JP2006293474A - Virtual store system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a virtual store system in which a user can use virtual currency (first currency) available in a whole virtual space and virtual currency (second currency) available only in the predetermined store (game space) of this virtual space, according to their purpose. <P>SOLUTION: The virtual store system (network game system 1) is configured by connecting a terminal 2, an accounting server 4 and a game server 6 through a network 8 and enables a user to perform access from the terminal 2 to the virtual space (virtual town) so as to use a service (for example, such a game as a slot machine) in a virtual space installed in the virtual town, wherein the accounting server 4 is provided with an accounting database 5 for managing town currency TVM available in the virtual town, and the game server 6 is provided with a game database 7 for managing game currency GVM available only in the virtual store to be provided by the game server 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a virtual store system that provides services such as games to users using a broadband network or the like.

  A system for accessing a virtual space from a user terminal (such as a personal computer) via a broadband network and providing a game using a slot machine or the like is known. In such a game, virtual currency is used (for example, Patent Document 1). That is, it is configured to purchase a virtual medal with virtual currency and play a game with a slot machine using the virtual medal. The medals obtained through the game are configured to be exchanged for virtual currency or prizes.

JP 2000-189666 A

  However, in such a virtual space, when not only gaming machine games but also electronic commerce of music and image data, for example, virtual currency used for transactions in the real world, such as electronic commerce, There is a problem that virtual currency used for games in virtual space cannot be distinguished.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a virtual currency (first currency) that can be used in the entire virtual space and a virtual currency (first currency) that can be used only in a predetermined store (game space) in this virtual space. It is an object to provide a virtual store system that can use two different currencies.

  In order to solve the above problems, a virtual store system according to the present invention (for example, the network game system 1 in the embodiment) includes a terminal, a charging unit (for example, the charging server 4 in the embodiment), and a service providing unit (for example, The game server 6) in the embodiment is configured to be connected to a network, and a user accesses a virtual space from a terminal and uses a service in a virtual store provided in the virtual space. And a charging database that manages a first currency that can be used in the virtual space (for example, the town currency TVM in the embodiment), and the service providing means is a second that can be used only in a virtual store provided by the service providing means. A service database (for example, a game currency GVM in the embodiment) (for example, Configured with a game database 7) in the embodiment.

  At this time, the virtual store system according to the present invention has interface providing means (for example, the Web server 3 in the embodiment) connected to the network, and the interface providing means purchases the first currency by the charging means. The first currency purchase interface (for example, the TVM purchase interface 30 in the embodiment) stored in the charging database and the first currency stored in the charging database are taken out by the charging means and exchanged for the second currency by the service providing means. It is preferable to have a second currency purchase interface (for example, the GVM exchange interface 31 in the embodiment) stored in the service database.

  When the virtual store system according to the present invention is configured as described above, the first currency that can be used in the entire virtual space and the second currency that can be used only for the service provided by the virtual store can be used separately. Can be provided at the same time.

  By providing an interface for exchanging from the first currency to the second currency, even if a game such as a slot machine is provided as a service, a currency that can be used only for this game (second currency) can be provided. It can be distinguished from the first currency that can be used for commercial transactions and the like, and the virtual store system can be operated flexibly.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a network gaming system 1 will be described as an example of a virtual store system according to the present invention with reference to FIG. The network gaming system 1 includes a terminal 2 used by a user, a Web server 3 that provides a user interface to a Web browser 10 mounted on the terminal 2, a charging server 4 that performs charging processing, and a charging database 5 that manages charging information. A game server 6 that exchanges game information with the game application 20 installed in the terminal 2 to provide games, a game database 7 that stores game information, a terminal 2 and a Web server 3, a charging server 4, and The network 8 is connected to the game server 6.

  In this network gaming system 1, a user accesses a virtual space created on the game server 6 by the game application 20 and the game server 6, selects a virtual store in the virtual town, plays a game, Or purchase. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the user goes back and forth between the town screen 31 and the store screen 32 in the virtual space, and the content (game or product sales) from the store corresponding to the store screen 32. 33) is used.

  In this embodiment, the user can use a virtual currency (referred to as “town currency TVM”) that can be used in a virtual town and a virtual currency (“ In the following description, a method for managing these currencies TVM and GVM will be described. In order to use this network game system 1, the description will be made assuming that user information of a user's bank account is registered in the charging database 5 in advance.

(Purchase of town currency)
The user must first purchase the town currency TVM, and the processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. The user accesses the TVM purchase interface 30 of the Web server 3 using the Web browser 10 of the terminal 2. Then, the TVM purchase interface 30 displays a screen for inputting the login information of the user on the terminal 2, and the user inputs an ID and a password and transmits it to the TVM purchase interface 30 (step S100). When the user's ID and password are authenticated, the TVM purchase interface 30 displays a screen for inputting the purchase amount of the town currency TVM on the terminal 2, and the user inputs the purchase amount. It transmits to the TVM purchase interface 30 (step S101).

  The TVM purchase interface 30 transmits the purchase amount input by the user and the user ID and password to the billing server 4 (step S102). Then, the billing server 4 authenticates the user, cooperates with a payment system, etc., performs billing processing according to the purchase amount of the designated town currency TVM, and TVM balance information 50 corresponding to the user ID. Is updated (step S103). In this case, since the purchase is the town currency TVM, the purchase amount is added to the TVM balance information 50 of the user. Then, the purchase result of the town currency TVM is transmitted from the billing server 4 to the Web server 3. When the town currency TVM cannot be settled, the result of purchase failure is notified (step S104). Further, the TVM purchase interface 30 transmits and displays the result from the billing server 4 to the terminal 2 and presents it to the user (step S105).

(Exchange to game currency)
When the user uses a game (for example, a slot machine) provided by the virtual store, the user needs to convert the town currency TVM into the game currency GVM, and the processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. The user accesses the GVM exchange interface 31 of the Web server 3 using the Web browser 10 of the terminal 2. Then, the GVM exchange interface 31 displays a screen for inputting the login information of the user on the terminal 2, and the user inputs an ID and a password and transmits it to the GVM exchange interface 31 (step S110). When the user ID and password are authenticated, the GVM exchange interface 31 displays a screen for inputting a conversion amount for converting from the town currency TVM to the game currency GVM on the terminal 2, and uses this screen. The person inputs the conversion amount and transmits it to the GVM conversion interface 31 (step S111).

  The GVM conversion interface 31 transmits the conversion amount input from the user, the user ID, and the password to the accounting server 4 (step S112). The billing server 4 receiving these pieces of information performs a conversion process from the town currency TVM to the game currency GVM (step S113). Specifically, the town currency TVM corresponding to the conversion amount is subtracted from the TVM balance information 50 of the accounting database 5 and the amount is notified to the game server 6. When the game server 6 receives this notification, the game currency GVM corresponding to the notified town currency TVM is added to the GVM balance information 70 of the game database 7 (step S114). The accounting server 4 transmits the conversion result to the GVM exchange interface 31 (step S115), and the GVM exchange interface 31 transmits the result to the terminal 2 for display and presentation to the user (step S116).

  In addition, as a method of obtaining the game currency GVM, not only a method in which the user purchases the town currency TVM and exchanges the town currency TVM for the game currency GVM but also a provider of game contents uses it separately. It is also possible to sell the game currency GVM to the user (for example, a monthly fixed amount is withdrawn from the user's bank account, and the game currency GVM corresponding to the amount is stored in the user's GVM balance information 70. to add).

(Exchange of game currency and game coins)
When a user plays a game provided in a virtual store, the game currency GVM exchanged as described above is exchanged for coins or the like corresponding to the game. Here, taking a slot machine as an example, the flow of processing when the game currency GVM is exchanged for the game coin GC will be described with reference to FIG. When playing the slot machine game, the user activates the game application 20 on the terminal 2. The game application 20 may be installed in the terminal 2 in advance, or may be configured to be downloaded from the Web server 3 and executed.

  The user inputs user information such as ID and password from the terminal 2 to the coin purchase process 21 of the game application 20 (step 120), and further, the coin exchange process 21 indicates the exchange amount of the game currency GVM to be exchanged for the game coin GC. (Step 121). Then, the coin exchange process 21 transmits the ID, password, and exchange amount to the game server 6 (step S122). The game server 6 subtracts the game currency GVM corresponding to the exchange amount from the GVM balance information 70 corresponding to the ID of the game database 7, and the number of game coins GC corresponding to this exchange amount is used as the ID of the game database 7. Add to the corresponding game coin balance information 71 (step S123). Then, the result is notified to the coin exchange process 21 of the game application 20 (step S124), and the coin exchange process 21 displays the result on the terminal 2 and presents it to the user (step S125).

  On the contrary, a process for exchanging the game coin GC for the game currency GVM will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, the login process is omitted. The user inputs the exchange amount of the game coin GC to be exchanged for the game currency GVM to the currency exchange process 22 of the game application 20 (step S130). Then, the currency exchange process 22 transmits the exchange amount together with the user ID and password to the game server 6 (step S131). The game server 6 that has received these pieces of information subtracts the exchange amount from the game coin balance information 71 corresponding to the ID, and in addition, the game currency GVM corresponding to the number of subtracted game coins GC is used as the GVM balance corresponding to the ID. It adds to the information 70 (step S132). Then, the result is notified to the currency exchange process 22 of the game application 20 (step S133), and the currency exchange process 22 displays the result on the terminal 2 and presents it to the user (step S134).

  In the present embodiment, the game currency GVM cannot be exchanged with the town currency TVM so that the purchase of goods or the like cannot be performed with the currency (game currency GVM) obtained in the game. Exchanges between other currencies can be realized in the same way.

(Purchase event ticket)
In the above embodiment, the case where the game currency GVM is exchanged for the town currency TVM has been explained, but only the user who has purchased the event ticket TC with this town currency TVM and has the ticket TC. The event ticket TC purchase process will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The user accesses the ticket purchase interface 33 of the Web server 3 using the Web browser 10 of the terminal 2. Then, the ticket purchase interface 33 displays a screen for inputting the login information of the user on the terminal 2, and the user inputs an ID and a password for transmission to the ticket purchase interface 33 (step S140). When the user's ID and password are authenticated, the ticket purchase interface 33 displays a list of event tickets TC that can be purchased on the terminal 2, and the user selects an event ticket TC that the user wishes to purchase from there ( Step S141).

  The ticket purchase interface 31 transmits the ticket name selected by the user, the user ID, and the password to the accounting server 4 (step S142). Upon receiving these information, the billing server 4 subtracts the ticket fee from the TVM balance information 50 corresponding to the ID of the billing database 5 and also adds the purchased ticket information to the event participation information 51 corresponding to the ID of the billing database 5. Store (step S143). Then, the billing server 4 transmits the ticket TC purchase result to the ticket purchase interface 33 (step S144), and the ticket purchase interface 33 transmits the result to the terminal 2 for display and presents it to the user (step S145). .

  As described above, the network gaming system 1 is composed of a virtual town and a virtual store in the virtual town, and can be used only for a town currency TVM that can be used in the virtual town and a game provided by the virtual store. The game currency GVM has two currencies. Therefore, the exchange from the currency (game currency GVM) obtained by the game to the town currency TVM can be restricted, and the provision of the game and the provision of the commercial transaction can coexist in this virtual space. The flexibility of operation 1 is improved. As described above, the town currency TVM can be directly used in a virtual store providing a game in the form of an event ticket TC.

  In the above embodiment, the case of having one type of game currency GVM with respect to the town currency TVM has been described. However, a plurality of types of game currency GVM may be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network game system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows transition of the screen in a game application. It is a flowchart which shows the process which purchases a town currency. It is a flowchart which shows the process which exchanges from a town currency to a game currency. It is a flowchart which shows the process which exchanges game currency for game coins. It is a flowchart which shows the process which exchanges a game coin for game currency. It is a flowchart which shows the process which purchases an event ticket.

Explanation of symbols

1 Network game system (virtual store system)
2 Terminal 4 Billing server (billing means)
5 Billing database 6 Game server (service providing means)
7 Game database (service database)
8 Network 30 TVM purchase interface (1st currency purchase interface)
31 GVM exchange interface (second currency exchange interface)
TVM Town currency (first currency)
GVM game currency (second currency)

Claims (2)

A virtual store system in which a terminal, a charging unit, and a service providing unit are connected to a network, and a user accesses a virtual space from the terminal and uses a service in a virtual store provided in the virtual space. There,
The charging means includes a charging database for managing a first currency that can be used in the virtual space;
The virtual store system, wherein the service providing unit includes a service database that manages a second currency that can be used only in the virtual store provided by the service providing unit. An interface providing means connected to the network;
The interface providing means comprises:
A first currency purchase interface for purchasing the first currency by the charging means and storing it in the charging database;
And a second currency exchange interface for taking out the first currency stored in the accounting database by the accounting unit, exchanging it to the second currency by the service providing unit and storing it in the service database. The virtual store system according to claim 1.

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