Patent Application
20080045336
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to an amusement device having electronic games and entertainment features, and more particularly, to an amusement device having electronic games and entertainment applications that includes an interactive advertising system.
Amusement devices having electronic games and entertainment applications such as music, video, and Internet browsing are generally well known in the art. Amusement devices, such as game machines, which allow a user to select games from a video display are well known in the art, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,717 (Houriet, Jr., et al.); 5,743,799 (Houriet, Jr., et al.); 6,082,887 (Feuer, et al.); and 6,942,565 (Karn, et al.), the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein, each of which shows a touchscreen display for making a game selection from a menu of games. Such game machines or amusement devices typically operate upon input of currency (i.e., coin, token, paper money, credit/debit cards, and the like) and are installed in bars, restaurants, airports, shopping malls, video arcades, and the like. The game choices may include card games, sports games, games of skill, games of chance, action games, trivia games, and the like. Other entertainment applications include music and/or video music jukeboxes, Internet browsing, and the like. Advertising by billboards and banners, television and radio commercials, and World Wide Web (WWW) based banner/click-through ads is generally known in the art.
It is desirable to provide an amusement device having electronic games and/or other entertainment applications that includes an interactive amusement device advertising system. Further, it is desirable to provide an amusement device configured with electronic games having an attract mode advertising feature. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide an amusement device configured with electronic games having modifiable advertising placed within games being played.
Briefly stated, an embodiment of the present invention comprises an amusement device having interactive advertisements. The amusement device has a display, an input device, an attract mode, and a game play mode. The amusement device includes a memory that stores one or more electronic games and a system control program. The amusement device also includes a controller operatively coupled to the memory, the input device, and the display. The controller controls the display based upon the system control program retrieved from the memory and based upon inputs from the input device. The controller is configured to (i) permit the user to selectively retrieve from the memory and play one of the one or more electronic games and (ii) display an interactive advertisement during at least one of the attract mode and the game play mode.
Another embodiment of the present invention comprises an amusement device having interactive advertisements. The amusement device has a display, an input device, an attract mode, and a game play mode. The amusement device includes a memory that stores a plurality of electronic games and a system control program. The amusement device also includes a controller operatively coupled to the memory, the input device, and the display. The controller controls the display based upon the system control program retrieved from the memory and based upon inputs from the input device. The controller is configured to (i) permit the user to selectively retrieve from the memory and play one of the plurality of electronic games and (ii) display one of a static image of one of the plurality of games and an animated demonstration of one of the plurality of games during the attract mode. The screen is user selectable and provides a shortcut to the respective one of the plurality of games.
Embodiments of the present invention also comprise a method for interactive advertising in an amusement device having a display, an input device, an attract mode, and a game play mode. A user of the amusement device is permitted to selectively retrieve from a memory and play one of a plurality of electronic games. The method includes providing an interactive advertisement for display during at least one of the attract mode and the game play mode. The interactive advertisement is user selectable. The method further includes providing a link to an advertisement accessible upon selection of the interactive advertisement by the user.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and should not be construed as limiting. The words “a” and “an” as used in the claims and corresponding portions of the specification means “one or more than one.” The word “plurality” as used in the claims and corresponding portions of the specification means “two or more.”
In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicate like elements throughout. Referring to the drawings in detail,
For convenience, the amusement devices 26, 14, 26′ and 14′ will be referred to hereinafter simply as “amusement device 26.”
Each amusement device 26 is a stand-alone computer system controlled by the controller or microprocessor U1, the memory U2, and a touchscreen video display driver (not labeled). For purposes of simplicity, the invention will be described with respect to the amusement device 26 throughout the remainder of the description, but it should be noted that the present invention could be implemented with any variety of amusement devices 26 without departing from the spirit of the invention.
The memory U2 stores a plurality of electronic games and a system control program. The controller U1 is operatively coupled to the memory U2, an input device and the display 27 (i.e., the touchscreen display 27). The controller U1 controls the touchscreen display 27 based upon the system control program retrieved from the memory U2 and based upon inputs from the input device, which in the present example is the touchscreen display 27. As used herein, the system control program refers to all of the software functions outside of the game or music files including an operating system, display control, input control, sound drivers, and the like. Other input devices that may be connected to the amusement devices 26 include a pushbutton(s), a track-ball or touchpad, a mouse, a joy-stick, a foot-pedal, a voice recognition system, a keypad or keyboard, and the like. But, preferably, the input device is the touchscreen display 27.
Alternatively, the memory U2 can be configured to run only a single game and the amusement device 26 is then a dedicated amusement device 26 having interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108. For example, the amusement device 26 may be configured to only play a single type of game like poker or blackjack without departing from the present invention.
The interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 each have a customizable template such that the shape, size, color, and other appearance can be different depending on the application, game, menu, or the like in which the interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 are placed.
The amusement device 26 may optionally include a communication interface to connect to other amusement devices 26 and/or to a remote server computer in order to permit tournament play and/or remote accounting and the like.
The amusement device 26 includes an operating mode and a setup mode. When the operating mode is selected, a player or user is selectively permitted to play electronic games. When the setup mode is selected, the owner/operator is permitted to make system setup adjustments. To switch from the operating mode to the setup mode, a mode selector pushbutton (hardware not shown) is provided that is typically concealed from the users. The mode selector pushbutton may be implemented as a hidden software feature, but preferably the mode selector pushbutton is a simple pushbutton that is disposed inside a housing of the amusement device 26. In the setup mode, the owner/operator may also make adjustments to interactive advertising features according to various embodiments of the present invention, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the controller U1 controls the display 27 based upon the system control program retrieved from the memory U2 and based upon inputs from the input device 27. The controller U1 is configured to (i) permit the user to selectively retrieve from the memory U2 and play one of the plurality of electronic games and (ii) display an interactive advertisement 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 (
The amusement device 26 also includes a sound system having a first volume and a second volume. During game play, the sound system plays sound at the second volume. During the attract mode, the sound system plays sound at the first volume until a user selects the interactive advertisement, upon the occurrence of which the sound system plays sound at the second volume for a predetermined period of time. The first volume may be mute or a low volume and the second volume may be a MAXIMUM or variable volume. For example, during the demonstration mode, the amusement device 26 may increase the volume from OFF to LOW or from LOW to MAXIMUM when a user touches the touchscreen display 27 or other input device 27. During the demonstration mode, the amusement device 26 may jump to a menu screen 82, 84 such as shown in
The amusement device 26 can also be configured to display an advertisement for a sponsor during the attract mode such that when the user touches the interactive advertisement 100, the user is taken to one of a more detailed advertisement or ad, or an audio/visual advertisement, such as a commercial stored on the amusement device 26. Alternatively, the amusement device 26 may be connected to a broadband or other communications network for accessing the detailed or audio/visual advertisements. Still further, the interactive advertisement banner 100 can be linked in a click-through manner to information about the sponsor and/or to an Internet website.
Amusement device 26 also includes advertisement tracking stored in the memory to track “impressions” of an ad. The advertisement tracking includes a counter for how many times each ad is selected, a counter noting how many times the advertisement is allowed to fully play, an accounting of times of day that advertisements are selected and the like. The amusement device 26 may be monitored remotely to determine statistics about the interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108. The statistics may be used to determine billing for advertisers and sponsors and to promote advertising. Alternatively, the amusement device 26 can periodically send statistics about the interactive advertisement 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 to a host or server.
When the setup mode is selected, an operator is permitted to make adjustments to times that the interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 are displayable. An operator may be an owner of the amusement device 26, a technician, or other party responsible for maintaining and/or controlling the amusement device 26, as opposed to a user who simply accesses the amusement device 26 to play games, music, or the like. When the setup mode is selected, an operator is also permitted to make adjustments to types of interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 permitted to be displayed on the amusement device 26. An operator may additionally make adjustments to a maximum duration of time the interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 can be accessed.
The advertisements may be stored locally on the amusement device 26 or may be downloaded at regular intervals from, for example, a network or Internet connection. The amusement device 26 may store complete versions of advertisers' websites locally or modified versions of advertisers' websites. Alternatively, a user may directly access an advertiser's website through a broadband or other Internet connection during the click-through. The amusement device 26 is also configured for full motion video to play audio/visual files such as OGG, AVI, and MPEG. Accordingly, the amusement device 26 includes a full motion video player for displaying full motion video in attract mode or during game play.
Embodiments of the present invention also include interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 selectively placed within a game actively being played by a user. For example, instead of the “PLAY ME” interactive advertisement 104 shown in
It is contemplated that there may be limits on when interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 can be interactive during game play. There may be limits on how many times interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 can be accessed during game play to prevent users from using the interactive advertisement to pause or suspend the game to their advantage, for example, to attempt to achieve high scores. There may also be limits on how much time interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 can be played during game play for similar reasons.
Any advertisements and interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 can be click-through and/or otherwise interactive within a game. During the game, the interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 may periodically change over time so that selecting the interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 a first time yields a first version of the sponsor's detailed advertisement and clicking the interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 a second time yields a second, different version of a sponsor's more detailed advertisement. Likewise, a different advertisement altogether may be displayed by clicking the interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108 a first time and resuming game play, thereby yielding a second advertiser's link on the interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108.
It is contemplated that the interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 can be built into the menu system shown in
When a particular game is sponsored by a particular sponsor, which can vary from time to time based upon remote communication and/or a time event based file, the game sponsored can be configured to display the particular sponsor's advertisements within the game on the interactive advertisements 104, 106, 108.
Sponsorship and/or advertisement can be based upon any subset of amusement devices 26 connected via network to a host or server. For example, a sponsor may wish to select amusement devices 26 in particular zip codes, regions or store types. Sponsors may also wish to choose the time of day that their advertisements are displayed on amusement devices 26. Particular amusement devices 26 may be removed from a list of machines selected to receive advertisements. It is contemplated that filters at a network host computer (not shown) or on local amusement devices 26 may be used to filter particular types of advertisements. For example, some owners may not wish to have advertisements for alcohol or for competitors.
Amusements devices 26 connected to the host by a dedicated network, dialup or Internet may download new advertisements on occasion and upload statistics back to the host. The interactive advertisement 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 may be controlled remotely from the amusement device 26 by the host or server. For those amusement devices 26 having a broadband connection, the host may be nearly continuously connected to the amusement devices 26 in order to play live or broadcast commercials similar to television or radio. Amusement devices 26 having broadband connections can provide complete click-through to Internet websites for various advertisers using the interactive advertisements 100, 102, 104, 106, 108.
In the attract mode, the amusement device 26 may include a text file display instead of a display of a sample game. For example, appealing phrases may be displayed so that the entire screen is an interactive advertisement 100. The text phrases displayed in the interactive advertisement 100 may alternate or be exchanged based on a configuration file stored locally or periodically downloaded to the amusement device 26. Funny and/or appealing phrases that may be displayed in the interactive advertisement 100 such as “Had a bad day? Have a drink with a Monkey;” “I'm lonely, please play me;” and “Monkey, a fun game where you try to get a monkey drunk.”
The controller U1 is selectively configured, e.g., in setup mode or from a configuration file, to display text in a first language and a second language. The interactive advertisement 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 can be displayed in the first language when the controller is configured to display text in the second language. For example, The amusement device 26 may be configured to display advertisements in the original language the advertisement was sent or into a translated language based upon the configuration file. For example, if the amusement device 26 is configured in a second language such as Spanish, the advertisement may still be played in English if the sponsor requests that the advertisement be played in English. This can accommodate brand names, catch phrases, or the like.
Embodiments of the present invention also include methods of advertising using amusement devices 26 as described above.
The amusement device 26 may also include other functionality and features such as video jukebox, multimedia player, Internet browsing, broadcast media viewing, time based rental mode, non-prize tournaments, prize based tournaments, head to head competitions, prize based lotteries, ticket dispensing, prize dispensing, debit/credit card charging, phone card dispensing, email, photography and the like.
The amusement device 26 may also provide for remote or local access for accounting and/or bookkeeping purposes. The amusement device 26 may include a local connector for uploading to a hand held or portable computer or a removable memory for receiving accounting data and/or for downloading new advertisement data. The amusement device 26 may also include accounting and bookkeeping screens accessible by an operator through set up screens and/or through password protection.
The amusement device 26 may also allow the use of player preferences integrated with purchasing options. For example, a player accessing an interactive advertisement may be led to a purchasing screen. The player may then conveniently have form-fillable fields such as shipping address or the like automatically completed by the player preferences. The preferences may be stored locally or the amusement device 26 may allow access to a remote server storing the information. The player preference information is preferably kept in an encrypted format to prevent theft in the event the amusement device 26 is stolen or is accessed by the operator.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that embodiments of the present invention comprise an amusement device having an interactive advertising system and methods for interactive advertising on such an amusement device. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/822,854, filed Aug. 18, 2006, entitled “Interactive Amusement Device Advertising.”
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60822854 | Aug 2006 | US |
