JPH10276280A - Network game system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To be able to play a wide variety of games while staying at home, to register telephone numbers easily and accurately, and to register only telephone numbers with a predetermined digit or more. A network game system is provided. SOLUTION: A game system GS has a registering means for registering a telephone number inputted to the game system GS when the telephone number is a predetermined digit or more, and a modem 6 based on the telephone number registered in the registering means. Transmitting means for connecting to the telephone line 7 via the telephone line 7, wherein the host computer 8 receives, when the game system GS is connected via the telephone line 7, receiving means for receiving identification information from the game system GS, The game system includes a matching unit for checking whether or not information has been registered, and an access control unit for enabling access to the game system GS based on a matching result of the matching unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network game system having a communication function using a telephone line, and more particularly to a network game system capable of playing a game by selecting and instructing favorite game software at home. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional game system. First, a user mounts a cassette ROM 10 in which game software he / she wants to use is stored in a game machine main body 11, and starts a controller 12. When the button is operated, the game software stored in the cassette rom 10 is read into the game machine main body 11. On the other hand, an operation signal input by the user to the game machine body 11 via the controller 12 causes the game machine body
The game software loaded into the monitor 11 is analyzed and sent to the television monitor 13, the screen and the sound of the television monitor 13 are controlled, and the game information is transmitted to the user as visual information or auditory information. And the user has a TV monitor
The player senses the game information of 13 and operates the controller 12 to execute the game.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional game system, the game software is read from the cassette rom into the main body of the game machine and the game is played, so that the operator plays the game software not contained in the cassette rom owned by the operator. When I wanted to, I had to buy a new cassette rom. That is, it is necessary to buy a cassette rom for each game, and the purchase is troublesome and the management of the cassette rom is complicated. In addition, the handling of telephone numbers can be processed uniformly for an unspecified number of users,
There has been a demand for a system that does not require emergency calls such as "110".

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable a variety of games to be played while staying at home and to register telephone numbers easily and accurately. It is an object of the present invention to provide a network game system capable of registering only a telephone number having a predetermined digit or more.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a network game system for accessing a host computer from a game system having identification information through a telephone line. Registration means for registering the telephone number entered when the telephone number is a predetermined number or more, and transmission means for connecting to a telephone line via a modem based on the telephone number registered in the registration means. Then, when the game system is connected via a telephone line, the host computer checks whether or not the identification information has been registered with reception means for receiving the identification information from the game system. Matching means, and access control means for making the game system accessible based on the matching result of the matching means. It is achieved by. Further, the object of the present invention is that the registration means, when the first input is a "predetermined symbol""forexample"("" or "0",
This can be more effectively achieved by providing a conversion means for converting to a "predetermined symbol 0". Still further, the above object of the present invention is further achieved by providing the conversion means having conversion display means for displaying a converted "predetermined symbol 0" instead of the input "predetermined symbol" or "0". Can be achieved effectively.

Further, the present invention relates to a network game system for accessing a host computer from a game system owned by a user via a telephone line, and an object of the present invention is to provide a game system owned by the user with the host computer. This is achieved by providing registration means for registering a telephone number only as a telephone number having a predetermined digit or more, and transmission means for transmitting the registered telephone number to a telephone line via a modem. Further, the object of the present invention is to provide a conversion means for automatically converting to "predetermined symbol 0" if the first input is "predetermined symbol" or "0" when registering the telephone number. This can be achieved more effectively.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention can play a game by loading a favorite game software from a plurality of game software stored in a host computer into a home game system by using a telephone line. The desired host computer can be accessed by inputting the number. In addition, since the notation form and the minimum input digit digits of the telephone number when setting the telephone number of the host computer in the network game system are set, the telephone number can be registered (input) correctly without input errors, There is no need to make emergency calls such as "110" or telephone services such as "104."

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

[0009] The communication software stored in the boot ROM 5 is read into the game machine main body 1 and analyzed to create a monitor control signal SA, which is sent to the television monitor 4 and the communication information is displayed on the television monitor 4. . First, a connection request signal to the host computer 8 is transmitted to the game machine main body 1 via the control pad 3 by the operator who has viewed the communication information displayed on the television monitor 4. Upon receiving the connection request signal from the control pad 3, the game machine main body 1 transmits a telephone number to a host computer 8 registered in advance to the telephone line 7 via the modem 6 to connect the game system and the host computer 8 to each other. The connection is made via the line 7. Further, the host computer 8 sends the user's name and ID sent from the game console 1 via the telephone line 7.
Confirmation etc. Next, an operation signal is transmitted to the game machine main body 1 via the control pad 3. The operation signal read from the control pad 3 to the game machine body 1 is:
It is analyzed in accordance with the communication software read from the boot ROM 5 into the game machine body 1, a menu request digital signal is created and sent to the modem 6, converted into a menu request analog signal, and converted into a menu request analog signal via the telephone line 7 to the host computer 8 Sent to When the menu request analog signal is read by the host computer 8, the analog menu signal is transmitted from the host computer 8 to the modem 6 via the telephone line 7, converted into a digital menu signal, and transmitted to the game machine body 1. The digital menu signal is read from the modem 6 into the game machine main body 1 and analyzed, a monitor control signal SA is created and transmitted to the television monitor 4, and the game menu 8A is displayed on the television monitor 4.

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

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

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the above-described network game system. First, the game machine body 1 accesses the host computer 8 via the telephone line 7 in accordance with the communication software read from the boot ROM 5. A message prompting the user to select whether or not to register a telephone number is displayed on the television monitor 4 (step 1). When the user registers a telephone number, the game machine main body 1 sends a monitor control signal to the television monitor 4 to display a telephone number registration screen as shown in FIG. The operator looks at this registration screen and operates the control pad 3 to move the cursor 41.
, Select the number or symbol in the number table 42, enter the host computer's telephone number in the telephone number display field 43, and select "ED" when the telephone number has been entered. Then, the setting of the telephone number is completed, and the processing from step S1 is repeated (step S2). At that time, the notation style of the telephone number to be input and the minimum number of characters to be input are set, and the notation style must always include the area code with "(" and ")", and the minimum number of input characters is 9 characters And Then, if the first input number or symbol is "0" or "(", the game machine body 1 automatically inputs and writes "(0". That is, the first area code is entered. The number is always "0", and the first of the local office numbers does not become "0". Therefore, if the first of the number input is "(" or "0", it is automatically set to "(0". In addition, the telephone number can be registered by registering a telephone number from among a large number of host computers, a host computer close to the installation location (game system) or a host computer storing game software that the user wants to play a game. Enter the phone number to register.
For example, when registering a host computer installed in Tokyo, register with 9 digits as in (03) 722-1234, and enter "119
Emergency phone numbers such as "ban" cannot be registered.
Even if "ED" is input to end the input with a number less than the digit, the input is not accepted. “←” in the number table has a function of returning the input number by one character.

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

When one game is ended as described above and another game is played, the user operates the control pad 3 and accesses the host computer again to select and execute another game. Can be.

[0015]

As described above, according to the network game system of the present invention, when registering the telephone number of the host computer in the game system owned by the user, only the telephone number having a predetermined digit or more (for example, 9 digits) is registered. And if the first input is "(" or "0", it can be automatically converted to "(0" and input (displayed). Phone numbers can now be registered, and children can play "1"
Access to emergency telephone lines such as 10 "can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a network game system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the network game system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the network game system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a telephone number setting screen.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a conventional game system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Game console 3 Control pad 4 TV monitor 5 Boot rom 6 Modem 7 Telephone line 8 Host computer 10 Cassette rom

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a network game system in which a game system having identification information accesses a host computer via a telephone line, the game system is adapted to execute a process when a telephone number input to the game system has a predetermined digit or more. Registration means for registering a telephone number;
Transmitting means for connecting to a telephone line via a modem based on the telephone number registered in the registering means, wherein the host computer, when the game system is connected via the telephone line, Receiving means for receiving information from the game system, matching means for checking whether or not the identification information has been registered, and access control means for enabling access to the game system based on the result of matching by the matching means; A network game system comprising: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said registration means includes a conversion means for converting, when the first input is a “predetermined symbol” or “0”, into a “predetermined symbol 0”. The network game system as described. 3. The conversion means according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined symbol or said predetermined symbol is converted to a predetermined symbol.
3. The network game system according to claim 1, further comprising: a conversion display unit that displays a character string. 4. The network game system according to claim 1, wherein the “predetermined symbol” is “(”.