JP6518802B1 - Third party management system for ball storage data, game arcade system, computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a mechanism for reducing the maintenance cost of a system in a game arcade introducing a ball storage / replay service. A game arcade system 10 converts fan storage data stored in a fan into a physical game medium, enables a game using the changed game medium, and stores the game medium acquired by the fan by the game as a ball game data , And transmit the changed ball data to the third party management system 20. The third party management system 20 records the changed ball data received from the game arcade system 10 in association with the fan identification information and records the stored ball data as a game medium, or after the game When a game medium is changed to the storage data, storage maintenance cost data of a predetermined value is deducted from the electronic money associated with the fan. [Selected figure] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a third party management system that manages, in a third party, ball storage data of a fan (a person playing a game with a game machine). Game media acquired by the fan at the game arcade, such as physical game balls and game medals, are "reserved balls", and data representing the number of stored balls is "reserved ball data".

  In a game arcade in which pachinko machines and the like are installed, various services for the purpose of repeatering fans are performed. It is one of the most representative services that fans exchange gaming media acquired by gaming with prizes. Recently, a deposit and replay service has also been performed that enables replay using a deposit. The ball storage / replay service allows the fan to store the acquired number of game media and use it for the next game, or exchange it for a more valuable gift. It is speculated that this has led to an improvement in the gaming intention of the fans. In addition, since the same fan comes to visit many times and plays a game in order to increase the number of balls, it is expected that on the game arcade side, it will lead to the fan becoming a repeater. The number of stored balls is accumulated as stored ball data and can be consumed as needed. Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disclose systems for managing ball storage data at a third party organization independent of the game arcade.

JP, 2005-251490, A JP, 2007-6209, A

According to the systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even if a trouble occurs in the game arcade system, the ball storage data of the fan is guaranteed. Therefore, for fans, there is an advantage that it is possible to deposit balls safely and play again. As a game arcade, there is an advantage that the repeat rate and the fixing rate of fans can be improved.
However, as the number of fans using the ball storage / replay service increases, the amount of data to be managed increases, and it is necessary to increase the processing capacity of the game arcade system. In addition, the burden of fees when managing the ball data at a third party organization increases. Therefore, the introduction burden and maintenance cost of the game arcade manager increase, and there is a problem that the system for realizing the ball storage / replay service and the backup of the ball storage can not be spread.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for reducing the maintenance cost of storage balls or replays in a game arcade and a system utilizing backup of storage balls in order to solve the above problems.

The present invention provides a third party management system for ball storage data and a game arcade system.
A third party management system according to the present invention is a communication means for communicating with a game arcade system that enables a game arcade member to physically store the balls of the game ball acquired by the game machine or replay using the balls. And storing means for storing the ball account of the game arcade member, and storing ball data representing the number of game balls acquired by the game arcade member in the ball account, and the game arcade member separately acquired from the game A first management means for storing electronic money in association with the storage account, and when the number of replays using the storage is less than a predetermined number, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the storage cost data of the predetermined value And second managing means for subtracting the electronic money from the electronic money.

In addition, the game arcade system according to the present invention is a game arcade system which enables storage balls by a game arcade member in a gaming machine using a physical game ball or replay using the balls, and the game arcade member A registration unit for registering a storage account, storing storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the gaming facility member in the storage account, and storing the electronic money acquired separately from the game by the gaming facility member with the storage account The first managing means for storing in association with each other, and when the number of replays using the balls is equal to or less than a predetermined number, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the ball maintenance cost data of a predetermined value is deducted from the electronic money (2) A management means, and communication means for associating the storage account with the identification information of the game arcade member and transmitting the same to an external third party management system.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the maintenance cost of storage or replay in a game arcade and a system utilizing backup of storage.

The whole block diagram of a game management system. Explanatory drawing of the processing unit. Configuration example figure of a game arcade system. The contents illustration figure of game arcade member DB. The contents illustration figure of money storage account DB. Functional block diagram of the third party management system. The contents illustration figure of ball storage member DB. The contents illustration figure of money storage account DB. The structural example illustration of a fan terminal. Processing procedure diagram of the ball and replay. Processing procedure diagram after accumulation of accounts of balls. Procedure figure of presentation processing of a savings account. Processing procedure diagram at the time of freezing a savings account.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is an entire configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a game management system to which the present invention is applied. The game management system 1 is an information processing system that enables a ball storage / replay service, and includes a game arcade system 10, a third party management system 20, and a fan terminal 30. The game arcade system 10 is installed for each game arcade. The third party management system 20 is installed at an external third party which has no interest with the game arcade operator. The fan terminal 30 is an information terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer or the like which can be operated by a fan, and has a display. The game arcade system 10 and the third party management system 20, and the third party management system 20 and the fan terminal 30 are connected via the communication network N, respectively.

  When using the ball storage / replay service, the fan uses the membership card 40 or the general card 50 which is stored in association with the number of balls earned or consumed during the game and electronic money acquired separately from the game. . Electronic money can be obtained, for example, by converting the amount of cash inserted by a fan through a cash insertion device installed in a game arcade, etc., the cash equivalent value of cash acquired through a financial system (not shown), etc. Electronic data representing the value of Electronic money is increased together with date and time information when it is acquired, and reduced each time it is used in place of cash in the game arcade. The electronic money after the change amount processing may be referred to as the “charge balance”. The membership card 40 is a card storing a card ID for identifying the card and a member ID which is identification information for identifying that the fan holding the card is a member, and the number of balls is stored. And even if the remaining charge reaches 0, it can be used repeatedly. However, with regard to the remaining charge amount, a record of increase / decrease processing and reduction processing remains as a game history. On the other hand, the general card 50 is an anonymous card that can be used only during a game day, and is collected by the gaming machine when both the number of stored balls and the remaining charge of electronic money become zero. The game history is not recorded, but can be recorded. The member card 40 and the general card 50 can be used as a prepaid card if the remaining charge amount is not zero regardless of the number of stored balls.

  The membership card 40 is issued when a fan registers a game arcade member in the game arcade system 10. For the game arcade member, a card ID and / or a deposit account associated with the member ID is also registered. A deposit account is an account which is acquired by fans by gaming and stores deposit data stored in the membership card 40. The balance of the electronic money charge is also recorded in the deposit account or in another memory area associated with the deposit account. In the following description, for convenience, it is assumed that electronic money is stored in the storage account together with storage data. The storage account is registered in the game arcade system 10 and backed up by the third party management system 20.

In the third party management system 20, the game arcade member is registered as a ball storage member. The ID for identifying the ball storage member managed by the third party management system 20 may be the same as the member ID, but instead of the member ID, or may be assigned a unique ID together with the member ID. The third party management system 20 allows access with the authority information from the fan terminal 30 operated by the ball storage member, and allows the contents of the latest ball storage account to be browsed. Further, a two-dimensional image code representing the member ID and the game arcade ID of the ball member is created, and the two-dimensional image code can be displayed on the display of the fan terminal 30 in response to the request of the accessed fan terminal 30. When the ball storage member visits the game arcade without holding the membership card 40 and uses the fan terminal 30 to store and replay balls, the game machine side recognizes the two-dimensional image code displayed on the fan terminal 30. In this case, the balls acquired by the fan are stored in the general card 50.
Hereinafter, each individual system in the game management system 1 will be described in detail.

<Playground System>
The game arcade system 10 includes a card management device 11, a member management device 12, a game management device 13, a communication management device 14, and a card R / W (reader / writer) 111. These are connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) installed in the game arcade.
The card management device 11 manages storage information of the membership card 40 attached to the card R / W 111. That is, at the time of issuance, the card management device 11 stores the membership ID of the gaming facility member and the gaming facility ID of the gaming facility in the membership card 40. In addition, ball data etc are read from the membership card 40 through the card R / W 111. The card R / W 111 can also read a general card 50 possessed by a fan who is a game arcade member.

The member management device 12 cooperates with the card management device 11 to provide personal information of a game arcade member, authority information such as a password, a game history, contract information between a game arcade as a ball storage member and a third party institution, a game Retains bonus information as a member of the venue and other information about fans freely.
The game management device 13 monitors the operation of each gaming machine 150 to which the inter-base processing machine is attached, monitors the operation status of the inter-base processing machine, and performs various controls regarding other games. The communication management device 14 periodically communicates with the third party management system 20 in which the address destination of the communication is set. The third party management system 20 performs cryptographic communication using a virtual leased line (VPN). For a technology for realizing a virtual leased line, for example, “Nikkei Open System” No. 46 (January 1997), p234, etc. A communication control program for realizing VPN can be used because it has already been commercialized.

The game management device 13 is electrically connected to a plurality of gaming machines 150 via a plurality of relays 15 installed at a predetermined part of the game arcade. The gaming machine 150 is, for example, a pachinko gaming machine, and is equipped with an inter-machine processing machine.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the inter-room processing machine. The inter-table processing unit 17 includes a state display unit 171, a bill insertion slot 172, a display operation unit 173, a card insertion slot 174a, and a terminal holding unit 174b. The inter-room processor 17 also includes a nozzle unit 175 for supplying physical gaming balls to the gaming machine 150 and a counting unit 176 for counting the gaming balls discharged from the gaming machine 150 as the number of stored balls. The counting unit 176 records the counting result on the membership card 40 or the general card 50 attached to the card insertion slot 174a. The gaming balls after being counted by the counting unit 176 are collected in the inter-table processing unit 17 and can be supplied again from the nozzle unit 175, similarly to the collection balls collected in the board.

  The state display unit 171 displays the operating states of the gaming machine 150 and the inter-processor processing machine 17. If any trouble occurs, the display contents change from the time of normal operation. In the bill insertion slot 172, cash (bills) to be charged to the membership card 40 or the general card 50 is inserted. The display operation unit 173 is a user interface with the fan, and includes a ten key 173a and a display unit 173b. The ten keys 173a are used to input function selection, storage of balls, game start / end instructions and other instructions. The display unit 173 b displays the remaining amount of charge, the number of remaining balls, guidance information to the fan, and the like. In the card insertion slot 174a, a general card 50 issued from a membership card 40 or another inter-base processing machine at the time of playing a game is inserted.

  In addition, while the membership card 40 is issued by the card R / W 111 as described above, when the fan stops playing the game by the gaming machine 150, the remaining number of stored balls or the remaining amount of charge is other than 0. If there is, it is issued from the card insertion slot 174a. On the other hand, when the number of remaining balls and the remaining amount of charge are both zero, they are automatically collected as described above without being discharged from the card slot 174a and stored for issuance to the next fan. . The terminal holding unit 174 b reads the two-dimensional image code displayed on the fan terminal 30 when allowing balls to be played back using the fan terminal 30 instead of the membership card 40.

  Next, the game management device 13 will be described in detail. The game management device 13 is a computer to which peripheral devices such as a display, a printer, a keyboard, and a storage device are connected. The game management device 13 implements the functions illustrated in FIG. 3 by executing a predetermined computer program. That is, the game management apparatus 13 includes a data input unit 101, a personal authentication unit 102, a game medium management unit 103, a game arcade member database (hereinafter, database is abbreviated as "DB") 104, a ball account DB 105, a game arcade member management unit And 106, a data transmission / reception unit 107, a data output unit 108, and a control unit 109.

The data input unit 101 is connected to the game management device 13 with data input from the ten key 173a of the display / operation unit 173 of the inter-base processing machine 17, the card slot 174a, the terminal holding unit 174b, etc. It accepts data input from a keyboard etc. (not shown). Also, the input data is transmitted to the control unit 109 and the like.
The personal identification unit 102 functions when the membership card 40 is inserted into the card insertion slot 174a, and performs personal identification of the game arcade member in a scene such as at the time of prize exchange, balls or replay. That is, the personal identification of the game arcade member is performed by collating the member ID or authority information input through the data input unit 101 with the information stored in the game arcade member DB 104 at the time of registration.

  The gaming media management unit 103 monitors the circulation status of the gaming balls used in each gaming machine 150 notified from the gaming management apparatus 13 via the relay device 15, the number of gaming balls, and the like. Further, the game balls counted by the counting unit 176 of the processing unit 17 are added to the number of stored balls and a process of subtracting the game balls used at the time of replay from the number of stored balls is performed. The game arcade member DB 104 stores personal information of the game arcade members managed by the member management apparatus 12 on a file basis. The storage account DB 105 stores a storage account for each game arcade member. The information stored in these DBs 104 and 105 will be described in detail later.

  The game arcade member management unit 106 manages information on the game arcade members. That is, a member ID is assigned at the time of member registration of a fan, and a record area for each member ID is created in the game arcade member DB 104. In addition, at the time of member registration of the fan, a ball storage account is opened, and this is associated with the member ID and registered in the ball storage account DB 105. Further, information regarding the game arcade member is exchanged between the member management device 12, the game arcade member DB 104 and the storage account DB 105.

  The data transmission / reception unit 107 enables the communication with the third party management system 20 via the communication management device 14 and the communication network N. The data output unit 108 displays various data, messages, and the like on the display unit 173 b or the like of the inter-base processing machine 17 via the relay unit 15. In addition, it causes the printer (not shown) connected to the game management device 13 to print various data. The control unit 109 centrally controls the functional operations for realizing the game arcade system 10. In addition to creating various telegrams to be transmitted from the game arcade system 10 to the third party management system 20, the telegram received from the third party management system 20 is deciphered, and the processing corresponding to the deciphered telegram is in charge of the corresponding function. Make a function block execute it.

Next, the game arcade member DB 104 and the ball storage account DB 105 will be described in detail.
In the game arcade member DB 104, records such as personal information of a fan who has become a game arcade member, authority information (such as password) used for personal authentication, and game history (game date and time) of game arcade members are held in association with member IDs. Be done. The content held by the game arcade member DB 104 is updated as appropriate. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of such a game arcade member DB 104. As shown in FIG.

  In the storage account DB 105, a storage account of a game arcade member is registered in association with a member ID. In the storage account, storage data, the increase / decrease number of storage (the increase / decrease in storage) in a predetermined period (for example, one day), electronic money (remaining charge), and the like are recorded. The contents of the deposit account are updated at any time in response to the game arcade member's accumulation of deposit, charge of electronic money, offer of storage and use of electronic money, and the like. FIG. 5: is the figure which showed the example of a content of such storage account DB105.

<Third party management system>
The third party management system 20 manages a game account of a game arcade member of each game arcade received from the game arcade system 10 installed in each of the plurality of game arcades. That is, the third party management system 20 has a role as a backup system for the game arcade member DB 104 and the storage account DB 105 in each game arcade system 10, and further provides value-added services other than the game arcade system 10. Generally, the third party management system 20 receives the information of the game arcade member DB 104 and the storage account DB 105 from each game arcade system 10 once a day, and updates the information. In the third party management system 20, the game arcade member is registered as a ball storage member.

  The third party management system 20 is a computer having a large capacity storage function and communication function. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the third party management system 20 formed by the computer executing the computer program. The third party management system 20 uses the ball sending and receiving unit 21, the personal identification unit 22, the ball storing member managing unit 25 that manages information on ball storing members using the ball storing member DB 23, and a ball storing account using the ball storing account DB 24 for each game arcade. A storage account management unit 26 for maintenance and management, and a control unit 27 for overall control of the operation of the third party management system 20 are configured.

  The data transmission / reception unit 21 performs bi-directional communication, preferably encryption communication, between the game arcade system 10 and the fan terminal 30. The function of the data transmission / reception unit 21 can be easily realized, for example, by using the network article and the communication control program for constructing the VPN as described above, or an equivalent thereof.

  The ball storage member DB 23 includes personal information of a fan who has become a ball storage member, a password used for personal identification, a game hall ID of a game arcade where the ball storage member is a game hall member, and a member ID as attribute information of the ball storage member. Remember. The ball storage member DB 23 holds the game hall ID and the member ID of all the game halls when the ball storage member is a game hall member in a plurality of game halls. Contents of the ball storage member DB 23 are updated according to new registration, deletion, change of personal information, and the like of the ball storage member in the game arcade system 10. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the content of such a ball member member DB 23. In the example of FIG. 7, the ball storage member is a game arcade member of two game arcades, and there are two game arcade IDs and two member IDs.

  The ball storage account DB 24 holds (registers) the contents of the ball storage account sent from the game arcade system 10 for each game arcade. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the deposit account DB 24. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 8, the game arcade ID is held in association with the storage account, storage data, storage maintenance cost data, electronic money, and the date of update of the storage data sent from the game arcade. The contents of the deposit account DB 24 are updated as needed, and the update date is rewritten. In order to emphasize the reduction of the communication load, the update is performed about once a day, but when the communication load is not a problem, the update may be performed several times a day or in real time. The contents of the storage account are the same as the storage account DB 105 of the game arcade system 10. For example, it is possible to easily construct the storage account DB 24 by duplicating the contents of the storage account DB 105 and adding to and managing the game arcade ID of the game arcade of the acquisition source.

  A game arcade, a game arcade member, and a deposit account in which the deposit member is a play field member are specified by the member ID of the deposit member. In other words, it is possible to search the storage account of the storage member by the member ID of the storage member. Even if a ball storage member is a game hall member of a plurality of game halls, it is possible to search the ball storage accounts of all the game halls. The ball storage member DB 23 and the ball storage account DB 24 are formed, for example, in the mass storage device of the computer.

  The personal identification unit 22 performs personal identification for permitting the fan terminal 30 to access the third party management system 20. The personal identification unit 22 performs personal identification of the ball membership by referring to the telegram including the system ID and authority information of the ball membership input from the fan terminal 30 via the data transmission / reception unit 21 and the information of the ball membership DB 23. . If personal identification is successful, the ball member can view the contents of his or her ball account through the fan terminal 30, for example.

  The ball storage member management unit 25 functions as a first management means, and urges the fan terminal 30 to input a game arcade ID, a member ID and authority information (such as a password) at the time of member registration. These pieces of information are stored in the ball member member DB 23 in the form of a file for each ball member. In addition, when there is a request for viewing a deposit account from the fan terminal 30, the deposit member management unit 25 reads a game arcade ID and a member ID related to the deposit member from the deposit member DB 23 based on the member ID.

  The ball storage account management unit 26 functions as a second management means for registering a ball storage account for each ball storage member. Each deposit account is created based on the deposit account received from the game arcade system 10. The ball storage account management unit 26 also monitors the accumulation state of the ball storage data in the ball storage account or the consumption state of the ball storage data. Then, it is determined whether the monitoring result satisfies the predetermined condition, and when satisfied, storage value maintenance cost data of a predetermined value necessary for maintaining the storage account is deducted from the electronic money of the storage account. The predetermined conditions for subtracting the storage cost maintenance data will be described in detail later.

  In addition, when there is an inquiry request from the fan terminal 30 operated by the ball storage member, the ball storage account managing unit 26 extracts the ball storage account of the ball storage member from the ball storage account DB 24 so that the fan terminal 30 can be browsed. As a result, the ball storage member can check the ball storage account managed by the third party management system 20 any time. Furthermore, when there is a request for freezing the storage account from the storage member, the storage account management unit 26 restricts the use of the storage account of the storage member. Thereby, unauthorized use by a third party can be suppressed.

  The control unit 27 controls the operation of each functional block of the third party management system 20. The control unit 27 also creates various messages to be transmitted from the third party management system 20 to the game arcade systems 10 and the fan terminals 30, and decodes the messages received from the game arcade systems 10 and the fan terminals 30. The control unit causes each component or the accessed fan terminal 30 to execute processing according to the decoded message.

<Fan terminal>
The fan terminal 30 provides the various kinds of services provided by the third party management system 20 to the deposit member by executing the application program. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the fan terminal 30 is operated as a data transmission / reception unit 31, a data input unit 32, a data output unit 33, and a control unit 34.

  The data transmission / reception unit 31 is for accessing the third party management system 20 and performing bi-directional encryption communication, and the network equipment and communication control program for constructing the VPN as described above or the equivalent thereof It is.

  The data input unit 32 is an input interface such as a key button or a touch panel. The data output unit 33 is an output interface such as a small liquid crystal display or an audio output device. The small liquid crystal display presents various data, messages, and the like in a form that can be viewed by the ball member, and the voice output device presents the message and the like to the ball member by synthetic voice.

The control unit 34 centrally controls the operation of each functional block of the fan terminal 30. The control unit 34 also prepares various telegrams to be transmitted to the third party management system 20, decodes the telegram received from the third party management system 20, and applies the processing according to the decoded telegram. Make the block execute.
The above-mentioned access is, for example, inquiry of a deposit account, acquisition of a two-dimensional image code representing a deposit member or member ID, transmission of a freeze request of the deposit account, and the like. That is, by operating the fan terminal 30, the ball storage member can check his or her ball storage account from outside the game arcade at any time.

[Example of operation form]
Next, an operation mode example of the game management system 1 will be described. Here, an example of operation when the fan who is a game arcade member uses the ball storage data accumulated in the ball storage account to re-play the gaming machine 150 and accumulates the game balls acquired by the game in the ball storage account explain.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the procedure in the case where the fan plays a game of balls and replays. Fans who have arrived at the game arcade can choose to play balls or replay or to play with cash. In the case of playing only cash (S10: N), the membership card 40 is inserted into the inter-table processing unit 17 disposed next to the target gaming machine 150, and cash (banknote) is inserted. The inserted cash is charged as electronic money.
In the case of playing balls / replaying (S10: Y), the fan attaches the membership card 40 to the card R / W 111 of the game arcade system 10 and charges the ball data for a predetermined number of game balls from the ball account ) And use the stored ball data to enable playing (replaying) (S11). Thereafter, the membership card 40 is inserted into the card insertion slot 174 a of the inter-base processing machine 17 next to the gaming machine 150. The inter-day processor 17 presents, on the display section 173 b, the current ball storage data stored in the membership card 40. The fan inputs the specified number of balls from the provided ball data (S12). The number of balls that can be input by one operation is fixed. The inter-room processor 17 supplies a specified number of gaming balls from the nozzle unit 175. Thus, the fan can play a game on the gaming machine 150 using the gaming ball (S13). During the game, the number of stored balls increases and decreases. That is, when the game ball can not be obtained by the game, the number of balls decreases, and when the game ball is obtained, the counting unit of the inter-room processing unit 17 adds the count value to the number of balls. The member card 40 also stores the number of stored balls, the number of replays using the stored balls, and the like. Unless the fan operates the operation panel 173 to end the game, the procedure of S12 and S13 is repeated (S14: N).

  When the fan inputs the game end in the gaming machine by operating the operation panel 173, the membership card 40 is discharged from the card insertion slot 174a. The fan who finished the game wears the member card 40 on the card R / W 111 of the game arcade system 10 and inputs the intention of storing balls using the input device of the card management device 11. The card management device 11 transmits the member ID and the ball storage data read by the card R / W 111 to the game management device 13 (S15). The game management device 13 specifies the storage account of the fan (game arcade member) from the storage account DB 105 and updates it (S16).

  Next, processing of backing up a storage account in the third party management system 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The game arcade (game management device 13) performs processing of backing up the storage account to the third party management system 20. The backup process may be performed at the end of a predetermined cycle, for example, one day of business, or as described above, may be performed each time updating of the fan's storage account is completed. FIG. 11 shows the procedure of processing in the former case.

  The game arcade system 10 (the control unit 109 of the game management apparatus 13) causes the game arcade member management unit 106 to perform processing of collecting the ball accounts for each game arcade member (a fan who is also a golf club member) (S30). In the present embodiment, game arcade members who have had a change in the balance of the ball storage account from the previous backup are extracted, and the number of stored balls increase / decrease in the ball storage account of the game arcade member, the number of balls stored / replayed, electronic money is totaled . After that, create a tally message. The tally message is created by adding the counting result (the number of increase and decrease in the number of stored balls, the number of stored balls and the number of replays, the electronic money) of the storage account for each game arcade member to the game arcade ID of the game arcade. The game arcade system 10 (control unit 109) transmits the created total message to the third party management system 20 via the data transmission / reception unit 107 (S31).

  The third party management system 20 (control unit 27) receives the tally message transmitted from the game arcade system 10, and updates the data of the storage account of each ball member based on the tally message (S40). Specifically, based on the game arcade ID, the member ID, and the storage account included in the total message, the storage account management unit 26 specifies and updates the storage account for the member ID in the storage account DB 24. Thereafter, the third party management system 20 determines the storage cost data for each of the storage ball members identified by the member ID (S41). Then, the storage account managing unit 26 subtracts the storage maintenance cost data from the charge balance of the storage account of each storage member (re-updates the storage account). In addition, the third party management system 20 creates a storage ball re-update message, and transmits it to each game arcade system 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 21 (S42).

The game arcade system 10 having received the ball reupdate message updates the data of the ball account for each game arcade member in the corresponding ball account DB 105 based on the ball reupdate message received from the third party management system 20 (S32) . At the time of updating the storage account DB 105, the game arcade system 10 (game arcade member management unit 106) clears or compresses the number of stored increase / decrease, storage / replay frequency, electronic money etc. Store.
By the above-described backup processing, the contents of the storage account stored respectively in the game arcade system 10 and the third party management system 20 become the same.

  In the above, an example has been described in which the third-party management system 20 determines the deposit maintenance cost data and subtracts it from the deposit account, but with the configuration where the game arcade system 10 subtracts the deposit maintenance cost data from the deposit account of each game arcade member It may be. In this case, the game arcade system 10 acquires, in advance, ball storage cost data from the third party management system 20. Then, after updating the contents of the storage account, the game arcade system 10 determines storage maintenance cost data based on predetermined criteria, and subtracts the storage maintenance cost data from the electronic money of the updated storage account. The stored ball update message sent from the game arcade system 10 to the third party management system 20 at the time of backup processing describes the contents of the stored ball account after subtracting the stored ball maintenance cost data and the stored ball maintenance cost data. In such a configuration, the third party management system 20 only updates the ball storage account DB 24 according to the ball storage update message, and the process is simplified. Since the game arcade system 10 also does not acquire the storage ball re-update message from the third party management system 20, the processing is simplified.

[Retained ball maintenance cost data]
Here, the storage cost maintenance data will be described in detail. As described above, the storage cost data is deducted from the electronic money stored in the storage account when the storage status of storage data in the storage account or the monitoring result of the consumption status of the storage data satisfies a predetermined condition. In the case where the predetermined condition is satisfied, in the present embodiment, for example, either of the following cases is considered.

a. Condition of the number of lending operations from the inter-table processing machine For example, when one ball is 4 yen, 125 balls (equivalent to 500 yen in cash) are played from the nozzle 175 of the inter-stage processing machine 17 in one lending operation. It is discharged to the machine 150. In this case, the number of lending operations is detected as a condition to deduct the storage cost data, and the electronic money corresponding to 5 yen / time is stored as the storage cost data for only 20 or less lending operations. Subtract from the deposit account. If it is more than 20 times, it is not possible to store and replay, and it becomes a game using cash. The same applies if there is not enough electronic money to subtract.
In addition, the storage fee maintenance cost data in the case of 125 or more gaming balls in one lending operation with one lending ball n (0.1 to 3.9) yen is an amount corresponding to the value of the lending ball It can be done.

b. Conditions of storage / replay without cash For example, a. It is good also as conditions of the above-mentioned subtraction that it does not collect at the time of loan operation of, and store a part or all of ball storage data after a game end. For example, without throwing in cash once on the game day, the contents of the storage account are changed only by storage and replay, and when the remaining amount of electronic money is 500 yen or more, the electronic money equivalent to 500 yen is stored As maintenance cost data, deducted from the deposit account. Whether or not cash has been inserted on the game day can be determined from the game history or the like.

c. Conditions of storage and replay when cash input amount is less than predetermined amount b. As in a. It is an example in the case of storing a part or all of the ball storage data after the end of the game without collecting at the time of the lending operation of. After the end of the game, when storing some or all of the ball data, if it is determined that the cash used on the game day is less than 10,000 yen, the electronic money equivalent to 5% of the used cash is stored as a ball maintenance cost As data, deducted from the deposit account. Whether or not cash has been inserted can be determined from the game history. If the electronic money charge balance is less than 5%, additional electronic money will be sought from the fan.

d. When the balls are not used for a certain period If the balls are not updated for a certain period (for example, one year), the electronic money equivalent to 1000 yen is deducted as the ball maintenance cost data from the ball account of the fan. In addition, when the charge balance of the electronic money is insufficient, the storage account is frozen.

e. In addition to being determined as fixed values, the amount of change in the number of stored balls due to storage / replay and the amount of money that varies progressively according to the number of stored balls It may be determined. For example, when the increase or decrease in the number of stored balls included in the stored-data update message is negative, the stored cost data is set to 0, and as the number of stored balls increases, the amount of stored cost data is gradually increased. good. In addition, as the number of stored balls stored in the storage account is larger, the amount of storage cost data may be gradually increased.

<Payment account confirmation service by fan terminal>
The third party management system 20 performs, as one of the value added services, processing of a ball confirming service by the fan terminal 30 operated by the ball collecting member. The procedure of this process is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 12, the ball storage member accesses the ball storage member service area on the homepage of the third party management system 20, and starts a request for ball storage presentation (S50). That is, the fan terminal 30 is operated to acquire the fixed form for the ball storage presentation request, and the member ID and the authority information of the player are input from the fan terminal 30 (data input unit 32). Thus, the inquiry message is transmitted from the fan terminal 30 to the third party management system 20 (S51).

  When the third party management system 20 receives the inquiry message from the fan terminal 30 (S60), the individual authentication unit 22 and the ball storage member management unit 25 authenticate and specify the ball storage member (S61). Based on the member ID, the personal identification unit 22 authenticates the ball member corresponding to the member ID with reference to the ball member member DB 23. If the authentication is successful, the ball storage member management unit 25 refers to the ball storage member DB 23 to identify the game hall ID of the game arcade in which the ball storage member is registered as a game arcade member, and the ball storage account management unit 26 A storage account associated with the game arcade ID and the member ID in the storage account DB 24 is extracted. When the storage cost maintenance data is stored, the guidance information describing the data and the timing to be deducted is read out (S62). Then, a storage account data message including the extracted storage account data, storage cost data and guidance information thereof is created, and this is posted in the storage service area where the fan terminal 30 is accessing (S63). That is, the ball account data message is transmitted to the fan terminal 30.

  The fan terminal 30 having received the ball storage data message displays the ball storage account data (guidance information of the ball storage cost data) by the data output unit 33 (S52, S53). The storage presentation processing ends when the display ends. By the above processing, the ball storage member can confirm the ball storage account data of all the game arcades in which the game arcade is a member of the game arcade and the ball maintenance cost data to be deducted from the fan terminal 30.

  In addition, a ball storage member will stand by until it starts a ball storage presentation process and a display is complete | finished (S50-S53). Therefore, utilizing this period, the data output unit 33 of the fan terminal 30 provides advertisement / promotion information (various information such as a commercial message) according to the instruction of the system operator or the request of another company or the like. It is good. The advertisement / promotion information is accumulated in an advertisement / promotion DB (not shown) and the like, and the control unit 27 performs control to read out and display the information on the fan terminal 30 as appropriate.

  The above processing of the fan terminal 30 can also be executed by the inter-paper processing unit 17. In this case, the ball storage member inputs the member ID by holding the fan terminal 30 over the terminal holding unit 174 b and reading the two-dimensional image code displayed on the data output unit 33. The ball storage member operates the ten-key pad 173 a of the display operation unit 173 to input the authority information and the request for displaying the ball storage account. The data of the storage account and the storage cost data are displayed on the display section 173b of the display operation section 173.

<Processing at the time of freezing the pool account>
When the remaining amount of charge and the number of stored balls disappear during the game, the stored ball member may leave the member card 40 as it is in the card insertion slot 174a and return home. If the membership card 40 is left in the card insertion slot 174a, there is a possibility that the membership card 40 may be used illegally by others. The ball storage member can request freezing of the ball storage account through the fan terminal 30 before unauthorized use of the membership card 40. The procedure of this freezing process is shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 13, the ball storage member accesses the ball storage member service area on the homepage of the third party management system 20, and starts a request for freezing the ball storage account (S70). That is, the fan terminal 30 is operated to acquire the fixed form of the pool account freezing request, and the member ID and the authority information of its own are input from the fan terminal 30 (data input unit 32). As a result, the ball account freezing message is transmitted from the fan terminal 30 to the third party management system 20 (S71).

  When the third party management system 20 receives the deposit account frozen message from the fan terminal 30 (S80), the personal identification unit 22 and the deposit member management unit 25 authenticate and specify the deposit member (S81). In addition, the storage account management unit 26 specifies the storage account of the storage member from the storage account DB 24 and freezes it (S 82). For example, the storage account management unit 26 disables the flag indicating whether or not to use the storage account. In addition, even if it freezes, the data itself of a deposit account remains stored. After that, the third party management system 20 posts an account freeze message indicating that the deposit account has been frozen in the area where the fan terminal is accessing. That is, the account freeze message is sent to the fan terminal 30 (S83). Thus, the third party management system 20 freezes the storage account triggered by the reception of the storage account freezing message.

  The fan terminal 30 having received the account freeze message from the third party management system 20 causes the data output unit 33 to display a message indicating that the storage account has been frozen (S72, S73). By the end of the display, the storage account freezing process ends. By the above processing, the ball storage member can prevent the illegal use of the ball storage account due to forgetting to withdraw the member card 40 from the card insertion slot 174a or the like. By releasing the freezing of the storage account, the storage account resumes using the original storage data. In addition, at the time of use resumption after the account freezing, it may be made to deduct ball storage maintenance cost data from a ball storage account.

  According to the present embodiment, when the game arcade member (the ball storage member) uses the ball storage account, the ball storage cost data is deducted from the ball storage account. The third party organization equipped with the third party management system 20 can collect the operating expenses necessary to provide the ball storage / replay service using the ball storage cost data, so the cost for the spread of the ball / replay service Can be Therefore, it is possible to reduce the maintenance cost of the system using the balls or replay and storage backup in the game arcade.

  In the present embodiment, a computer program for determining the content of processing performed in the game arcade system 10 is stored in the game management device 13 and a computer program for determining the content of processing performed in the third party management system 20 is a third party management system. Although described on the premise of being stored in S. 20, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, it is possible to record and distribute it on a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD. It is also possible to record the computer program on a program server and download and use the game management device 13 or the third party management system 20 as appropriate.

Claims (13)

Communication means for communicating with a game arcade system that enables physical play ball balls acquired by a game arcade member with a game machine or replay using the balls;
A registration unit that registers a storage account of the game arcade member;
A first management means for storing, in the storage account, ball storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the game arcade member, and storing electronic money acquired separately from the game by the game arcade member in association with the storage account; ,
And second management means for deducting storage cost data of a predetermined value from the electronic money, assuming that the predetermined condition is satisfied, when the number of replays using the balls is equal to or less than a predetermined number . Characterized by
Third-party management system for deposit data. Communication means for communicating with a game arcade system that enables physical play ball balls acquired by a game arcade member with a game machine or replay using the balls;
A registration unit that registers a storage account of the game arcade member;
A first management means for storing, in the storage account, ball storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the game arcade member, and storing electronic money acquired separately from the game by the game arcade member in association with the storage account; ,
After the game is over, when a part or all of the storage data is stored and the content of the storage account fluctuates only by the storage or the replay on the game day, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied , and the predetermined value is And d) second managing means for subtracting storage money maintenance cost data from the electronic money.
Third-party management system for deposit data. Communication means for communicating with a game arcade system that enables physical play ball balls acquired by a game arcade member with a game machine or replay using the balls;
A registration unit that registers a storage account of the game arcade member;
A first management means for storing, in the storage account, ball storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the game arcade member, and storing electronic money acquired separately from the game by the game arcade member in association with the storage account; ,
After the end of the game, when a part or all of the storage data is stored and the cash used on the game day is less than the predetermined amount, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the electronic data of the predetermined value is stored. And a second management means for deducting money.
Third-party management system for deposit data. The second management means is characterized by subtracting the storage money maintenance cost data of different values from the electronic money according to the balance of the storage account.
The third party management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The second management means is characterized by subtracting the storage money maintenance cost data of different values from the electronic money according to the number of increases and decreases before and after storage of the storage data into the storage account.
The third party management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The second management means is characterized in that the storage cost maintenance data is deducted from the electronic money when the storage account is not updated for a predetermined period.
The third party management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . A second communication device for permitting access to the information terminal operated by the game arcade member;
Control means for presenting the storage account of the game arcade member to the information terminal;
Further comprising
The third party management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . The information terminal transmits a request for freezing the storage account of the game arcade member,
The third party management system according to claim 7 , wherein the management means freezes the storage account upon receipt of the freeze request. A game arcade system that enables storage balls by a game arcade member in a gaming machine using a physical game ball or replay using the balls,
A registration unit that registers a storage account of the game arcade member;
A first management means for storing, in the storage account, ball storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the game arcade member, and storing electronic money acquired separately from the game by the game arcade member in association with the storage account; ,
A second management means for deducting, from the electronic money, storage cost data of a predetermined value, assuming that a predetermined condition is satisfied, when the number of replays using the balls is equal to or less than a predetermined number ;
A game arcade system, comprising: communication means for associating the storage account with the identification information of the game arcade member and transmitting it to an external third party management system. A game arcade system that enables storage balls by a game arcade member in a gaming machine using a physical game ball or replay using the balls,
A registration unit that registers a storage account of the game arcade member;
A first management means for storing, in the storage account, ball storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the game arcade member, and storing electronic money acquired separately from the game by the game arcade member in association with the storage account; ,
After the game is over, when a part or all of the storage data is stored and the content of the storage account fluctuates only by the storage or the replay on the game day, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the predetermined value is A second management means for deducting storage money maintenance cost data from the electronic money;
A game arcade system, comprising: communication means for associating the storage account with the identification information of the game arcade member and transmitting it to an external third party management system. A game arcade system that enables storage balls by a game arcade member in a gaming machine using a physical game ball or replay using the balls,
A registration unit that registers a storage account of the game arcade member;
A first management means for storing, in the storage account, ball storage data representing the number of gaming balls acquired by the game arcade member, and storing electronic money acquired separately from the game by the game arcade member in association with the storage account; ,
After the end of the game, when a part or all of the storage data is stored and the cash used on the game day is less than the predetermined amount, it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the electronic data of the predetermined value is stored. Second management means deducted from money;
A game arcade system, comprising: communication means for associating the storage account with the identification information of the game arcade member and transmitting it to an external third party management system. A computer program that causes a computer to operate as the third party management system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 . The computer is operated as the game arcade system according to any one of claims 9 to 11 .
Computer program.

Images