Patents Assigned to Square Enix Co., Ltd.
  • Publication number: 20240149156
    Abstract: An object is to provide a new program with a higher level of satisfaction while increasing a player's freedom for provided content. An example content providing program determines whether or not information received from a user is similar to a predetermined character string corresponding to progress information and progresses the content in a case where it is determined that the information is similar to the predetermined character string.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2023
    Publication date: May 9, 2024
    Applicant: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinpei SAKATA, Yusuke MORI
  • Patent number: 9259653
    Abstract: In a system comprising the disclosed server and a plurality of player terminals, it is possible to suitably and easily alter the accessories and character class of player characters. The server has: a memory means that stores player character data of a plurality of player terminals; a means that confers data indicating the fact that a player character indicated in a party formation command has been added to the same party when a party formation command has been input from a player terminal; a means that acquires changes regarding the accessories or player class of the player character in each player terminal, and updates the character data stored in memory; a means that extracts the other players that form the same party as the player character for which changes have been output; and a means for transmitting said changes to the terminals of the other players that were extracted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Okada, Sei Sato
  • Patent number: 8968097
    Abstract: In a game server wherein a player can play a game online by operating a game terminal, and game program has two or more partial scenarios and the partial scenario has an event to be played by forming a party through two or more players, a unifier that unifies and controls scenario proceeding of the player as a challenger, a controller that controls to prohibit the unified player from executing another events, a processor that does a procedure corresponding to clearing on the player as the challenger to whom clearing of the event was judged, and a releaser that releases unification of the player classified into the challenger are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ayako Yokoyama, Naoki Yoshida, Jin Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 8968096
    Abstract: A game server through which a game can be played by operating one's own operation character in a virtual space therein, has a memory that stores an attainment state of a succeeding quest every each player every partial quest, controller that controls not to execute the partial quest that has been already cleared again, judger that judges whether each game terminal is able to execute the partial quest when inputting an order entry notice showing execution of the partial quest through cooperation play, and a changer that rewrites and changes attainment state of the partial quest into “before execution of quest” for the game terminal judged to be impossible to execute such a partial quest so as to execute the partial quest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ayako Yokoyama, Jin Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 8834267
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a game apparatus that can display an avatar matched to any kind of game in which the avatar participates, without changing clothes or decorations worn by the avatar to new clothes or decorations. The game apparatus specifies display data of items based on attributes set to the items and includes a design table where a correspondence relationship between the attributes and the display data of the items is set. Display data of the player character is generated based on the specified display data of the items, and the player character is displayed on a display screen based on the generated display data of the player character.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro Fujii, Haruko Yamazaki, Eri Maruyama, Hiroshi Harada, Toshiaki Tarumi, Ryosuke Tamura
  • Patent number: 8734216
    Abstract: A predetermined time point is added to an accumulated value of the time point in accordance with lapse of time. A special effect and a special effect applied value set to the special effect are stored when specification of the special effect is received. When the special effect applied value is subtracted from the accumulated maximum value of the time point, the special effect is applied to the player character. When specification of action commands is received, the received action command, an action command value and a received order of the action command are stored. The action command whose received order is the earliest among the received action commands is activated in the case where the accumulated value of the time point is the action command value of the action command or more. The action command value of the activated action command is subtracted from the time point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Sato
  • Patent number: 8696457
    Abstract: Game sound field creator is comprised of means for computing a spaced distance between a sound source and a player character, means for outputting sound track data to default speakers if the spaced distance is a first distance or shorter, means for stopping output of the sound track data if the spaced distance is a second distance or longer, means for computing a virtual development angle of each sound channel according to the spaced distance if the spaced distance is between the first distance and the second distance, means for converting a virtual development angle into an actual angle adding a direction of the sound source and means for reproducing the sound track data of each sound channel based upon the converted actual angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Tsuchida, Minoru Tsuchihashi
  • Patent number: 8690672
    Abstract: It is possible to generate a game element in accordance with the customization state of a media reproduction device, which exhibits a uniqueness of user. Provided is a media reproduction device which acquires related attribution information from stored media data, selects an object corresponding to the attribution information from a list, and generates the object during a game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takehiro Ando
  • Patent number: 8648817
    Abstract: A portable game machine with a display which also serves as a touch panel type input portion is comprised of means for detecting a contact between a finger of a player and a screen, means for computing a coordinate position of the finger on the screen, means for computing and determining the coordinate position where the object to be displayed on the display is displayed so as to separate a predetermined distance from the coordinate position of the finger and to create a gap between the object displayed on the display and a periphery of the finger contacted with the screen, and object display means for displaying the object at the computed and determined coordinate position on the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hidetoshi Aoyagi
  • Patent number: 8547357
    Abstract: A portable game machine with a display which also serves as a touch panel type input portion is comprised of means for detecting a contact between a finger of a player and a screen, means for computing a coordinate position of the finger on the screen, means for computing and determining the coordinate position where the object to be displayed on the display is displayed so as to separate a predetermined distance from the coordinate position of the finger and to create a gap between the object displayed on the display and a periphery of the finger contacted with the screen, and object display means for displaying the object at the computed and determined coordinate position on the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hidetoshi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20130084995
    Abstract: Provided is a networked game system of high interest in which a contingency and/or unpredictability intervenes in a data exchange between players in a networked game. When a map item and a character are selected, a game apparatus transmits a data exchange request and character information to a server apparatus (step S2). The received character information is stored in a character management table of the server apparatus (step S4). When a predetermined time elapses after the data exchange request (step S5), other-character information is specified (step S6), and the character management table 40 is updated (step S7). The other-character information is transmitted to the game apparatus (step S9), and the game apparatus updates each table based on the received information (step S11).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2012
    Publication date: April 4, 2013
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix (also trading as Square Enix Co., Ltd.)
    Inventor: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix (also trading as Sq
  • Patent number: 8408997
    Abstract: Changing a game progress by the operation of a player. A plurality of frame images are sequentially formed and displayed. The frame images are displayed by switching the frame images from a frame buffer. When the frame images are individually formed, the formation time periods of the plurality of frame images are predicted. The game progress made by the frame images is determined in dependence upon the predicted formation time periods of the frame images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Miyagawa, Minoru Akao
  • Patent number: 8272953
    Abstract: When a cooperation game starts in a host game machine and a guest game machine that have been separately executed standalone games, present information (time and position of character) of the guest game machine is changed into one of the host game machine. During the cooperation game, present information of the guest game machine and the host game machine are renewed, being synchronized with each other. Then, player characters of the guest game machine and the host game machine are displayed on a display of each game machine, and each player plays the cooperation game together with the player character of the other game machine which is displayed on one's own game machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jin Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 8197339
    Abstract: Multiple characters in a video game can be displayed in a field so as to be easily distinguished, allowing the video game to proceed smoothly while maintaining realism. When an action content command and an action target character are received, a control section and a graphics processor carry out the control to display a target line for notifying the category of action in an action content specified by the action content command and a character that a player character specifies as the action target. In this way, by viewing an image in which a target line is in turn drawn from the player character to the target character, a player of the video game can quickly and easily recognize an action entity and an action target. This makes it possible to display the multiple characters in a field so as to be easily distinguished, and therefore, the video game can proceed smoothly while maintaining realism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazutoyo Maehiro, Hiroyuki Itou
  • Patent number: 8194073
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to move a viewpoint position and a direction of a line of sight a player character with an intuitive operation method without requiring pre-study. In a case where a player touches a point within a movement determination region, a virtual 3D spatial image moved forward in the direction of the line of sight is displayed. In a case where a player touches a point at the left side outside the movement determination region, a virtual 3D spatial image as viewed by a virtual camera panned to the left is displayed, whereas in a case where a player touches a point at the right side, a virtual 3D spatial image as viewed by a virtual camera panned to the right is displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Tokita, Tomoya Asano, Yosuke Tomita
  • Patent number: 8140626
    Abstract: An apparatus of playing casino game has presentation means for presenting an affiliate advertisement, control means for transmitting personal information of users to a sever of the affiliate advertisement and obtaining a point which is compensation, execution means for getting a user to execute a casino game with the point as stakes, means for searching and extracting an advertisement to which a user can respond out of the affiliate advertisements when the point becomes a predetermined value or lower during execution of the game, and means for instructing to collectively transmit personal information of a user regarding all extracted affiliate advertisements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinari Fujimoto
  • Publication number: 20110172013
    Abstract: A user interface processing apparatus for controlling an application is provided. In the user interface processing apparatus, a touch on a display screen by means of a contact operation by a user on a touch panel is received. A touched position on the touch panel is detected when the touch on the display screen is received. The touched position is a position touched by the player on the display screen. A virtual controller is displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen corresponding to the detected touched position in a case where the touch on the display screen is received. An operation of the virtual controller displayed on the display screen is received from the player. The application is controlled in accordance with the operation received from the player.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2010
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix (also trading as Square Enix Co., Ltd.)
    Inventors: Kouichi SHIRASAKA, Takao SUZUKI, Okinori YASUTA, Takehiro ANDO, Hidetoshi AOYAGI
  • Patent number: 7963834
    Abstract: A game apparatus executes a game in which a player character and an enemy character fight against each other. The game apparatus includes an attack determiner that determines whether the player character has an attack turn. When the attack determiner determines that the player character has an attack turn, an attack technique selector enables a player to select a desired attack technique to be executed by the player character. A selection time value accumulator accumulates a selection time value that corresponds to a shortness of time until the attack technique is selected by the player. When the selection time value exceeds a predetermined value, the attack technique selector enables the player to select a special attack to be selected by the player as the attack technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ryutaro Ichimura
  • Publication number: 20110131583
    Abstract: A multicore processor system includes one or more client carrying out parallel processing of tasks by means of processor cores and a server assisting the client to carry out the parallel processing via a communication network. Task information containing the minimum number of required cores indicating the number of processor cores required to carry out processes of the tasks and core information containing operation setup information indicating operation setup content of the processor cores are stored in the server. The server determines whether the task is allocated to the plurality of processor cores or not in accordance with the task information and the core information. The server updates the core information in accordance with a determination result to transmit the updated core information to the client. The client carries out the parallel processing by means of the processor cores in accordance with the received core information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2010
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix (also trading as Square Enix Co., Ltd.)
    Inventor: James GERACI
  • Patent number: 7637815
    Abstract: In a continue screen operation corresponding process, in the case where the player selects to reflect an acquired experiential value to a PC experiential value, a control section of a video game apparatus adds the acquired experiential value to a level-up unused experiential value. Then, in the case where the control section determines that the level-up unused experiential value is an experiential value required for a next level or more, the control section increments a level of a player character, subtracts the experiential value required for a next level from the level-up unused experiential value, and adds the experiential value required for a next level to a level-up used experiential value. The control section then updates an experiential value required for a next level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keisuke Matsuhara, Yusuke Matsui, Yoshinori Kitase