server 18 of the account IDs of other users and acquire the item acquisition information 70. At this time, if the item acquisition information 70 of another user includes a game that the game apparatus 10 does not have, the registration processing unit 402 also performs the achievement management server for the item setting information 60 of the game. 18 from. Note that the item acquisition information 70 of other users does not include the acquisition information of the trophy acquired in the trial version.

  The item information acquisition unit 210 acquires the item setting information 60 and the item acquisition information 70 acquired from the achievement level management server 18 and supplies them to the achievement level deriving unit 220. The achievement level deriving unit 220 derives the achievement level of the game of the player and others. For a game that has never been played, the achievement level is set to zero. The achievement level information display unit 234 displays the achievement levels of the game of the user and the others side by side on the achievement level comparison screen 270. On the achievement level comparison screen 270, the achievement level indicators 250a and 250b of the user and others are displayed for the icon image 258c arranged in the focus area. In addition, for each icon image 258, a game title is displayed, and the achievement level value 252 of yourself and others is displayed.

  In the achievement level comparison screen 270 shown in FIG. 13, since the player has never played JKL soccer or has no acquired items, the achievement level is displayed as 0%. In this way, even for a game with no items acquired by itself, the game title and the achievement value 252 of another person can be displayed to know how much the person has played the game.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen expressing the user level. In the level display screen 272, the user level and the number of trophies acquired so far are displayed in order to confirm his / her level among all users registered in the information processing system 1. The indicator in FIG. 14 represents the ratio of acquired points when the number of points to reach the next level is 100% at the current level.

  The level deriving unit 222 calculates points using the item acquisition information 70 and the item setting information 60 of all the games stored in the hard disk drive 34, and derives the user level based on the calculated points. At this time, the level deriving unit 222 does not target the point calculation for the trophy acquired by the trial version of the game software, but only the trophy acquired by the product version of the game software. Note that this distinction is made based on the attribute flag value of the trophy acquisition table as described above. The calculation process of points of one game is as described in relation to the achievement level deriving unit 220. By executing this calculation process for all the games and counting them, the number of points acquired for all the games can be calculated. Can be derived.

  The user level increases in order from level 1 as the number of acquired points increases. For example, assuming 100 points as a unit of one level, if the number of acquired points is 620 points, the level deriving unit 222 derives that the level is 6 and the achievement level at level 6 is 20%. The level derivation unit 222 sends the derivation result to the level information display unit 236, and the level information display unit 236 displays the numerical value of the level as 6 on the level display screen 272, and displays the achievement level 20% at the level 6 as an indicator. To do.

  Here, the user level on the level display screen 272 shown in FIG. 14 is derived by the level deriving unit 222 in the system software 200, but the function of the level deriving unit 222 is realized by the controller 500 of the achievement management server 18. May be. Since the achievement level management server 18 holds the latest item acquisition information 70 by synchronizing with the game apparatus 10, the controller 500 determines the user level of each user and the number of trophies that each user has acquired so far. Can be derived. Therefore, the controller 500 calculates points using the item acquisition information 70 of the game for each user stored in the storage device 80 and the item setting information 60 of the game for which each user has acquired the trophy, and the latest of each user is calculated. Deriving the level of Since the achievement level management server 18 has a level derivation function, it is possible to perform statistical processing such as creating a distribution of users at each level, and each user can easily grasp his / her relative level. There is an advantage.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the item acquisition information 70 a is transmitted to the achievement level management server 18, and the item acquisition information 70 b is transmitted to the game device 10, so that the game device 10 and the item acquisition information 70 are connected. , Item acquisition information 70a and 70b are respectively synchronized. As described above, since the user level is an index for evaluating the total game skill of each user in the information processing system 1, the achievement level management server 18 also executes the product version of the game software. Only acquired trophies are considered for evaluation. Therefore, when the game apparatus 10 transmits the item acquisition information 70a to the achievement level management server 18, the game apparatus 10 excludes acquisition information whose attribute flag value is 0 and transmits only acquisition information whose attribute flag value is 1. Thereby, in the achievement level management server 18, the situation where the trophy acquired in the trial version is used for the calculation of the user level can be avoided.

  The game device 10 transmits a trophy acquisition table including the attribute flag value to the achievement level management server 18, and the achievement level management server 18 excludes the trophy with the attribute flag value of 0 from the calculation target. The user level may be derived.

  FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of the item acquisition process. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 15, the processing procedure of each part is displayed by a combination of S (acronym for Step) meaning a step and a number. In addition, when a determination process is executed in the process displayed by the combination of S and a number, and the determination result is affirmative, Y (acronym for Yes) is added, for example (Y in S10) If the result of the determination is negative, N (acronym for No) is added and (N in S10) is displayed. The meaning of the display in the flowchart is the same in the flowcharts shown in other drawings.

  In the game software 300, the application execution unit 302 receives the operation input of the game controller 40 by the user and executes the game program (S10). The condition achievement detection unit 304 detects whether or not the game play conditions set in advance in the game have been achieved from the progress of the game (S12). When the condition achievement detection unit 304 detects that the mission has been achieved (Y in S12), the condition achievement detection unit 304 acquires an item ID that is hard-coded for the condition. The achievement of the play condition may be detected with the acquisition of the item ID. The item ID notification unit 306 notifies the item management utility 400 of the acquired item ID (S14). If the game play conditions are not achieved (N in S12), the item ID is not notified.

  In the item management utility 400, the item ID acquisition unit 420 acquires the notified item ID and passes it to the play item acquisition processing unit 422. The play item acquisition processing unit 422 generates the item acquisition information 70 using the item ID and the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430, and executes the item acquisition process (S16). At this time, the item acquisition status investigation unit 414 refers to the item setting information 60 and the item acquisition information 70, investigates the item acquisition status, and notifies the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 in the system software 200 (S18). .

  The special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 determines whether or not an item acquisition condition for acquiring a special item has been achieved based on the investigation result of the item acquisition situation investigation unit 414 (S20). Specifically, if there is an item for which the platinum flag value is not acquired, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 determines that the item acquisition condition has not been achieved (N in S20). On the other hand, if all items having a platinum flag value of 1 have been acquired, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 determines that the item acquisition condition has been achieved (Y in S20). At this time, the special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 refers to the attribute flag value of the acquired item, and sets the attribute flag value of the special item to 0 if even one attribute flag value 0 exists. If the attribute flag value of all items is 1, the attribute flag value of the special item is set to 1. The special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit 202 notifies the item management utility 400 of the item ID and attribute flag value of the special item (S22), and the special item acquisition processing unit 412 uses the item ID and attribute flag value to Acquisition information 70 is generated (S24). This item acquisition process is performed until the game ends (N in S26). When the game ends (Y in S26), the item acquisition process ends.

  FIG. 16 shows a flowchart for generating an acquired trophy display screen. When the acquired item display unit 238 acquires a trophy image representing the acquired trophy (S30), the attribute flag value of the trophy is referred to (S32). When the attribute flag value is 1 (Y in S32), the acquired item display unit 238 places the trophy image at a predetermined position on the screen. On the other hand, when the attribute flag value is 0 (N in S32), the acquired item display unit 238 adds a mark to the trophy image (S34) and arranges the trophy image together with the mark at a predetermined position on the screen (S36). The acquired item display unit 238 executes the processes of S30 to S36 for all the trophies to be displayed.

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are exemplifications, and that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective components and processing processes, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

  As described in the embodiment, the execution information holding unit 430 holds execution information for specifying whether the application program being executed is a product version, a trial version, or a rental version. Furthermore, when the application program is executed using the save data, the execution information holding unit 430 holds information for specifying whether the save data belongs to the person or another person. Also good. In this case, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 generates a trophy acquisition table including, as attribute information, a second attribute flag value that specifies whether or not the save data belongs to the user. The second attribute flag value is set to 1 when the save data is the original data, and the second attribute flag value is set to 0 when the save data is not the original data. The item acquisition information synchronization process is performed when both the attribute flag value described in the embodiment and the second attribute flag value are 1, and the display of the item image in the standard mode is the same as It may be performed when both the attribute flag value described in the embodiment and the second attribute flag value are 1.

  In the embodiment, when the game software is changed from the trial version to the product version in the middle of the game play, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 refers to the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430 to refer to the trophy. In the acquisition table, the attribute flag value 0 was changed to the attribute flag value 1, and the trophy acquired in the trial version was changed to the trophy acquired in the product version. For example, when the user purchases the product version recording medium 50 and inserts it into the media drive 32, the execution information holding unit 430 acquires and holds execution information for identifying the product version from the recording medium 50. Thus, the play item acquisition processing unit 422 may change the attribute flag value 0 in the trophy acquisition table to the attribute flag value 1 with reference to the execution information before playing the game. At this time, the execution information held in the execution information holding unit 430 indicates that the game program can be executed under a predetermined environment, and the play item acquisition processing unit 422 is based on such execution information. Thus, the attribute flag value 0 in the trophy acquisition table can be changed to the attribute flag value 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing system, 10 ... Game device, 12 ... Display apparatus, 17 ... Provision server, 18 ... Achievement degree management server, 34 ... Hard disk drive, 40 ... Game Controller 50... Recording medium 60... Item setting information 70. Item acquisition information 75. Rights information 77. Additional information 80. Main controller, 102 ... main memory, 104 ... output processing unit, 200 ... system software, 202 ... special item acquisition condition achievement determination unit, 204 ... message generation unit, 210 ... item Information acquisition unit, 212 ... item setting information acquisition unit, 214 ... item acquisition information acquisition unit, 220 ... achievement level deriving unit, 222 ... level deriving unit, 2 0 ... display processing unit, 232 ... icon image display unit, 234 ... achievement level information display unit, 236 ... level information display unit, 238 ... acquired item display unit, 240 ... message Display unit, 300 ... game software, 302 ... application execution unit, 304 ... condition achievement detection unit, 306 ... item ID notification unit, 400 ... item management utility, 402 ... registration process 404, Communication unit, 406 ... Item information supply unit, 410 ... Special item processing unit, 412 ... Special item acquisition processing unit, 414 ... Item acquisition status investigation unit, 416 ... Special item ID notification unit, 418, 420 ... item ID acquisition unit, 422 ... play item acquisition processing unit, 430 ... execution information holding unit, 00 ... controller.

Claims (13)

A holding unit for holding application program execution information;
A first item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application;
A storage device for storing the generated item acquisition information,
The first item acquisition processing unit determines the attribute information of the acquired item based on the execution information held in the holding unit, and associates the item ID with the determined attribute information. And the attribute information is information that determines whether or not the item acquisition information is synchronized with another information processing apparatus. A holding unit for holding application program execution information;
A first item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application;
A storage device for storing the generated item acquisition information,
The first item acquisition processing unit determines the attribute information of the acquired item based on the execution information held in the holding unit, and associates the item ID with the determined attribute information. And the attribute information is information indicating whether or not the acquired item is acquired when the application program is executed under a predetermined environment . A holding unit for holding application program execution information;
A first item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application;
A storage device for storing the generated item acquisition information, and the execution information held in the holding unit is whether or not the application program is executed in a predetermined environment, or the application program is in a predetermined environment Information indicating whether it can be executed below,
The first item acquisition processing unit determines the attribute information of the acquired item based on the execution information held in the holding unit, and associates the item ID with the determined attribute information. An information processing apparatus characterized by generating When the execution information held in the holding unit indicates that the application program is being executed or is executable in a predetermined environment, the first item acquisition processing unit acquires the already generated item Information included in the information is acquired when the application program is executed in the predetermined environment, indicating that the item is acquired when the application program is executed in an environment different from the predetermined environment The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus is changed to information indicating an item. The first item acquisition processing unit generates item acquisition information by determining attribute information of an acquired item with reference to the execution information held in the holding unit every time a condition is achieved in the application The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus. It further includes an acquired item display unit that displays an image of the acquired item on the screen using the item acquisition information,
The attribute information is information that determines whether the item image is displayed in a standard mode or a mode different from the standard mode,
The acquisition item display section in accordance with the attribute information, the information processing apparatus according to any of claims 1, wherein the determining the display mode of the item image 5. An item acquisition situation investigation section to investigate the item acquisition situation;
An item acquisition condition achievement determination unit that determines whether or not an item acquisition condition for acquiring a special item has been achieved based on the investigation result of the item acquisition situation investigation unit;
A second item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the special item when the acquisition condition of the special item is achieved,
The item acquisition condition for acquiring a special item is that a plurality of items have been acquired, and at least one of attribute information associated with the acquired items is an application program in an environment different from a predetermined environment In the case where the second item acquisition processing unit is information indicating that the item is acquired when the item is executed, the second item acquisition processing unit has an item ID associated with the special item and an environment different from the predetermined environment. in the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 6 to generate an item acquisition information that associates attribute information indicating that acquired an item when the application program is executed . An item acquisition processing unit that generates item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application;
A storage device for storing the generated item acquisition information;
Using the item acquisition information, it has an acquired item display section that displays the image of the acquired item on the screen,
The item acquisition processing unit generates item acquisition information in which attribute information indicating whether the acquired item is acquired when an application program is executed under a predetermined environment is associated with an item ID. ,
The acquired item display unit uses an attribute information included in the item acquisition information to display an image of an item acquired when the application program is executed in a predetermined environment in an environment different from the predetermined environment. An information processing apparatus, characterized in that the information is displayed in a different form from the image of the item acquired when executed in step (1). The acquired item display unit treats attribute information included in the item acquisition information as information for determining whether to display an item image in a standard mode or a mode different from the standard mode, and the application program has a predetermined environment. An image of an item acquired when executed under the display is displayed in a mode different from an image of an item acquired when the application program is executed under an environment different from a predetermined environment. The information processing apparatus according to 8. An item ID acquisition unit that passes the acquired item ID to the first item acquisition processing unit;
An application execution unit for executing an application program;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an item ID notification unit that notifies the item ID acquisition unit of an item ID associated with a condition achieved in the application. On the computer,
A function to hold application program execution information;
A function of generating item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application;
A program for realizing the function of storing the generated item acquisition information in a storage device,
The function of generating item acquisition information includes a function of determining attribute information of an acquired item based on execution information to be held, and generating item acquisition information in which the item ID is associated with the determined attribute information. The attribute information is information indicating whether or not the acquired item is acquired when the application program is executed under a predetermined environment . On the computer,
A function of generating item acquisition information using an item ID associated with the achieved condition when a preset condition is achieved in the application;
A function of storing the generated item acquisition information in a storage device;
A program for realizing a function of displaying an image of an acquired item on a screen using item acquisition information,
The function for generating item acquisition information includes item acquisition information in which attribute information indicating whether an acquired item is acquired when an application program is executed under a predetermined environment is associated with an item ID. Including the ability to generate,
The item image display function uses an attribute information included in the item acquisition information to display an item image acquired when the application program is executed in a predetermined environment, in an environment in which the application program is different from the predetermined environment. A program characterized by including a function for displaying in an aspect different from an image of an item acquired when executed below.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 11 or 12.

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