# US 11,298,615 B2 · Information processing system, information processing method, information storage medium, and program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,298,615 B2 - Document ID: US11298615B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/816,656 - Filed: 2020-03-12 - Published: 2020-07-02 - Granted: 2022-04-12 - Earliest claimed: 2010-09-22 - Assignees: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. - Applicants: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. - Inventors: Toshiya Ikenaga - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11298615B2 ## CPC - A63F 13/355: Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client - A63F 13/00: Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions - A63F 13/426: involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun - A63F 13/48: Starting a game, e.g. activating a game device or waiting for other players to join a multiplayer session - A63F 13/49: Saving the game status; Pausing or ending the game - A63F 13/497: Partially or entirely replaying previous game actions - A63F 13/86: Watching games played by other players - A63F 2300/535: for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters - A63F 2300/636: involving process of starting or resuming a game - A63F: CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract Methods and apparatus provide for: receiving, at at least one game server, an execution request for execution of a game program from a user terminal over a network and, in response, loading and executing the game program, where the execution request is associated with a play point in a video that shows previously played content of the game program; transmitting the video, by way of at least one of the at least one game server and at least one video server, to the user terminal over the network, where the video is displayed to a user of the user terminal and the execution request is initiated by the user; obtaining, at the at least one game server, certain game situation data that is identified based on the play point associated with the execution request, from a storage unit that stores respective game situation data which indicate respective situations of the game program that are associated with respective play points in the video; starting executing the game program, by the at least one game server, from a situation that is indicated by the certain game situation data obtained; and transmitting game data to the user terminal over the network such that the user may enter into gameplay. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An information processing system, comprising: at least one game server operating to receive an execution request for execution of a game program from a user terminal over a network and, in response, to load and execute the game program, where the execution request is associated with a play point in a video that shows previously played content of the game program; and at least one of the at least one game server and at least one video server operating to transmit the video to the user terminal over the network, where the video is displayed to a user of the user terminal and the execution request is initiated by the user; wherein the at least one game server includes a game situation data obtaining unit that obtains, from a storage unit that stores respective game situation data which indicate respective situations of the game program that are associated with respective play points in the video, certain of the game situation data that is identified based on the play point associated with the execution request; wherein the at least one game server includes a game executing unit that starts executing the game program from a situation that is indicated by the certain game situation data obtained by the game situation data obtaining unit; wherein the at least one game server includes a communications unit operating to transmit game data to the user terminal over the network such that the user may enter into gameplay, and wherein at least one of: (i) the game executing unit operates to cause a list of videos to be displayed to the user, and the list of videos includes videos which have at least one hyperlink to launch the game, and other videos which do not have such at least one hyperlink, and (ii) the video includes at least one hyperlink that is displayed to the user, such that the user may activate the hyperlink, using at least one input device, while the video is being displayed, and the activation of the hyperlink causes the execution request to include information regarding a specified point in the video at which the hyperlink is activated, and the user clicks on the hyperlink while viewing a video display screen on which the video showing a play content that has been played by the user himself/herself is being played. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the video includes at least one game stage corresponding to a stage of progress of the game program during gameplay. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the video includes a plurality of game stages corresponding to a plurality of stages of progress of the game program during gameplay. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one game server includes multiple types of emulators. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the video includes elapsed time data, which indicates time elapsed since a predetermined time associated with at least one game stage corresponding to a stage of progress of the game program during gameplay. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the elapsed time data indicates the time elapsed since the start of the at least one game stage corresponding. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the video is generated based on progress of the game program during gameplay. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein the video is generated at the time when a game stage, corresponding to a stage of progress of the game program during gameplay, ends or at a time when a game over status of the gameplay occurs. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein: the video includes at least one hyperlink that is displayed to the user, such that the user may activate the hyperlink, using at least one input device, while the video is being displayed, and the activation of the hyperlink causes the execution request to include information regarding a specified point in the video at which the hyperlink is activated, and the game can be started from a situation that corresponds to a play point at which the video was played at the time of the activation of the hyperlink. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein: the video includes at least one hyperlink that is displayed to the user, such that the user may activate the hyperlink, using at least one input device, while the video is being displayed, and the activation of the hyperlink causes the execution request to include information regarding a specified point in the video at which the hyperlink is activated, and the game can be started from a situation that corresponds with a time that is reached by going backwards a predetermined amount from a time at which the hyperlink was activated. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein: the video includes at least one hyperlink that is displayed to the user, such that the user may activate the hyperlink, using at least one input device, while the video is being displayed, and the activation of the hyperlink causes the execution request to include information regarding a specified point in the video at which the hyperlink is activated, and a selection screen is displayed to the user which prompts the user to select starting the game from a predetermined game stage that corresponds with a time when the user activates the hyperlink. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the user causes a start of executing the game program based on bookmark data, which is selected by the user in advance. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the game server executes processing of charging a user who has made a request to execute the game when receiving the game execution request. ### Claim 14 A method, comprising: receiving, at at least one game server, an execution request for execution of a game program from a user terminal over a network and, in response, loading and executing the game program, where the execution request is associated with a play point in a video that shows previously played content of the game program; transmitting the video, by way of at least one of the at least one game server and at least one video server, to the user terminal over the network, where the video is displayed to a user of the user terminal and the execution request is initiated by the user; obtaining, at the at least one game server, certain game situation data that is identified based on the play point associated with the execution request, from a storage unit that stores respective game situation data which indicate respective situations of the game program that are associated with respective play points in the video; starting executing the game program, by the at least one game server, from a situation that is indicated by the certain game situation data obtained; and transmitting game data to the user terminal over the network such that the user may enter into gameplay, wherein at least one of: (i) the executing operates to cause a list of videos to be displayed to the user, and the list of videos includes videos which have at least one hyperlink to launch the game, and other videos which do not have such at least one hyperlink, and (ii) the video includes at least one hyperlink that is displayed to the user, such that the user may activate the hyperlink, using at least one input device, while the video is being displayed, and the activation of the hyperlink causes the execution request to include information regarding a specified point in the video at which the hyperlink is activated, and the user clicks on the hyperlink while viewing a video display screen on which the video showing a play content that has been played by the user himself/herself is being played. ### Claim 15 A non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium storing a program, which when executed by one or more computers, causes the one or more computers to carry put action, comprising: receiving, at at least one game server, an execution request for execution of a game program from a user terminal over a network and, in response, loading and executing the game program, where the execution request is associated with a play point in a video that shows previously played content of the game program; transmitting the video, by way of at least one of the at least one game server and at least one video server, to the user terminal over the network, where the video is displayed to a user of the user terminal and the execution request is initiated by the user; obtaining, at the at least one game server, certain game situation data that is identified based on the play point associated with the execution request, from a storage unit that stores respective game situation data which indicate respective situations of the game program that are associated with respective play points in the video; starting executing the game program, by the at least one game server, from a situation that is indicated by the certain game situation data obtained; and transmitting game data to the user terminal over the network such that the user may enter into gameplay, wherein at least one of: (i) the executing operates to cause a list of videos to be displayed to the user, and the list of videos includes videos which have at least one hyperlink to launch the game, and other videos which do not have such at least one hyperlink, and (ii) the video includes at least one hyperlink that is displayed to the user, such that the user may activate the hyperlink, using at least one input device, while the video is being displayed, and the activation of the hyperlink causes the execution request to include information regarding a specified point in the video at which the hyperlink is activated, and the user clicks on the hyperlink while viewing a video display screen on which the video showing a play content that has been played by the user himself/herself is being played.