Information processing system, information processing program, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide a mechanism capable of reducing a workload that occurs in the case that a user not being a game operator organizes a game tournament in an information processing system for providing a communication game which a plurality of users can play.SOLUTION: In an information processing system including a tournament management system, an organizer terminal, a participant terminal, and a participant game device, the tournament management system includes game tournament generation means for generating information for organizing a game tournament, registration means for registering participant information, combination information generation means for generating combination information showing a combination of participants playing the communication game, and combination information update means for updating the combination information on the basis of report data, and generates a session for which participants designated by the combination information play the communication game together in association with the designated participants.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system, an information processing program, and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the past, in a communication game that multiple users can play, a specific event was held by the game company that operates the communication game. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-117667 (Patent Document 1) describes that a competitive game event is held on a specific date, and multiple users can participate in the competitive game event. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-117667 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, with the development of social media and the like, it has become easier for game players to communicate over the Internet, and users themselves sometimes host game tournaments. Game tournaments are held by users who play games, not by game companies that operate the games, and participants of the tournament are gathered voluntarily. When a user voluntarily hosts a game tournament, the user who hosts the tournament must carry out cumbersome tasks such as informing participants of the tournament rules, pairing participants who will play the game, and arranging the date and time.

[0005] The present disclosure makes it possible to realize a mechanism for reducing the workload that arises when a game tournament is hosted by a user who is not the game operator in an information processing system that provides an online game that can be played by multiple users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (Configuration 1) An information processing system according to an embodiment is an information processing system that assists in the progress of a game tournament that uses a communication game. The information processing system is composed of at least one information processing device, and includes a tournament management system that manages the game tournament, a host terminal that is operated by a host and communicates with the tournament management system, a participant terminal that is operated by a participant of the game tournament, and a participant game device that is operated by a participant of the game tournament. The tournament management system includes a game tournament generation means that generates information for holding a game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the host terminal, a registration means that, in response to a participation request for a game tournament accepted from a participant terminal, associates and registers the participant information of the participant who made the participation request with the game tournament, the participant information generation means that generates combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play a communication game together using the registered multiple participation requests, a session generation means that associates a session for participants of a combination specified by the combination information among the participants who made the participation request for the game tournament to play a communication game together with the participants of the specified combination, and a session information transmission means that transmits session information corresponding to the generated session to the participant game device of the participant associated with the session. The participant game device includes a communication means for communicating with the participant game devices of other participants participating in the session corresponding to the session information, a communication game execution means for executing a communication game together with the other participants participating in the session, and a log data transmission means for transmitting log data of the communication game to the tournament management system. The tournament management system further includes a log data output means for outputting the log data to at least one of the organizer terminal and the participant terminal, a report data storage means for storing report data input to the participant terminal and indicating the results of the communication game played by the participant, and a combination information update means for updating the combination information based on the report data, assuming that the result of the communication game has been determined, when a predetermined condition related to the report data is established. The session generation means generates a session for participants of a combination specified by the updated combination information to play a communication game together, in association with the participants of the specified combination.

[0007] According to configuration 1, in an information processing system that provides a communication game that can be played by multiple users, a mechanism can be realized to reduce the workload that occurs when a game tournament is hosted by a user who is not the operator of the game.

[0008] (Configuration 2) In configuration 1, the tournament management system further includes a generation information transmission means for transmitting generation information indicating that a session has been generated to a participant terminal corresponding to the session.

[0009] According to the second aspect, the participant terminal can notify the participant that a session has been created.

[0010] (Configuration 3) In configuration 1 or 2, the participant game device further includes a session information output means for outputting session information regarding a session corresponding to the acquired session information, and the communication means communicates with other game devices participating in the session corresponding to the session information based on the participant's input regarding the session information.

[0011] According to the third aspect, the participant game device can notify the participant that a session has been created.

[0012] (Configuration 4) In any one of configurations 1 to 3, the communication game executing means executes a communication game in which the battle condition settings are preset based on the tournament setting information.

[0013] According to configuration 4, the participants can be saved from the task of setting rules regarding the game match.

[0014] (Configuration 5) In any of configurations 1 to 4, the information processing system further includes an organizer game device that runs the communication game, and the organizer game device further includes communication means for communicating with participant game devices participating in the session specified by the organizer.

[0015] According to the fifth aspect, the game match can be watched from the host game device.

[0016] (Configuration 6) In any of configurations 1 to 5, the participant game device further includes a replay data transmission means for transmitting replay data for reproducing the communication game executed by the communication game execution means to the tournament management system, the tournament management system further includes a replay data storage means for storing the replay data, and the participant game device further includes a replay data acquisition means for acquiring the replay data from the tournament management system and a communication game reproduction means for reproducing the communication game based on the replay data.

[0017] According to the sixth aspect, replay data can be used to check replays of game matches that have been held in the past in the tournament from the game device.

[0018] (Configuration 7) In any of configurations 1 to 6, the report data storage means stores report data acquired from a plurality of participants participating in the session, and the combination information update means determines that a predetermined condition is met and updates the combination information when the contents indicated by the report data acquired from at least a first participant among the participants participating in the session match the contents indicated by the report data acquired from a second participant.

[0019] According to configuration 7, even if log data contrary to the participants' intentions is generated due to an unexpected problem such as an Internet connection being interrupted, the results of the game match can be determined by taking into account the opinions of the participants.

[0020] (Configuration 8) In any one of configurations 1 to 7, the meeting management system further comprises a notification means for notifying the organizer terminal based on an operation of the participant terminal.

[0021] According to configuration 8, participants can easily obtain support from the organizer during the game tournament.

[0022] (Configuration 9) In any one of configurations 1 to 8, the tournament management system further comprises an editing means for editing the pairing information based on an operation on the organizer terminal.

[0023] According to the ninth aspect, the organizer can change the content of the combination information at his / her own discretion.

[0024] (Configuration 10) In any of configurations 1 to 9, the combination information update means updates the result of the communication game based on an operation to the host terminal, regardless of whether a predetermined condition is satisfied or not.

[0025] According to the configuration 10, the result of the game match can be updated with the organizer's authority.

[0026] (Configuration 11) In any one of configurations 1 to 10, the tournament management system further includes a session discarding means for discarding the session for playing the communication game after the result of the communication game has been determined.

[0027] According to configuration 11, after the game match ends, the session can be discarded to reduce the amount of space used by unnecessary data.

[0028] (Configuration 12) In any one of configurations 1 to 11, the communication means performs peer-to-peer (P2P) communication with other participant game devices participating in the session.

[0029] According to the twelfth aspect, communication between game devices can be carried out by P2P communication.

[0030] (Configuration 13) In any one of configurations 1 to 12, at least one of the participant terminal and the participant game device displays a guide image indicating an action that the participant should take according to the progress of the game tournament.

[0031] According to configuration 13, the guide image can be used to assist participants and ensure the game tournament proceeds smoothly.

[0032] (Configuration 14) In any one of configurations 1 to 13, the organizer terminal displays a tournament progress image showing the progress of the game tournament based at least on the report data acquired from the tournament management system.

[0033] According to configuration 14, the organizer can visually check the progress of the game tournament.

[0034] (Configuration 15) In any one of configurations 1 to 14, the tournament setting information includes a participation condition for the game tournament, and the registration means determines whether or not to register based on the participation condition.

[0035] According to configuration 15, users who do not meet the conditions for participating in the game tournament can be automatically excluded.

[0036] (Configuration 16) In any one of configurations 1 to 15, the tournament setting information includes a participation limit of participants, and the combination information generating means generates the combination information when it receives participation requests for the number of participants equal to the participation limit.

[0037] According to the sixteenth aspect, combination information can be generated when the specified number of participants is reached.

[0038] (Configuration 17) An information processing program according to an embodiment is an information processing program executed by a computer used in an information processing system that assists in the progress of a game tournament that utilizes a communication game. The information processing system is composed of at least one information processing device, and includes a tournament management system that manages the game tournament, a host terminal that is operated by the host and communicates with the tournament management system, a participant terminal that is operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicates with the tournament management system, and a participant game device that is operated by a participant of the game tournament. The information processing program causes the computer to perform the following steps: generating information for holding a game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the host terminal; in response to a participation request for a game tournament received from a participant terminal, registering the participant information of the participant who made the participation request in association with the game tournament; using the registered multiple participation requests to generate combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play a communication game together; generating a session for participants in a combination specified by the combination information among the participants who made the participation request for the game tournament to play a communication game together, in association with the participants of the specified combination; and generating session information corresponding to the generated session. the step of transmitting the report to the participant game device of the participant associated with the session; the step of outputting log data indicating the result of the communication game received from the participant game device to at least one of the organizer terminal and the participant terminal; the step of storing the report data input to the participant terminal and indicating the result of the communication game played by the participant; if a predetermined condition related to the report data is met, the step of determining that the result of the communication game has been determined and updating the combination information based on the report data; and the step of generating a session in association with the participants of the specified combination, for the participants of the combination specified by the updated combination information to play the communication game together.

[0039] According to configuration 17, in an information processing system that provides a communication game that can be played by multiple users, a mechanism can be realized to reduce the workload that occurs when a game tournament is hosted by a user who is not the game operator.

[0040] (Configuration 18) An information processing method according to one embodiment is an information processing method executed by a computer used in an information processing system that assists in the progress of a game tournament that uses a communication game. The information processing system is composed of at least one information processing device, and includes a tournament management system that manages the game tournament, a host terminal that is operated by a host who is a user of the communication game and communicates with the tournament management system, a participant terminal that is operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicates with the tournament management system, and a participant game device operated by a participant of the game tournament. The information processing method includes the steps of: generating information for holding a game tournament based on tournament setting information inputted into the organizer terminal; registering, in response to a participation request for the game tournament received from a participant terminal, participant information of the participant who made the participation request in association with the game tournament; generating combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play a communication game together using the registered multiple participation requests; generating a session for participants in a combination specified by the combination information among the participants who made requests to participate in the game tournament to play a communication game together, in association with the participants of the specified combination; transmitting session information corresponding to the generated session to the participant game device of the participant associated with the session; outputting log data indicating a result of the communication game received from the participant game device to at least one of the organizer terminal and the participant terminal; storing report data inputted into the participant terminal and indicating the result of the communication game played by the participant; if a predetermined condition related to the report data is established, updating the combination information based on the report data, assuming that the result of the communication game is confirmed; and generating a session for participants in a combination specified by the updated combination information to play a communication game together, in association with the participants of the specified combination.

[0041] According to configuration 18, in an information processing system that provides a communication game that can be played by multiple users, a mechanism can be realized to reduce the workload that occurs when a game tournament is hosted by a user who is not the game operator.

[0042] (Configuration 19) An information processing system according to an embodiment is an information processing system that assists in the progress of a game tournament that uses a communication game. The information processing system is composed of at least one information processing device, and includes a tournament management system that manages the game tournament, a host terminal that is operated by the host and communicates with the tournament management system, a participant terminal that is operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicates with the tournament management system, and a participant game device that is operated by the participant of the game tournament. The tournament management system includes a game tournament generation means that generates information for holding a game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the host terminal, a registration means that, in response to a participation request for a game tournament accepted from a participant terminal, associates and registers the participant information of the participant who made the participation request with the game tournament, and the game tournament, a combination information generation means that uses the registered multiple participation requests to generate combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play a communication game together, a session generation means that associates a session for participants of a combination specified by the combination information among the participants who made the participation request for the game tournament to play a communication game together with the participants of the specified combination, and a session information transmission means that transmits session information corresponding to the generated session to the participant game device of the participant associated with the session. The participant game device includes a communication means for communicating with the participant game devices of other participants participating in the session corresponding to the session information, a communication game execution means for executing a communication game together with the other participants participating in the session, and a log data transmission means for transmitting log data of the communication game to the tournament management system. The tournament management system further includes a log data output means for outputting log data to at least one of the organizer terminal and the participant terminal, and a combination information update means for determining a result of the communication game based on the log data and updating combination information based on the determined result of the communication game, and the session generation means generates a session for participants of a combination specified by the updated combination information to play a communication game together, in association with the participants of the specified combination.

[0043] According to configuration 19, in an information processing system that provides a communication game that can be played by multiple users, a mechanism can be realized to reduce the workload that occurs when a game tournament is hosted by a user who is not the game operator. Effect of the Invention

[0044] According to the present disclosure, in an information processing system that provides a communication game that can be played by multiple users, it is possible to reduce the workload that occurs when a game tournament is hosted by a user who is not the operator of the game. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0045] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a management server constituting the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal constituting the information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a game device constituting an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a first sequence diagram showing the progress of a game tournament. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a second sequence diagram showing the progress of a game tournament. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a third sequence diagram showing the progress of a game tournament. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of a combination information generation process performed by the management server. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of a result of a combination information update process performed by the management server. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a game tournament generation command transmission process. [Figure 12]13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a participation request process. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for main processing of the game tournament progress. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for progressing a game match in a participant game device. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for progressing a game match at a participant terminal. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for progressing a game match by the management server. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for notifying a call request in the organizer terminal. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure related to the progress of a game match in a host game device. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of replay data reproduction in the game device. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing a display process of a tournament progress image on the organizer terminal. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a tournament progress image. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing system according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 23] FIG. 13 is a second sequence diagram showing the progress of a game tournament in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0046] The present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference characters and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0047] [Embodiment 1] [A. Overview] First, a configuration example of a system that executes an application that provides a communication game according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0048] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing system 100 according to a first embodiment. The information processing system 100 is a system for assisting the progress of a game tournament using a communication game. In the first embodiment, the game tournament is a game tournament using a specific communication game, and is hosted by a user H1 who is a player of the communication game in the first embodiment. The user H1 may correspond to the "host" in the present disclosure. In the first embodiment, the user H1 is one of the general players who play the communication game.

[0049] In this specification, the term "communication game" includes a game in which one or more users participate, and may be any type of game. In the first embodiment, the communication game is a PvP (Player vs. Player) type game in which users compete against each other in a virtual space. Hereinafter, for convenience, one or more communication games played by a specific combination of users to determine the winner in the game tournament in this embodiment may be referred to as a "game match."

[0050] The game tournament in the first embodiment progresses by repeatedly executing game matches between participants of the game tournament. The game tournament may proceed in a tournament format, a league format, or the like. That is, the game tournament includes a plurality of game matches, and progresses according to the results of each game match.

[0051] User H1 publicly announces that a game tournament will be held, for example, on social media. Users P1 to P4 shown in FIG. 1 learn that a game tournament will be held on the social media and apply to participate in the game tournament. Each of users P1 to P4 may correspond to a "participant" in this disclosure. A participant does not need to be acquainted with the organizer in order to apply for the game tournament.

[0052] As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 100 includes a management server 10, a host terminal 20H1, a host game device 30H1, participant terminals 20P1-20P4, and participant game devices 30P1-30P4. The management server 10 is configured with at least one information processing device, and comprehensively manages a game tournament held by a user H1. Specifically, the management server 10 holds and updates data related to the progress of the game tournament. The management server 10 in the first embodiment may correspond to the "tournament management system" in the present disclosure.

[0053] The organizer terminal 20H1 is a communication terminal operated by the organizer. The participant terminals 20P1 to 20P4 are communication terminals operated by the users P1 to P4, respectively. The organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminals 20P1 to 20P4 are typically smartphones, personal computers, tablet terminals, or the like. In the following, the participant terminals 20P1 to 20P4 are collectively referred to as the "participant terminal 20P." Furthermore, the organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminals 20P are collectively referred to as the "terminal 20."

[0054] The organizer game device 30H1 is a game device operated by the organizer. The participant game devices 30P1-30P4 are game devices operated by the users P1-P4, respectively. The organizer game device 30H1 and the participant game devices 30P1-30P4 may each be a communication-enabled information processing device dedicated to the game, or may be a general-purpose personal computer. Hereinafter, each of the participant game devices 30P1-30P4 will be collectively referred to as the "participant game device 30P." Furthermore, the organizer game device 30H1 and the participant game devices 30P will be collectively referred to as the "game device 30."

[0055] The organizer game device 30H1 may be the same as the organizer terminal 20H1. That is, the organizer game device 30H1 may be configured integrally with the organizer terminal 20H1, and the organizer terminal 20H1 may run the communication game. Similarly, the participant game device 30P may be the same as the participant terminal 20P. That is, the participant game device 30P may be configured integrally with the participant terminal 20P, and the participant terminal 20P may run the communication game.

[0056] 1, communication between each of a management server 10, game devices 30, and terminals 20 is carried out via a network 12. The network 12 is typically the Internet.

[0057] [B. Hardware configuration example] Next, an example of the hardware configuration of each of management server 10, game device 30, and terminal 20 constituting information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0058] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of management server 10 constituting information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment. With reference to Fig. 2, management server 10 includes one or more processors 14, memory 15, storage 16, and communication unit 13. These components are connected to each other via bus 17 so as to be able to communicate data with each other. Note that management server 10 may be a dedicated information processing device that manages communication games, or may be realized using a general-purpose server.

[0059] The processor 14 is a processing entity (processing means) for executing the processes provided by the management server 10. The processor 14 reads a system program 161 and an information processing program 160 stored in the storage 16, and deploys them in the memory 15 and executes them. The system program 161 is a program for operating the management server 10, and includes, for example, an OS (Operating System) and firmware.

[0060] The information processing program 160 includes a game tournament generation program 162, a participant registration program 163, a combination information generation program 164, a session generation program 165, a session information transmission program 166, a log data output program 167, and a combination information update program 168.

[0061] The game tournament generation program 162 is a program for generating data required to hold a game tournament and reserving storage space. The participant registration program 163 is a program for registering participants who have applied to participate in the game tournament. The pairing information generation program 164 is a program for determining match-ups for registered participants. The session generation program 165 is a program for generating sessions in which participants can play a communication game.

[0062] A session is a virtual area in the storage 16 or memory 15 that manages multiple participants playing a communication game. Multiple participant game devices 30P operated by multiple participants who have participated in the session are in a state in which they can communicate with each other indirectly or directly via the server. A session can be considered as a virtual room prepared in the management server 30.

[0063] The session information transmission program 166 is a program for transmitting the generated information about the session to each of the participant game devices 30P1-30P4. The log data output program 167 is a program for outputting log data indicating the results of the communication game to the organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminals 20P1-20P4. The pairing information update program 168 is a program for updating the match pairings of the participants according to the progress of the game tournament.

[0064] The memory 15 is a volatile storage device (storage medium) accessible by the processor 14, and may be, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM).

[0065] The storage 16 is a non-volatile storage device (storage medium) accessible by the processor 14, and may be, for example, a hard disk, a flash memory, etc. The storage 16 may be, for example, a storage medium that is removable from the management server 10, such as an optical disk or a cartridge.

[0066] The system program 161 and / or the information processing program 160 include instruction codes for implementing the processes described below. A "program" for implementing the processes according to the present embodiment includes instruction codes included in the system program 161 and / or instruction codes of an application program included in the information processing program 160.

[0067] The communication unit 13 communicates with the terminal 20 and the game device 30 via the network 12. The communication unit 13 has hardware necessary for wired communication and / or hardware necessary for wireless communication. Note that all or part of the processing of the communication unit 13 may be realized by the processor 14.

[0068] The processing executed in the management server 10 may be realized by the processor 14 executing a program, or some or all of the processing may be realized by a hardwired circuit such as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or an FPGA (field programmable gate array).

[0069] In this specification, the term "processor" includes not only a processing circuit that executes processing according to instruction codes written in a program, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), or a graphics processing unit (GPU), but also a hardwired circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. In a hardwired circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA, a circuit corresponding to the processing to be executed is formed in advance. Furthermore, in this specification, the term "processor" also includes a circuit in which multiple functions are integrated, such as a system on chip (SoC).

[0070] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example hardware configuration of terminal 20 (host terminal 20H1, participant terminals 20P1-20P4) constituting information processing system 100 according to embodiment 1. The configurations of communication unit 23, processor 24, memory 25, and storage 26 shown in Fig. 3 correspond to and are similar to the configurations of communication unit 13, processor 14, memory 15, and storage 16 described in Fig. 2, respectively, and therefore will not be described repeatedly.

[0071] The components included in the terminal 20 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate data with each other via a bus 27. The system program 261 in the storage 26 is a program for operating the terminal 20, and includes, for example, an OS and firmware. The terminal 20 further includes a display 21 and an operation unit 22.

[0072] The display 21 displays an image generated as a result of information processing executed by the processor 24. The display 21 may be composed of multiple displays. The operation unit 22 accepts operations by a user who operates the terminal 20. The operation unit 22 includes, for example, a push button, an operation lever, a touch panel, a mouse, a keyboard, and the like.

[0073] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of game device 30 (host game device 30H1 and participant game devices 30P1 to 30P4) constituting information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0074] The configurations of communication unit 33, processor 34, memory 35, and storage 36 shown in Fig. 4 correspond to and are similar to the configurations of communication unit 13, processor 14, memory 15, and storage 16 described in Fig. 2, respectively, and therefore will not be described repeatedly. In addition, the configurations of display 31 and operation unit 32 shown in Fig. 4 correspond to and are similar to the configurations of display 21 and operation unit 22 described in Fig. 3, respectively, and therefore will not be described repeatedly.

[0075] The components included in the game device 30 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate data with each other via a bus 37. The system program 361 in the storage 36 is a program for operating the game device 30, and includes, for example, an OS and firmware.

[0076] The storage 36 stores a game application execution program 360 in addition to a system program 361. The game application execution program 360 includes a communication game execution program 362, a log data transmission program 363, and a replay data transmission program 364.

[0077] The communication game execution program 362 is a program for executing a communication game in a game tournament in this embodiment. The log data transmission program 363 is a program for transmitting log data indicating the results of a communication game in a game tournament. The replay data transmission program 364 is a program for transmitting replay data for reproducing the content of a communication game that has ended in a game tournament. The processing executed by the communication game execution program 362 may correspond to a "communication game execution means" in this disclosure.

[0078] [C. Game Tournament Progress] The flow of progress of the game tournament will be described below with reference to Figs. 5 to 7. Fig. 5 is a first sequence diagram showing the progress of the game tournament. Fig. 6 is a second sequence diagram showing the progress of the game tournament. Fig. 7 is a third sequence diagram showing the progress of the game tournament. Fig. 6 shows the process following Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 shows the process following Fig. 6.

[0079] The upper part of Figures 5 to 7 shows the management server 10, the organizer terminal 20H1 operated by user H1 (organizer), the participant terminal 20P1 and participant game device 30P1 operated by user P1 (participant), the participant terminal 20P2 and participant game device 30P2 operated by user P2 (participant), the participant terminal 20P3 and participant game device 30P3 operated by user P3 (participant), and the participant terminal 20P4 and participant game device 30P4 operated by user P4 (participant).

[0080] In the first embodiment, the user H1 inputs tournament setting information, which is information necessary to generate a game tournament, to the organizer terminal 20H1. The tournament setting information may include, for example, the name of the game tournament, the game tournament progress format, the participation limit which is the maximum number of people who can participate in the game tournament, the participation conditions for participating in the game tournament, the rules of the game match held in the game tournament, the date and time of the game tournament, and the period during which participants' applications are allowed. In the example of the first embodiment, the user H1 (organizer) inputs "tournament format" as the progress format of the game tournament and "4 people" as the participation limit. The game match rules may include, for example, the victory conditions of the game match, the number of participants in the game match, the characters used by the participants, and restrictions on weapons to be attached to the characters. The game match rules may correspond to the "battle condition setting" in the present disclosure.

[0081] Based on the tournament setting information input by the user H1, the organizer terminal 20H1 transmits a game tournament generation command including the tournament setting information to the management server 10 (step S102). Based on receiving the game tournament generation command from the organizer terminal 20H1, the management server 10 executes a game tournament generation process (S302). The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the game tournament generation process by executing the game tournament generation program 162. In the game tournament generation process, a memory area is secured in the storage 16 for holding the game tournament based on the received tournament setting information, and a participant URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is generated. The participant URL is a URL for users who wish to participate in the game tournament to apply for participation.

[0082] After executing the game tournament generation process, the management server 10 transmits the participant URL to the organizer terminal 20H1. The user H1 (organizer) informs the received participant URL to users of the online game who may participate. As described above, in the first embodiment, the user H1 (organizer) informs the user of the participant URL using social media. The user H1 (organizer) may also directly transmit the participant URL by email or the like to users of the online game who he or she is already acquainted with.

[0083] In the example of the first embodiment, users P1 to P4 apply to participate in a game tournament. The users P1 to P4 use the participant terminals 20P1 to 20P4, respectively, to access a participant URL and enter participant information, thereby completing the application process.

[0084] The participant information includes, for example, the participant's user name, information for identifying the game device 30 used by the participant, an index showing the degree of proficiency of the communication game, the total play time of the communication game, past tournament participation history, past results, other game account information, etc. Based on the input of the participant information, each of the participant terminals 20P1 to 20P4 transmits a participation request including the participant information to the management server 10 (step S203).

[0085] The management server 10 executes a registration process based on receiving a participation request from the participant terminal 20P (step S305). The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the participant registration program 163 to execute the registration process. The registration process is a process that determines whether the participant information included in the participation request satisfies the participation conditions set by the organizer, and if the applied user satisfies the participation conditions, associates the participant information with the game tournament and stores it in the storage 16. If the participant information included in the participation request does not satisfy the participation conditions, the management server 10 transmits a message to the participant terminal 20P indicating that the participation conditions are not satisfied.

[0086] The management server 10 executes the registration process for each participation request. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the management server 10 executes the registration process four times. In the example of FIG. 5, all of the users P1 to P4 satisfy the participation conditions set by the organizer, so the management server 10 stores the participant information of the users P1 to P4 in the storage 16 as participants of the game tournament. The management server 10 executes the combination information generation process when the number of registered participants reaches the specified number of participants (step S307). Note that the management server 10 may execute the combination information generation process when the specified time has arrived, regardless of whether the number of registered participants has reached the specified number of participants.

[0087] The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the combination information generation program 164 to perform a combination information generation process. The combination information generation process is a process for determining a combination of participants who will play a game match together. The combination information is information indicating which of the multiple participants will play together in which of the multiple game matches included in the game tournament. The combination information may be, for example, a tournament table, a league match schedule, or the like.

[0088] In the first embodiment, the user H1 (host) sets a tournament format as the proceeding method of the game tournament. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the result of the combination information generation process by the management server 10. In the first embodiment, the management server 10 executes the combination information generation program 164 to generate a tournament table with the users P1 to P4 as participants.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 8, user P1 and user P2 play a game match together. In this embodiment, "playing a game match together" means that user P1 and user P2 play a communication game executed on each terminal together while synchronizing the progress of the communication game by communicating between the game terminal of user P1 and the game terminal of user P2. In other words, user P1 and user P2 play a game match together. In addition, user P3 and user P4 play a game match together. In other words, user P3 and user P4 play a game match together. In the first embodiment, an example in which two participants play a game match is described, but in a certain situation, three or more participants may participate in one game match and play a game. In addition, when three or more participants participate, each participant may be in an enemy relationship.

[0090] In this way, the combination information is information indicating which of multiple participants will play together in each game match. In other words, the tournament table has a role of specifying participants (opponents) who will play together in a game match. The tournament table in FIG. 8 may correspond to the "combination information" in the present disclosure. In the first embodiment, the management server 10 randomly generates combinations of participants to be played against each other using random numbers.

[0091] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the organizer can edit the combination information determined by the management server 10. That is, the organizer operates the organizer terminal 20H1 to transmit an editing command to edit the combination information to the management server 10. The management server 10 edits the combination information based on the received editing command. For example, the management server 10 edits the tournament table of FIG. 8 so that user P1 and user P3 compete against each other, and user P2 and user P4 compete against each other.

[0092] Returning to Fig. 5, the management server 10 executes a session generation process based on the arrival of the set date and time of the game tournament (step S308). The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the session generation process by executing the session generation program 165. The session generation process is a process for generating a virtual area (session) on the server that manages players who will play a game match together.

[0093] The created sessions are stored in association with tournament setting information set by the organizer. For example, the rules of a game match are stored in association with the sessions in the storage 16 of the management server 10. In addition, the created sessions are also associated with the date and time when each game match starts.

[0094] A session is generated for each game match. In the first embodiment, after generating the tournament table of FIG. 8, the management server 10 generates two sessions. Participants access the virtual area on the server from their own participant game devices 30P. Hereinafter, a participant's access to the virtual area is referred to as "participation in a session."

[0095] The management server 10 transmits session information for accessing the generated session to the participant game device 30P. The session information is, for example, an ID for identifying the session in which the participant should participate among a plurality of sessions. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a table of sessions managed by the management server 10. As shown in FIG. 9, a session is generated for each game match and managed by the management server 10.

[0096] 6, the management server 10 refers to information (participant game device ID) that identifies the participant game device 30P in the participant information, and transmits session information (session ID) corresponding to the session in which the participant should participate to the participant game device 30P (S401). The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the session information transmission program 166 to perform a session information transmission process.

[0097] Specifically, the management server 10 transmits session information for a match between user P1 and user P2 to participant game device 30P1 and participant game device 30P2. The management server 10 also transmits session information for a match between user P3 and user P4 to participant game device 30P3 and participant game device 30P4.

[0098] The participants who have joined the session execute a communication game between the participant game devices 30 (S506). As shown in FIG. 5, a communication game is executed in which users P1 and P2 play together. Also, a communication game is executed in which users P3 and P4 play together. Note that the time at which the communication game is executed between users P1 and P2 and the time at which the communication game is executed between users P3 and P4 may be different. In other words, the management server 10 may determine the date and time at which the communication game is to start for each communication game.

[0099] The processor 34 of the game device 30 executes the communication game execution process by executing the communication game execution program 362. In the first embodiment, the communication unit 33 of the participant game device 30P performs the communication of the process of the communication game itself between the participant game devices 30P by P2P (Peer to Peer) communication. This allows the process of the communication game itself to be carried out smoothly.

[0100] Upon completion of the game match, the participant game device 30P transmits log data and replay data to the management server 10 (S508). The processor 34 of the participant game device 30P executes a log data transmission process by executing a log data transmission program 363. The processor 34 of the participant game device 30P also executes a replay data transmission process by executing a replay data transmission program 364.

[0101] The log data is data showing the results of a communication game. More specifically, the log data is information for identifying the participants who won and lost a match among the multiple participants who played the communication game. The replay data is data for replaying a finished communication game. More specifically, the replay data includes information such as the types of commands input by the participants to the participant game device 30P during the execution of the communication game and the timing of inputting the commands.

[0102] The game device 30 can reproduce the finished communication game based on information regarding which commands each participant input at what timing during the communication game. The management server 10 stores the received log data and replay data in the storage 16 in association with the session corresponding to the log data and replay data. The storage 16 may correspond to the "replay data storage means" in this disclosure.

[0103] 6, the management server 10 notifies the host and participant terminals 20 of the results of each game match (S406). Specifically, the management server 10 outputs the log data received from the participant game devices 30P1-30P4 to the participant terminals 20P1-20P4, respectively. The management server 10 also transmits all of the log data received from each of the participant game devices 30P to the host terminal 20H1. The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the log data output program 167 to perform a log data output process.

[0104] In the information processing system 100 of the first embodiment, after the management server 10 outputs the log data, report data is transmitted from the participant terminals 20P1 to 20P4 to the management server 10 (step S606). The report data is data indicating the results of the game match recognized by the participants themselves. The participants operate the participant terminals 20P to manually input the results of the game match. The management server 10 stores the received report data in the storage 16. The storage 16 may correspond to the "report data storage means" in the present disclosure.

[0105] In a communication game in which multiple participants who do not know each other play over the Internet, an unexpected problem may occur. For example, the problem may be an interruption of the Internet line. The occurrence of the problem may cause the communication game to end against the intention of the participants. In such a case, the game device 30 may generate log data by determining that an arbitrary participant has won, even though the communication game has not actually ended normally.

[0106] As described above, the game tournament hosted in the first embodiment is a tournament hosted by the user H1 who is a player of the communication game, and therefore may adopt unique rules determined by the organizer that cannot be set in the communication game. An example of a unique rule is that if the Internet connection is interrupted consecutively, the participant whose Internet connection is interrupted loses, regardless of the outcome of the communication game. Depending on the content of the communication game, the game device 30 may determine that the participant whose Internet connection is interrupted consecutively has won. However, if the unique rules determined by the organizer are applied, the winner determined by the game device 30 may differ from the winner recognized by the participants.

[0107] In other words, the winner shown in the log data of the communication game may differ from the winner when the unique rules are reflected. In this way, in a communication game played by multiple participants over the Internet, after the game match ends, there may be a discrepancy in the participants' understanding of the game match result.

[0108] Therefore, in the information processing system 100 of the first embodiment, all participants are required to submit report data after the end of the game match. In the example of the first embodiment, the management server 10 executes a result determination process for determining the result of the game match when a predetermined condition related to the report data is satisfied (step S411). The predetermined condition related to the report data is that the contents of the report data received from a plurality of participants match.

[0109] More specifically, the contents of the report data match when, for example, after a game match between users P1 and P2 ends, each of users P1 and P2 submits report data indicating that user P2 has won. This allows the information processing system 100 to prevent the game tournament from proceeding with a discrepancy in the results of the game match recognized by multiple participants. In other words, it is possible to prevent the game tournament from proceeding even if participants are not satisfied with the results of the game match. In the above example, user P1 may correspond to the "first participant" in this disclosure. User P2 may correspond to the "second participant" in this disclosure.

[0110] If the contents of the report data do not match, the management server 10 requests the users P1 and P2 to resubmit the report data. If the contents of the report data do not match even after the report data is resubmitted, the management server 10 notifies the organizer terminal 20H1 that the contents of the report data do not match.

[0111] In the example of Fig. 6, the contents of the report data are consistent in all game matches. The management server 10 confirms the results of the game matches in which the user P2 won against the user P1 and the results of the game matches in which the user P3 won against the user P4. Next, the management server 10 executes a combination information update process (step S310). The processor 14 of the management server 10 executes the combination information update program 168 to execute the combination information update process. Specifically, the management server 10 updates the tournament table based on the results of the game matches confirmed in step S411.

[0112] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the result of the pairing information update process by the management server 10. As shown in Fig. 10, the management server 10 updates the tournament table so that a game match (final match) will be held in which user P2, who defeated user P1, and user P3, who defeated user P4, will compete against each other. The management server 10 also updates the tournament table so that a game match (third place deciding match) will be held in which user P1, who was defeated by user P2, and user P4, who was defeated by user P3, will compete against each other. In this way, in the first embodiment, pairings for determining the rankings (1st to 4th place) of participants in the game tournament can be automatically generated.

[0113] Returning to Fig. 6, the management server 10 executes the session generation process again (step S308) and transmits session information of the generated session. Specifically, the management server 10 transmits session information for a match between user P2 and user P3 to participant game device 30P2 and participant game device 30P3. The management server 10 also transmits session information for a match between user P1 and user P4 to participant game device 30P1 and participant game device 30P4.

[0114] The participants who have received the session information play the communication game again (S506). As shown in FIG. 6, a match between user P2 and user P3 takes place. After the communication game ends, the participant game devices 30P2 and 30P3 transmit log data and replay data (step S508). Also, as shown in FIG. 6, a match between user P1 and user P4 takes place. After the communication game ends, each of the participant game devices 30P1 and 30P4 transmits log data and replay data (step S508).

[0115] Referring to FIG. 7, the management server 10 transmits to the terminal 20 the log data indicating the result of the communication game between user P1 and user P4 and the log data indicating the result of the communication game between user P2 and user P3. Thereafter, user P2 and user P3 submit to the management server 10, as report data, the results of the game matches (finals) recognized by each of them. Also, user P1 and user P4 submit to the management server 10, as report data, the results of the game matches (third-place playoff) recognized by each of them. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, each of the participant terminals 20P transmits the report data (step S606).

[0116] The management server 10 determines the results of all the game matches based on the report data (S411) and ends the game tournament. Thus, in the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment, the management server 10 automatically generates and updates the tournament table and automatically transmits the session information to each participant, thereby reducing the workload of the user H1 (organizer) who hosts the game tournament.

[0117] In the example of the first embodiment, an example in which four game matches are executed in a tournament-style game tournament with a prescribed number of participants of four has been described. If the prescribed number of participants is more than four, or if the progress format of the game tournament is a league match, the number of game matches held during the game tournament may be more than four. Even in this case, the management server 10 can proceed with the game tournament while reducing the workload of the user H1 (organizer) by repeatedly executing the update of the combination information after determining the game matches.

[0118] [D. Processing Procedure] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 11 to 20, the processing of each device included in the information processing system 100 will be described using a flowchart. The steps described in FIGS. 4 to 6 correspond to the steps in the flowchart shown in FIGS. 11 to 20.

[0119] [D1. Preparation Period for Holding a Game Tournament] First, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the preparation process for holding a game tournament will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the transmission process of the game tournament generation command. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is realized by the processor 24 of the organizer terminal 20H1 executing the system program 261.

[0120] When the organizer terminal 20H1 receives a command for generating a game tournament from the organizer, it executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 11. The organizer terminal 20H1 transmits a game tournament generation command including the tournament setting information input by the organizer to the management server 10 (step S102).

[0121] Thereafter, the organizer terminal 20H1 receives the participant URL from the management server 10 (step S103). The organizer shares the participant URL with the desired users whom the organizer wants to participate using social media, message sending and receiving applications, etc.

[0122] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the participation request process. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is realized by the processor 24 of the participant terminal 20P executing the system program 261. The participant terminal 20P starts the participation request process by accessing the participant URL shared by the organizer.

[0123] Based on the participant information input by the participant, the participant terminal 20P transmits a participation request to the game tournament to the management server 10 (step S203). That is, the participation request includes the participant information.

[0124] <D2. Main process of game tournament progress> Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 13, the main process of the game tournament progress by the management server 10 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the main process of the game tournament progress. The flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is realized by the processor 14 of the management server 10 executing the system program 161 and the information processing program 160.

[0125] The management server 10 determines whether or not a game tournament generation command has been received from the organizer terminal 20H1 (step S301). If the game tournament generation command has not been received (NO in step S301), the management server 10 ends the process. If the game tournament generation command has been received (YES in step S301), the management server 10 executes a game tournament generation process (step S302). Specifically, the management server 10 secures a memory area required to hold a game tournament and generates data such as a participant URL based on the tournament setting information included in the game tournament generation command.

[0126] The management server 10 transmits the participant URL to the organizer terminal 20H1 (step S303). After that, the management server 10 judges whether or not a participation request has been received (step S304). If the management server 10 receives a participation request (YES in step S304), it executes participant registration processing (step S305).

[0127] The management server 10 judges whether or not the number of participation requests equal to the number of participants allowed to participate has been received (step S306). If the number of participation requests equal to the number of participants allowed to participate has not been received (NO in step S306), the management server 10 returns the process to step S304. If the participation request has not been received in step S304 (NO in step S304), the management server 10 executes the process of step S306.

[0128] In this way, the management server 10 waits until it receives participation requests for the specified number of participants. If a state in which participation requests for the specified number of participants have not been received continues for a predetermined period of time, the management server 10 may notify the organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminal 20P that the specified number of participants has not been reached, and end the process.

[0129] When the management server 10 receives participation requests for the specified number of participants (YES in step S306), it executes combination information generation processing (step S307). That is, the management server 10 determines the combination of game matches that each participant will play at the timing when it receives participation requests for the specified number of participants.

[0130] After the management server 10 executes the combination information generation processing, it executes session generation processing for each game match (step S308). The management server 10 executes game match progress processing for each game match (step S309). The management server 10 generates a session in accordance with the start time determined for each game match.

[0131] The details of the game match progress processing will be described with reference to FIG. 17. After the game match progress processing ends, the management server 10 executes combination information update processing (step S310). The management server 10 determines whether or not all the game matches included in the game tournament have ended (step S311).

[0132] If not all the game matches have ended (NO in step S311), the management server 10 returns the process to step S308. That is, the management server 10 repeats the session generation processing, the game match progress processing, and the combination information update processing until all the game matches end. If all the game matches have ended (YES in step S311), the management server 10 ends the main process and ends the game tournament.

[0133] <During game match progress> Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16, the processing related to the progress of the game match will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the game match progress processing in the participant game device 30P. The flowchart shown in FIG. 14 is realized by the processor 34 of the participant game device 30P executing the system program 361 and the game application execution program 360. The processing shown in FIG. 14 is the processing executed after sending the participation request.

[0134] The participant game device 30P judges whether or not the session information has been received from the management server 10 (step S501). If the participant game device 30P has not received the session information (NO in step S501), the participant game device 30P ends the process. If the participant game device 30P has received the session information (YES in step S501), the participant game device 30P notifies that a session has been created (step S502).

[0135] For example, since a session has been created in which the participant owning the participant game device 30P should participate, the participant game device 30P displays on the display 31 that the participant should participate in the session. This allows the participant to recognize that he or she can play a communication game by participating in the session. That is, in the first embodiment, the participant is notified that a session has been created in a communication game in which multiple participants play simultaneously, and is prompted to participate in the session. This makes it possible to prevent one participant from having to wait unnecessarily because the other participant has not participated in the session despite the session being created.

[0136] The participant game device 30P determines whether or not a session participation request has been received from the participant (step S503). The participant makes a session participation request using the operation unit 32 of the participant game device 30P. If the session participation request has not been received (NO in step S503), the participant game device 30P determines whether or not a predetermined period has elapsed since the session generation was notified (step S509).

[0137] If the predetermined period of time has not elapsed in step S509 (NO in step S509), the participant game device 30P returns the process to step S503. If the predetermined period of time has elapsed in step S509 (YES in step S509), the participant game device 30P transmits information to the management server 10 indicating that the communication game was not played because the participant operating the participant game device 30P did not participate in the session, and ends the process.

[0138] When a session participation request is received from a participant (YES in step S503), the participant game device 30P executes a session participation process (step S504). By participating in a session, the participant is able to play a game match with other participants participating in the same session. The participant game device 30P reads the rules of the game match stored in association with the session.

[0139] That is, the participant game device 30P determines the rules for playing the communication game based on the tournament setting information set by the organizer. This allows the participant game device 30P to read the rules of the communication game that conform to the regulations of the game tournament simply by participating in the session, without the participant having to set the rules of the communication game that were set in advance by the organizer.

[0140] The participant game device 30P judges whether all participants corresponding to the session have participated (step S505). That is, the participant game device 30P judges whether all participants participating in the game match determined by the organizer have participated in the session. If all participants corresponding to the session have not participated (NO in step S505), the participant game device 30P judges whether a predetermined period has elapsed since the generation of the session was notified (step S510).

[0141] If the predetermined period of time has not elapsed in step S510 (NO in step S510), the participant game device 30P returns the process to step S505. If the predetermined period of time has elapsed in step S510 (YES in step S510), the participant game device 30P transmits information to the management server 10 indicating that a game match has not been performed because no other participant has joined the session, and ends the process.

[0142] If all participants corresponding to the session have participated (YES in step S505), the participant game device 30P executes the communication game (step S506). The communication game is executed based on the rules of the communication game determined in advance by the organizer. The participant game device 30P determines whether the communication game has ended (step S507). If the communication game has not ended (NO in step S507), the participant game device 30P repeats the process of step S507.

[0143] When the communication game ends (YES in step S507), the participant game device 30P transmits log data indicating the results of the communication game executed in step S507 and replay data including command information input by the participant in the communication game executed in step S507 to the management server 10 (step S508), and terminates the processing.

[0144] Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the game match progress process in the participant terminal 20P. The flowchart shown in Fig. 15 is realized by the processor 24 of the participant terminal 20P executing the system program 261. The process shown in Fig. 15 is executed after a participation request is transmitted.

[0145] The participant terminal 20P receives information indicating that a session has been generated from the management server 10, and outputs the fact that a session has been generated (step S602). The process of outputting the fact that a session has been generated may correspond to the "session information output means" in the present disclosure.

[0146] For example, because a session in which the participant who owns the participant terminal 20P should participate has been created, the participant terminal 20P displays on the display 21 that the participant should participate in the session. More specifically, if the participant terminal 20P is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, the participant terminal 20P may notify the participant that a session has been created by using a push notification or the like.

[0147] As a result, in the first embodiment, the fact that a session has been created can be notified to the participant not only from the participant game device 30P but also from the participant terminal 20P, and the participant can be encouraged to participate in the session. Even if a participant has forgotten about the game tournament itself and the power supply of the participant game device 30P is turned off, in the first embodiment, the participant can be made aware from the participant terminal 20P that he or she should participate in the session.

[0148] Next, the participant terminal 20P receives the log data and displays the contents indicated by the received log data on the display 21 (step S604).

[0149] Furthermore, the participant terminal 20P accepts report data from the participant who has finished the game match, transmits the report data to the management server 10 (step S606), and ends the process. After displaying the log data, the participant terminal 20P causes the display 21 to display a guide image for creating report data during the period until the report data is accepted.

[0150] The guide image for creating report data is an image that suggests to the participants that they should create report data. For example, the display 21 displays text such as "Which of users P1 and P2 is the winner of the game match?" as a guide image. The guide image may also include more detailed information on how to submit report data. For example, it may include information on the game match that is necessary to create report data. In other words, the guide image shows the actions that the participants should take.

[0151] Next, the processing of the management server 10 regarding the progress of the game match will be described. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the progress of the game match by the management server 10. The flowchart shown in Fig. 16 is realized by the processor 14 of the management server 10 executing the system program 161 and the information processing program 160. The management server 10 executes the flowchart shown in Fig. 16 in step S309 in Fig. 13.

[0152] The management server 10 transmits session information to the participant game device 30P of the participant who should participate in the session based on the participant information associated with the session (step S401). The management server 10 transmits the session information before the start date and time of the game match set for each session. For example, the management server 10 transmits the session information one hour before the start time of the game match. Furthermore, the management server 10 transmits generation information indicating that a session has been generated to the participant terminal 20P (step S402).

[0153] The management server 10 judges whether or not log data and replay data have been received from the participant game device 30P that has finished the game match (step S403). If log data and replay data have not been received (NO in step S403), the management server 10 executes a log data output process (step S406). That is, the management server 10 transmits the log data received from the participant game device 30P to the organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminal 20P. At this time, the management server 10 only needs to transmit information indicating the result of the game match to the terminal 20, and may transmit a part of the log data after processing it.

[0154] The management server 10 judges whether or not the report data has been received from the participant terminals 20P of all participants who played the game match (step S407). If not all the report data has been received (NO in step S407), the management server 10 repeats the process of step S407.

[0155] When the management server 10 has received report data from all participants who played the game match (YES in step S407), it determines whether a predetermined condition regarding the report data is met (step S408). As described above, the predetermined condition is that the contents of the report data received from multiple participants match. If the predetermined condition is not met (NO in step S408), the management server 10 requests all participants who played the game match to resubmit their report data (step S409). At this time, the management server 10 notifies the organizer terminal 20H1 that there is a game match for which resubmission of report data has been requested.

[0156] The management server 10 judges whether a determination command from the organizer has been received (step S410). The determination command from the organizer is a process in which the result of a game match is forcibly determined by the organizer's authority when the contents of the report data received from a plurality of participants do not match. The organizer transmits the determination command to the management server 10 using the organizer terminal 20H1. That is, when a state in which there is a discrepancy in the recognition of the outcome of the game match among the participants continues and the result of the game match cannot be determined, in the first embodiment, the decision-making power to determine the result of the game match is entrusted to the organizer. That is, the management server 10 can update the result of the game match by the organizer's authority, regardless of whether a predetermined condition regarding the report data is satisfied.

[0157] When a predetermined condition is satisfied (YES in step S408), the management server 10 executes a game match result determination process in accordance with the contents of the report data (step S411). When a determination command from the organizer is received (YES in step S410), the management server 10 executes a game match result determination process in accordance with the determination command from the organizer (step S411).

[0158] After the management server 10 executes the result determination process of the game match, it destroys the session (step S412). In Embodiment 1, the session is held by the management server 10 until the result determination process of the game match is performed. Thereby, in the case where trouble occurs and the game match does not end normally and the participants are made to execute the game match again, the same session can be used. Note that the timing of destroying the session is not limited to immediately after the result determination process of the game match is executed. In a certain situation, the management server 10 may destroy the session after a predetermined period has elapsed since the result determination process of the game match was executed.

[0159] Also, in Embodiment 1, by destroying the session at the timing when the result determination process of the game match ends, the management cost of a plurality of sessions in the management server 10 can be reduced. After destroying the session, the management server 10 executes the process of step S310 in FIG. 13.

[0160] <D4. Call Request from Organizer> Next, a call request in which the organizer is called by the participant will be described. In the present embodiment, a participant in the game tournament can transmit an organizer call request for requesting support from the organizer to the organizer terminal 20H1 using the participant terminal 20P. Hereinafter, FIG. 17 will describe the process of the organizer terminal 20H1 when receiving the organizer call request. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a notification procedure of a call request in the organizer terminal 20H1.

[0161] The organizer terminal 20H1 receives the organizer call request from the participant terminal 20P (step S550). A participant can send the organizer call request from the participant terminal 20P at any time during the period when the game tournament is being held. For example, it can be used when a problem occurs, such as when the participant terminal does not receive log data. The organizer call request sent from the participant terminal 20P passes through the management server 10 once, and is then sent from the management server 10 to the organizer terminal 20H1. Then, the organizer terminal 20H1 notifies the participant that a call request has been received (step S551). More specifically, the organizer terminal 20H1 displays participant information that has made a call request to the organizer terminal 20H1. This allows the user H1, who is the organizer, to easily identify the participant who is seeking support from the organizer.

[0162] 18 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure related to the progress of a game match in the host game device 30H1. The flowchart shown in FIG. 18 is realized by the processor 34 of the host game device 30H1 executing the system program 361 and the game application execution program 360.

[0163] In the first embodiment, the organizer can use the organizer game device 30H1 to watch the communication game being executed on the participant game devices 30P. That is, the organizer can join a session in which the participants are participating, and watch the progress of the communication game in real time from the organizer game device 30H1.

[0164] The organizer game device 30H1 determines whether or not a spectating request has been received from the organizer (step S701). The spectating request includes information that identifies the game match that the organizer wishes to spectate. If the organizer game device 30H1 has not received a spectating request from the organizer (NO in step S701), the process ends. If a spectating request has been received from the organizer (YES in step S701), the organizer game device 30H1 executes a session spectating process (step 702).

[0165] The session viewing process is a process of identifying a session corresponding to a game match using information included in a viewing request and allowing the organizer to participate in the session. As a result, the organizer can view in real time from the organizer game device 30H1 the communication game that the participants are playing in the game match. At this time, the communication unit 33 of the organizer game device 30H1 performs communication with the participant game device 30P by P2P communication.

[0166] <After the game match ends> Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21, the processing after the game match ends will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the replay data reproduction process in the game device 30 (participant game device 30P and organizer game device 30H1). The flowchart shown in FIG. 19 is realized by the processor 34 of the game device 30 executing the system program 361 and the game application execution program 360.

[0167] The game device 30 determines whether it has received a replay reproduction request (step S800). The replay reproduction request is an instruction from the organizer or a participant, and is an instruction to reproduce the replay of a communication game executed in the past. The replay reproduction request includes information that can identify the communication game performed in the past. If the replay reproduction request has not been received (NO in step S800), the game device 30 ends the process.

[0168] When a replay reproduction request is accepted (YES in step S800), the game device 30 transmits a replay data acquisition command to the management server 10 (step S801). The replay data acquisition command is a command requesting that replay data of the communication game specified by the replay reproduction request be downloaded from the storage 16 of the management server 10 to the game device 30. Upon receiving the replay data acquisition command, the management server 10 transmits the replay data to the game device 30. As a result, the game device 30 acquires the replay data (step S802). The game device 30 executes a reproduction process to reproduce a communication game that was previously executed based on the replay data (step S803).

[0169] This allows the organizer and participants to check the content of communication games that have been played in the past. For example, if the content of the report data does not match and there is a discrepancy in the participants' understanding, the organizer can check what kind of communication game was actually played. After checking the content of the completed communication game, the organizer can determine the content of the organizer's decision command.

[0170] 20 is a flowchart showing the display processing of a tournament progress image in the organizer terminal 20H1. The flowchart shown in FIG.

[0171] The organizer terminal 20H1 determines whether or not a display request for a tournament progress image has been received from the organizer (step S901). The organizer makes a display request for a tournament progress image using the operation unit 22 of the organizer terminal 20H1. If the organizer terminal 20H1 does not receive a display request for a tournament progress image (NO in step S901), the process ends. The tournament progress image is an image generated based on report data and indicates the progress of the game tournament.

[0172] When the organizer terminal 20H1 receives a request to display a tournament progress image (YES in step S901), it generates a tournament progress image based on the report data stored in the management server 10 and displays it on the display 21 (step S902). In other words, the organizer terminal 20H1 reads the report data stored in the management server 10 and generates the tournament progress image.

[0173] Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a tournament progress image. Fig. 21 shows an example of the progress of a tournament-style game tournament in which eight participants participate. When only the winner is to be determined in a tournament format in which eight participants participate, a total of four game matches are played in the first round, a total of two game matches are played in the second round (semi-finals), and one game match is played in the third round (finals).

[0174] In FIG. 21, the number of completed game matches is indicated using a gauge. The tournament progress image shown in FIG. 21 allows the organizer to recognize that in the first round, which includes four game matches, three game matches have already been completed. The organizer can also recognize that in the second round (semi-final), which includes two game matches, three game matches have been completed. In this way, by indicating the number of completed game matches with a gauge, the organizer can visually recognize the progress of the game tournament. Note that an image using an expression other than a gauge may be generated as long as the number of completed game matches can be visually represented.

[0175] [E. Modifications] In the following, another embodiment that is partially modified from the embodiment described above will be described. In the above example, only the user H1 is the organizer. However, there may be multiple organizers.

[0176] In the above example, the session watching process has been described as being capable of watching the communication game from the host game device 30H1, however, watching the communication game may also be performed from the host terminal 20H1.

[0177] In the above example, it has been described that in step S505, the participant game device 30P determines whether all participants corresponding to the session have participated, and executes the communication game if all participants have participated. However, the participant game device 30P may start the communication game based on other conditions, such as the passage of a predetermined period of time after the number of participants reaches a predetermined minimum number of participants, or an input by a participant to the participant game device 30P, or a request from the organizer terminal, or a request from the organizer game terminal.

[0178] In the above example, it has been described that the organizer (user H1) operates the organizer terminal 20H1, and the participants (P1 to P4) of the game tournament operate the participant terminals (20P1 to 20P4) and the participant game devices (30P1 to 30P4). However, the organizer (user H1) may be the same person as any of the participants (P1 to P4). In this case, the organizer terminal 20H1 and any of the corresponding participant terminals (20P1 to 20P4) may be the same person. In other words, the organizer himself may also participate in the game tournament as a participant.

[0179] In the above example, the communication game is a PvP type game. However, the communication game is not limited to a PvP type game, and may be a PvE (Player vs. Environment) type game. For example, the user P1 and the user P2 may defeat an enemy controlled by a computer, and the user P1 and the user P2 may compete with each other to see who contributes the most to defeating the enemy.

[0180] In the above example, it has been described that a tournament or league match may be adopted as the method of proceeding in the game tournament. However, the method of proceeding in the game tournament may be other methods, for example, the method of proceeding in the game tournament may be a double elimination tournament instead of a single elimination tournament. In other words, the method of proceeding in the game tournament may be a method of proceeding in which a participant who has once lost can revive.

[0181] In the above example, the number of participants in the game tournament is four, namely, users P1 to P4. However, the number of participants in the game tournament is not limited to four, and may be two, five, 64, 1000, or the like.

[0182] In the above example, the management server 10, the terminal 20, and the game device 30 have been described as an integrated device as shown in Figs. 3 to 5. However, each of the management server 10, the terminal 20, and the game device 30 may be implemented as a collection of multiple devices. For example, the game device 30 may be implemented as a combination of multiple independent devices. More specifically, a configuration may be adopted that includes a main body unit having hardware corresponding to the processor 34, memory 35, and storage 36, and a terminal unit having hardware corresponding to the display 31 and the operation unit 32.

[0183] The processor may be implemented as one chip or as multiple chips. Furthermore, the processor and associated processing circuitry may be implemented as multiple computers interconnected by wire or wirelessly via a local area network or wireless network. The processor and associated processing circuitry may be implemented as a cloud computer that performs remote calculations based on input data and outputs the results of the calculations to other devices in remote locations.

[0184] In the above example, in the pairing information generation process, the management server 10 randomly generates a pairing table using random numbers. However, the management server 10 may generate a pairing table based on participant information instead of randomly generating a pairing table. For example, the management server 10 may match users who are similar in level of proficiency in the communication game or who have similar total play time in the communication game. This can increase the interest of the game match.

[0185] In the above example, the management server 10 executes the session generation process based on the arrival of the set date and time of the game tournament. However, the management server 10 may execute the session generation process before the date and time of the game tournament arrives. This allows the organizer to have a period of time to deal with any trouble that may prevent the session from being generated.

[0186] In the above example, the log data includes information for identifying the winning user and the losing user as a result of the game match. However, the log data may include more detailed information regarding the game match. For example, in a case where the game rules are for users to shoot down each other, the log data may include the number of times each user has shot down and been shot down. In a case where the rules of the game tournament are league matches and the rankings between users cannot be determined based on the results of the game matches alone, the rankings between users can be determined using an index such as the number of times the users have shot down that is included in the log data. Alternatively, in a case where the rules are such that the duration of the game match varies depending on the actions of the participants, the log data may include the duration of the game match.

[0187] In the above example, the replay data includes commands input by participants during the execution of the communication game. However, the replay data may be, for example, video data itself for confirming the content of the finished communication game. In that case, the replay data may be viewable not only on the game device but also on a terminal.

[0188] In the above example, regarding the log data output process, the management server 10 transmits log data to both the organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminal 20P. However, the management server may transmit log data to only one of the organizer terminal 20H1 and the participant terminal 20P. For example, the management server 10 may output log data only to the organizer terminal 20H1. The participants can recognize the results of the game match from the participant game device 30P.

[0189] In the above example, the predetermined condition regarding the report data is that the management server determines whether the contents of the multiple pieces of report data received match each other. However, the predetermined condition may be that the contents of the log data match the contents of the report data.

[0190] Since the game tournament hosted in the first embodiment is a tournament hosted by user H1, who is a player of the communication game, unique rules agreed upon between users that cannot be set in the communication game may be adopted. In this case, the winner indicated by the log data of the communication game may differ from the winner when the unique rules are reflected. By checking that the contents of the log data match the contents of the report data, it is possible to prevent the game tournament from proceeding in a state where there is a discrepancy between the game match result recognized by the user and the log data.

[0191] In the above example, the report data is transmitted from the participant terminal 20P to the management server 10. However, the report data may be transmitted from the participant game device 30P to the management server 10. That is, the participant may input the report data to the participant game device 30P.

[0192] In the above example, in the combination information generation process, the management server 10 has been described as determining the combination of game matches to be played by each participant at the timing when the management server 10 receives the participation requests for the specified number of participants. However, the management server 10 may determine the combination of game matches each time it receives each participation request. For example, the management server 10 may determine the combination of participants in the order in which the participation requests are received. More specifically, the management server 10 may determine the match combinations such that the participant who transmitted the first participation request and the participant who transmitted the second participation request are matched up, and the participant who transmitted the third participation request and the participant who transmitted the fourth participation request are matched up.

[0193] In the above example, it has been described that the participant game device 30P and the participant terminal 20P notify the generation of a session or the like by using a display, but sound or the like may be output from a speaker.

[0194] In the above example, it has been described that the organizer sets a minimum number of participants, which is the maximum number of people who can participate in the game tournament. In addition to the minimum number of participants, the organizer may set a minimum number of participants for hosting the game tournament. Alternatively, the organizer may not set a minimum number of participants, and may set only the minimum number of participants for hosting the game tournament.

[0195] In the above example, it has been described that the communication unit 33 communicates between the participant game devices 30P during the execution of the communication game by P2P (Peer to Peer) communication with the other participant game devices 30P. However, during the execution of the communication game, the communication between the participant game devices 30P may be performed via a server.

[0196] In the above example, the guide image that suggests the action that the participant should take has been described as suggesting that report data should be created. However, in a certain situation, the guide image may indicate other actions. For example, the guide image may be an image that instructs the participant to restore the Internet connection when the Internet connection is disconnected. The guide image may also be an image that notifies the participant of the start time of the next game match. In this way, the guide image indicates the action that the participant should take according to the progress of the game tournament, and smoothly advances the game progress. In addition, in the above example, the participant terminal 20P displays the guide image, but the participant game device 30P may display the guide image.

[0197] In the above example, it has been described that the finished communication game is reproduced by the game device 30. However, in a certain situation, the terminal 20 may reproduce the communication game. This allows the organizer to check the contents of the past communication game from the organizer terminal 20H1, and the participants to check the contents of the past communication game from the participant terminal 20P.

[0198] [Embodiment 2] In the first embodiment, an example is described in which the participation limit is four people, and four users P1 to P4 participate as participants. In the second embodiment, an example is described in which participants participate in the game tournament in team units. Note that in the second embodiment, the description of the configuration that overlaps with the first embodiment will not be repeated.

[0199] Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing system 100A according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 22, in the information processing system 100A according to the second embodiment, four teams, namely, a first team to a fourth team, participate in the game tournament as participants. In the game tournament according to the second embodiment, the organizer sets a participation condition that a team of four people participate.

[0200] Each of the first to fourth teams is made up of four users playing the communication game. In the second embodiment, a match is played on a team-by-team basis. For example, the first team and the second team compete against each other, and the third team and the fourth team compete against each other.

[0201] In the example of FIG. 22, the first team includes user P1, user P1A, user P1B, and user P1C. The second team includes user P2, user P2A, user P2B, and user P2C. The third team includes user P3, user P3A, user P3B, and user P3C. The fourth team includes user P4, user P4A, user P4B, and user P4C.

[0202] The participant terminals 20P1A, 20P1B, and 20P1C are terminals operated by users P1A, P1B, and P1C, respectively. The participant terminals 20P2A, 20P2B, and 20P2C are terminals operated by users P2A, P2B, and P2C, respectively. The participant terminals 20P3A, 20P3B, and 20P3C are terminals operated by users P3A, P3B, and P3C, respectively. The participant terminals 20P4A, 20P4B, and 20P4C are terminals operated by users P4A, P4B, and P4C, respectively.

[0203] The participant game devices 30P1A, 30P1B, and 30P1C are terminals operated by users P1A, P1B, and P1C, respectively. The participant game devices 30P2A, 30P2B, and 30P2C are terminals operated by users P2A, P2B, and P2C, respectively. The participant game devices 30P3A, 30P3B, and 30P3C are terminals operated by users P3A, P3B, and P3C, respectively.

[0204] The participant game devices 30P4A, 30P4B, and 30P4C are terminals operated by the users P4A, P4B, and P4C, respectively. The participant terminals 20P and participant game devices 30P operated by the users P1A, P1B, P1C to P4A, P4B, and P4C are connected to the network 12.

[0205] Users P1 to P4 are representatives of the first to fourth teams, respectively. In the second embodiment, the representative transmits a participation request. The participation request in the second embodiment includes participant information of members included in the team other than the representative. In a certain aspect, the representative may transmit the participant information of the members to the management server 10 after making a provisional participation request. After the representative makes a provisional participation request, each of the participating members may transmit participant information to the management server 10 by themselves. In the second embodiment, the report data may be submitted by the representative.

[0206] In the second embodiment, the information processing system 100 of the present disclosure can be applied even in a case where the participation condition is set by the organizer to be a team of four people. In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, in the information processing system 100A that provides a communication game that can be played by multiple users, the workload of a user H1 (organizer) who is not the administrator of the game when hosting a game tournament can be reduced. In the second embodiment, there may be two or more teams in one match, such as a match between a first team, a second team, and a third team.

[0207] Moreover, in the second embodiment, management servers 10A and 10B are provided instead of the management server 10 in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the management server 10A is a server for managing replay data and log data, updating combination information, and the like. The management server 10B is a general-purpose server for performing a session generation process. The management server 10B is not a server specialized for the communication game of the present embodiment, but is a server for generating sessions in which multiple users can participate.

[0208] That is, the session generated by the management server 10B can be applied to communication games other than the specific communication game in this embodiment. As shown in the second embodiment, the information processing system 100A may include multiple management servers 10A, 10B. The management servers 10A, 10B may correspond to the "tournament management system" in the present disclosure.

[0209] [Embodiment 3] In the first embodiment, an example is described in which the management server 10 determines the game result by using the report data. In the third embodiment, an example is described in which the management server 10 determines the game result without using the report data. Note that in the third embodiment, the description of the configuration that overlaps with the first embodiment will not be repeated.

[0210] Fig. 23 is a second sequence diagram showing the progress of a game tournament in the third embodiment. With reference to Fig. 23, in the third embodiment, the participant terminal 20P does not transmit report data after the log data is output from the management server 10. That is, in the third embodiment, the participants are not required to submit report data.

[0211] In the third embodiment, the management server 10 determines the result of the game match based on the log data. That is, in the third embodiment, the game tournament is progressed based on the result of the game match determined by the game device 30. This simplifies the procedures that the participants must follow to advance the game tournament in the third embodiment, and the game tournament can proceed smoothly. Also, in the third embodiment, if a participant is not satisfied with the result of a game match, the participant can make a request to call the organizer and request that the game match result be updated with the organizer's authority.

[0212] [I. Advantages] In this way, in the information processing systems 100, 100A according to the present embodiment, as the game tournament progresses, sessions are automatically generated and transmitted, and combination information is automatically generated and updated by the management server 10. This reduces the workload of the user H1 (host) who hosts the game tournament.

[0213] More specifically, in this embodiment, the user H1 (host) does not need to perform cumbersome tasks such as informing the participants of the game tournament progress method and game match rules, deciding and informing the participants of the pairings (battle pairings) of the participants who will play the game, and adjusting the date and time. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the workload of not only the user H1 (host) but also the participants can be reduced. For example, in this embodiment, the participants do not need to set the game match rules themselves.

[0214] Furthermore, since a participant can play a game match with a predetermined opponent by participating in a session generated by the management server 10, there is no need for the participant to have a friend relationship with the opponent. A friend relationship is a relationship that indicates that users can check each other's status and can interact with each other in a communication game. Information indicating a friend relationship between users playing the communication game is stored on a server that operates the communication game. In this embodiment, a participant can participate in a game tournament without performing a procedure for unnecessarily increasing the number of users who become friends.

[0215] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0216] 10, 10A, 10B Management server, 12 Network, 13, 23, 33 Communication unit, 14, 24, 34 Processor, 15, 25, 35 Memory, 16, 26, 36 Storage, 17, 27, 37 Bus, 20 Terminal, 20H1 Organizer terminal, 20P Participant terminal, 21, 31 Display, 22, 32 Operation unit, 30P Participant game device, 30H1 Organizer game device, 100, 100A Information processing system, 160 Information processing program, 161, 261, 361 System program, 162 Game tournament generation program, 163 Participant registration program, 164 Pairing information generation program, 165 Session generation program, 166 Session information transmission program, 167 Log data output program, 168 Pairing information update program, 360 Game application execution program, 362 Communication game execution program, 363 Log data transmission program, 364 replay data transmission program.

Claims

1. An information processing system for assisting in the progress of a game tournament using a communication game, comprising: a tournament management system for managing the game tournament, the tournament management system being configured with at least one information processing device; A host terminal that is operated by a host and communicates with the tournament management system; a participant terminal operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicating with the tournament management system; a participant game device operated by a participant of the game tournament, The tournament management system includes: a game tournament generating means for generating information for holding the game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the organizer terminal; a registration means for registering participant information of the participant who has made a participation request for the game tournament in response to the participation request received from the participant terminal, in association with the game tournament; a combination information generating means for generating combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play the communication game together, using the registered plurality of participation requests; a session generating means for generating a session for playing the communication game together with participants of a combination specified by the combination information among the participants who have made the participation request to the game tournament, in association with the participants of the specified combination; a session information transmission means for transmitting session information corresponding to the generated session to the participant game device of the participant associated with the session; The participant gaming device: a communication means for communicating with the participant game devices of other participants participating in the session corresponding to the session information; a communication game execution means for executing the communication game to be played together with other participants participating in the session; a log data transmission means for transmitting log data of the communication game to the tournament management system; The tournament management system includes: a log data output means for outputting the log data to at least one of the host terminal and the participant terminal; a report data storage means for storing report data input to the participant terminal and indicating the results of the communication game played by the participant; and a combination information update means for updating the combination information based on the report data when a predetermined condition related to the report data is established, the result of the communication game being determined, The session generation means generates a session for participants of a combination specified by the updated combination information to play the communication game together, in association with the participants of the specified combination.

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said tournament management system further comprises generated information transmitting means for transmitting generated information indicating that said session has been generated to said participant terminal corresponding to said session.

3. the participant game device further includes a session information output means for outputting session information relating to a session corresponding to the acquired session information; 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said communication means communicates with other game devices participating in the session corresponding to said session information based on an input by said participant for said session information.

4. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said communication game executing means executes said communication game in which battle condition settings are preset based on said tournament setting information.

5. the information processing system further includes a host game device; 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the host game device further comprises a communication means for communicating with the participant game devices participating in the session designated by the host.

6. the participant game device further includes a replay data transmission means for transmitting replay data for replaying the communication game executed by the communication game execution means to the tournament management system; the tournament management system further includes replay data storage means for storing the replay data; The participant gaming device: a replay data acquisition means for acquiring the replay data from the tournament management system; 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication game replay means for replaying said communication game based on said replay data.

7. the report data storage means stores the report data acquired from a plurality of participants who have participated in the session; 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the combination information update means determines that the specified condition is met and updates the combination information when the contents indicated by the report data obtained from at least a first participant among the participants participating in the session match the contents indicated by the report data obtained from a second participant.

8. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said tournament management system further comprises a notification means for notifying said organizer terminal based on an operation of said participant terminal.

9. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the tournament management system further comprises editing means for editing the combination information based on an operation on the organizer terminal.

10. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the combination information update means updates the result of the communication game based on an operation on the host terminal, regardless of whether the predetermined condition is satisfied or not.

11. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the tournament management system further comprises a session discarding means for discarding a session for playing the communication game after a result of the communication game has been determined.

12. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said communication means performs peer-to-peer (P2P) communication with other said participant game devices participating in said session.

13. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said participant terminal and said participant game device displays a guide image indicating an action that a participant should take according to a progress status of said game tournament.

14. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the organizer terminal displays a tournament progress image showing the progress of the game tournament based at least on the report data acquired from the tournament management system.

15. the tournament setting information includes a participation condition for the game tournament; 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said registration means determines whether or not to register based on said participation conditions.

16. The tournament setting information includes a participation limit of participants, 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the combination information generating means generates the combination information when the participation requests are received for the number of participants specified.

17. An information processing program executed by a computer used in an information processing system that assists in the progress of a game tournament using a communication game, comprising: The information processing system includes: a tournament management system for managing the game tournament, the tournament management system being configured with at least one information processing device; A host terminal that is operated by a host and communicates with the tournament management system; a participant terminal operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicating with the tournament management system; a participant game device operated by a participant of the game tournament, The information processing program is configured to: generating information for holding the game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the organizer terminal; registering participant information of the participant who has made the participation request in the game tournament in response to the participation request received from the participant terminal in association with the game tournament; generating combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play the communication game together using the registered multiple participation requests; generating a session for playing the communication game together with participants of a combination designated by the combination information among the participants who have made the participation request to the game tournament, in association with the participants of the designated combination; transmitting session information corresponding to the created session to the participant gaming devices of the participants associated with the session; outputting log data indicating a result of the communication game received from the participant game device to at least one of the host terminal and the participant terminal; storing report data input to the participant terminal and indicating the results of the communication game played by the participant; a step of updating the combination information based on the report data when a predetermined condition related to the report data is satisfied, regarding a result of the communication game as being finalized; and generating a session for playing the communication game together by participants of the combination specified by the updated combination information, in association with the participants of the specified combination.

18. An information processing method executed by a computer used in an information processing system that assists in the progress of a game tournament using a communication game, comprising: The information processing system includes: a tournament management system for managing the game tournament, the tournament management system being configured with at least one information processing device; A host terminal that is operated by a host and communicates with the tournament management system; a participant terminal operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicating with the tournament management system; a participant game device operated by a participant of the game tournament, The information processing method includes: generating information for holding the game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the organizer terminal; registering participant information of the participant who has made the participation request in the game tournament in response to the participation request received from the participant terminal in association with the game tournament; generating combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play the communication game together using the registered multiple participation requests; generating a session for playing the communication game together with participants of a combination designated by the combination information among the participants who have made the participation request to the game tournament, in association with the participants of the designated combination; transmitting session information corresponding to the created session to the participant gaming devices of the participants associated with the session; outputting log data indicating a result of the communication game received from the participant game device to at least one of the host terminal and the participant terminal; storing report data input to the participant terminal and indicating the results of the communication game played by the participant; a step of updating the combination information based on the report data when a predetermined condition related to the report data is satisfied, regarding a result of the communication game as being finalized; and generating a session for playing the communication game together by participants of the combination specified by the updated combination information, in association with the participants of the specified combination.

19. An information processing system for assisting in the progress of a game tournament using a communication game, comprising: a tournament management system for managing the game tournament, the tournament management system being configured with at least one information processing device; A host terminal that is operated by a host and communicates with the tournament management system; a participant terminal operated by a participant of the game tournament and communicating with the tournament management system; a participant game device operated by a participant of the game tournament, The tournament management system includes: a game tournament generating means for generating information for holding the game tournament based on tournament setting information input to the organizer terminal; a registration means for registering participant information of the participant who has made a participation request for the game tournament in response to the participation request received from the participant terminal, in association with the game tournament; a combination information generating means for generating combination information indicating a combination of participants who will play the communication game together, using the registered plurality of participation requests; a session generating means for generating a session for playing the communication game together with participants of a combination specified by the combination information among the participants who have made the participation request to the game tournament, in association with the participants of the specified combination; a session information transmission means for transmitting session information corresponding to the generated session to the participant game device of the participant associated with the session; The participant gaming device: a communication means for communicating with the participant game devices of other participants participating in the session corresponding to the session information; a communication game execution means for executing the communication game together with other participants who are participating in the session; a log data transmission means for transmitting log data of the communication game to the tournament management system; The tournament management system includes: a log data output means for outputting the log data to at least one of the host terminal and the participant terminal; a combination information update means for determining a result of the communication game based on the log data and updating the combination information based on the determined result of the communication game, The session generating means An information processing system that generates a session for participants of a combination designated by the updated combination information to play the communication game together, in association with the participants of the designated combination.

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