System, method, and program

Abstract

To provide a system that can make an immediate decision in a desired situation.SOLUTION: A system includes: a sale medium information acquisition unit (111) which acquires, from a selling user, information indicating a sale medium which is to be put on an auction; a bid price information acquisition unit (112) which acquires information indicating a bid price of a bidding user who bids for the auction; an immediate decision condition acquisition unit (115) which acquires an immediate decision condition for determining a successful bid user who makes a successful bid for the sale medium before the expiration of a bidding deadline; a situation information acquisition unit (116) which acquires situation information of the auction; an immediate decision instruction information acquisition unit (117) which acquires immediate decision instruction information indicating an instruction for bidding that satisfies the immediate decision condition when the situation information indicates predetermined content; an immediate decision management unit (118) which makes a bid that satisfies the immediate decision condition on the basis of the immediate decision instruction information, when the situation information indicates the predetermined content; and a successful bid user determination unit (119) which determines the bidding user, as a successful bid user, on the basis of the bid that satisfied the immediate decision condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for providing a service for conducting transactions through an auction. [Background technology]

[0002] In an auction using automatic bidding, when the number of bidders is excessively large compared to the number of items listed, a bidder may not be able to win the bid due to timing, even if he or she is willing to pay a higher price than other bidders. For example, when there are many bidders, the bid amount may change suddenly just before the end of the bidding period, and it may not be possible to make a re-bid in time. In addition, auctions have a mechanism called a buy-now system that allows a bidder to win the bid without waiting for the end of the bidding period if they bid at an amount set as a buy-now price. Patent Document 1 describes a system that allows a user who bids at the buy-now price to win the item. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-095642 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, when bidding using such a buy-it-now amount, there is a possibility that the winning bid will be unnecessarily high. For example, in an auction where the buy-it-now amount is 30,000 yen, if a bidder does not know the market price, he or she may win an item that can actually be won for 1,000 yen, but will win the item for that amount. Therefore, while a bid using a buy-it-now amount ensures a successful bid, there is a risk that the bidder will end up purchasing an item for an unnecessarily high price. One aspect of the present invention aims to provide a system that allows for a buy-it-now amount to be purchased in a desired situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problem, a system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a listing medium information acquisition unit that acquires listing medium information indicating listing media to be put up for auction from a listing user who puts up the listing medium; a bid amount information acquisition unit that acquires bid amount information indicating the bid amount of a bidding user who will bid in the auction; a buyout condition acquisition unit that acquires buyout condition information indicating buyout conditions for determining a winning user who will win the listing medium before a deadline preset as a bidding deadline for the auction expires; a situation information acquisition unit that acquires situation information indicating a situation of the auction; a buyout instruction information acquisition unit that acquires buyout instruction information indicating an buyout instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the buyout conditions when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; a buyout management unit that executes a bid that satisfies the buyout conditions based on the buyout instruction information when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; and a winning user determination unit that determines a bidding user associated with the buyout instruction information as a winning user who will win the listing medium based on the bid that satisfies the buyout conditions executed by the buyout management unit.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a method executed by one or more computers, and includes: a listing medium information acquisition step of acquiring listing medium information indicating listing media to be put up for auction from a listing user who puts up the listing medium; a bid amount information acquisition step of acquiring bid amount information indicating a bid amount of a bidding user who will bid at the auction; a buyout condition acquisition step of acquiring buyout condition information indicating buyout conditions for determining a winning user who will win the listing medium before a deadline preset as a bidding deadline for the auction expires; a situation information acquisition step of acquiring situation information indicating a situation of the auction; a buyout instruction information acquisition step of acquiring buyout instruction information indicating an buyout instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the buyout conditions if the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; a buyout management step of executing a bid that satisfies the buyout conditions based on the buyout instruction information if the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; and a winning user determination step of determining a bidding user associated with the buyout instruction information as a winning user who will win the listing medium based on the bid that satisfies the buyout conditions executed by the buyout management step.

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes one or more computers to execute the following steps: a medium information acquisition step of acquiring medium information indicating a medium to be put up for auction from a user who puts up a medium to be put up for auction; a bid amount information acquisition step of acquiring bid amount information indicating a bid amount of a bidding user who will bid at the auction; a buyout condition acquisition step of acquiring buyout condition information indicating buyout conditions for determining a successful bidder who will win the buyout medium before a deadline preset as a bidding deadline for the auction expires; a situation information acquisition step of acquiring situation information indicating a situation of the auction; a buyout instruction information acquisition step of acquiring buyout instruction information indicating an buyout instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the buyout conditions if the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; a buyout management step of executing a bid that satisfies the buyout conditions based on the buyout instruction information if the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; and a successful bidder determination step of determining a bidding user associated with the buyout instruction information as a successful bidder who will win the buyout medium based on the bid that satisfies the buyout conditions executed by the buyout management step. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, a system can be provided that allows for quick decision-making in desired situations. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an auction server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of ranking information according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a game server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5]2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an exhibition user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a bidder user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information processing method S1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 13 is an example of a screen displayed on a display device of an exhibition user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 4 is an example of a screen displayed on a display device of an input user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 13 is another example of a screen displayed on the display device of the input user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 13 is a further example of a screen displayed on the display device of the input user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed flow of an automatic bid management process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of updated ranking information in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of updated ranking information in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing yet another example of updated ranking information in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 4 is a flow chart showing an example of a detailed flow of a summary decision management process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] [Embodiment 1] The system 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below. The system 1 is a system that provides a place for trading through auctions on a network.

[0011] <System 1 Configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 includes an auction server 10, a game server 30, a listing user terminal 50, bidding user terminals 70-1, 70-2, ..., and a blockchain system 90. When there is no need to distinguish between the bidding user terminals 70-1, 70-2, ..., each of them is also simply referred to as a bidding user terminal 70. These devices are communicatively connected via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, but is not limited to this. Although FIG. 1 shows two bidding user terminals 70, the number of bidding user terminals 70 included in the system 1 may be three or more. Although FIG. 1 shows one each of the auction server 10, the game server 30, the listing user terminal 50, and the blockchain system 90, the number of each device included in the system 1 may be more than one.

[0012] The auction server 10 is a device that manages an auction held on a network. The game server 30 is a device that progresses a game by executing a game program. Note that a part of the game program may be executed by other devices (e.g., the selling user terminal 50, the bidding user terminal 70, etc.) different from the game server 30. The game server 30 progresses a game using game media based on a user's operation. The game media can be an example of a medium to be put up for auction. The system 1 may include a plurality of game servers 30 that progress different types of games. The selling user terminal 50 is a terminal used by a selling user who puts up a medium to be put up for auction. The bidding user terminal 70 is a terminal used by a bidding user who bids on the auction. The blockchain system 90 is a device that stores a non-fungible token (hereinafter, NFT) associated with the medium to be put up for auction. Note that the medium to be put up for auction does not necessarily have to be associated with an NFT.

[0013] The listing user may be an operator of the game run by the game server 30. In this case, the listing user terminal 50 may be a management terminal that manages the game server 30. In addition, one or both of the listing user and the bidding user may be, but are not necessarily, players of the game. In addition, one or both of the listing user terminal 50 and the bidding user terminal 70 may be, but are not necessarily, devices capable of playing the game.

[0014] (Hardware configuration of auction server 10) 1, the auction server 10 includes, for example, a processor 11, a memory 12, and a communication interface 13. These components are connected via a bus 19.

[0015] The processor 11 controls each part of the auction server 10 by executing a program stored in the memory 12. The processor 11 is configured by an integrated circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), for example.

[0016] The memory 12 stores programs executed by the processor 11 and various data used by the processor 11. The memory 12 is configured, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM (registered trademark)), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a combination of these. Note that a part or all of the memory 12 is not limited to being built into the auction server 10, and may be externally attached via an input / output interface (not shown) such as a universal serial bus (USB). Also, a part or all of the memory 12 may be connected to the auction server 10 via a network as a device independent of the auction server 10.

[0017] The communication interface 13 is an interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication interface 13 is, for example, configured by a wired connection interface such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless connection interface such as WiFi (registered trademark).

[0018] (Hardware configuration of game server 30) 1, the game server 30 includes, for example, a processor 31, a memory 32, and a communication interface 33. These components are connected via a bus 39. The processor 31, the memory 32, and the communication interface 33 will be described in the same manner as the components of the same names provided in the auction server 10, and therefore detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[0019] (Hardware configuration of the seller user terminal 50) 1, the seller user terminal 50 includes, for example, a processor 51, a memory 52, a communication interface 53, an input device 54, and a display device 55. These components are connected via a bus 59.

[0020] The processor 51, memory 52, and communication interface 53 will be described in the same manner as the components of the same name that the auction server 10 has, and detailed description thereof will not be repeated. The input device 54 is a device that accepts user operations and is configured, for example, by a controller, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a microphone, or a combination of these. The display device 55 is a device that displays a screen related to auction transactions and is configured, for example, by a display. Either or both of the input device 54 and the display device 55 are not limited to being built into the listing user terminal 50, and may be connected to the outside as a peripheral device.

[0021] (Hardware configuration of the bidding user terminal 70) 1, the bidding user terminal 70 includes, for example, a processor 71, a memory 72, a communication interface 73, an input device 74, and a display device 75. These components are connected via a bus 79. These components will be described in the same manner as the components of the same names provided in the listing user terminal 50, and therefore detailed description will not be repeated.

[0022] (Configuration of Blockchain System 90) The blockchain system 90 distributes and stores a blockchain, which is a sequence of blocks that stores transaction data including an NFT associated with an exhibition medium and owner information of the exhibition medium, among a plurality of distributed nodes (not shown). Transaction data is generated in response to an update of the owner of the exhibition medium, and is stored in the blockchain system 90. Details of the information included in the transaction data will be described later.

[0023] The blockchain system 90 is realized by known blockchain technology. For example, the blockchain system 90 includes a plurality of distributed nodes. Each distributed node performs mining to generate a block including transaction data to be newly stored. A block generated by a node among the plurality of nodes that succeeds in mining based on a predetermined consensus algorithm is added to the end of the blockchain as a legitimate block. The blockchain stored by each node is synchronized with the blockchain to which the legitimate block was added. If the blockchain branches, the longest blockchain becomes the legitimate blockchain. The blockchain to which the fraudulent block was added is shorter than the other blockchains, and is therefore overwritten by the legitimate blockchain.

[0024] (Functional configuration of the auction server 10) Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of auction server 10. As shown in Fig. 2, auction server 10 includes a control unit 110 and a storage unit 130. Control unit 110 is realized by processor 11 executing a program stored in memory 12. Storage unit 130 is configured by memory 12.

[0025] The control unit 110 includes an exhibition medium information acquisition unit 111, a bid amount information acquisition unit 112, a ranking information acquisition unit 113, an automatic bidding management unit 114, an instant purchase condition acquisition unit 115, a status information acquisition unit 116, an instant purchase instruction information acquisition unit 117, an instant purchase management unit 118, a winning bidder determination unit 119, and a notification unit 120.

[0026] The medium-for-sale information acquisition unit 111 acquires medium-for-sale information indicating the medium to be sold at the auction from the selling user who sells the medium. For example, the medium-for-sale information acquisition unit 111 may acquire medium-for-sale information indicating multiple media of the same type to be sold at one auction from the selling user who sells the medium. This makes it possible to hold an auction for media that are valuable when acquired in multiple units, such as electronic media that are used in multiple units.

[0027] Here, "one auction" refers to an auction that begins with one listing. For example, one auction may begin with the listing of one item, or may begin with the listing of multiple items of the same type. Also, after an item is listed, additional items of the same type may be added. Also, one auction ends when a "termination condition" for ending the auction is satisfied. For example, in this embodiment, one auction is identified by an auction ID, which will be described later.

[0028] Moreover, the term "medium to be put up for auction" refers to a medium to be put up for auction. Examples of the medium include products that can be used in the real world and electronic media that can be used in a virtual world such as a game. Examples of the electronic media include game media such as items and characters that can be used in a game progressed by the game server 30, electronic information associated with an avatar in a virtual space where communication with others takes place (information that changes the appearance of the avatar, information that changes the voice, etc.), and media used in live broadcasts using a virtual space (items for cheering and livening up, so-called value for tipping). The electronic media may be associated with a non-fungible token managed by the holder in the blockchain system 90. This allows the credibility of the electronic media to be maintained when the medium to be put up for auction is electronic media. For example, it can be shown that the medium was not generated by fraudulent activity. In addition, by having a non-fungible token associated with the medium, information on the transaction history can be more easily obtained.

[0029] In addition, "the same type of listing medium" means, for example, in the case where the listing medium is an item that actually exists, that the listing user has listed the items together in one auction as the same type of listing medium due to reasons such as the same use or product name, etc., and this is the same type of listing medium.

[0030] As another aspect of "exhibited media of the same type," when the exhibited media is electronic media, electronic media with the same associated media identification information are the same type of electronic media. As yet another aspect, when the exhibited media is media used in a game progressed by the game server 30, the media may have the same functions, capabilities, and characteristics. In this aspect, the appearance may be different or the same. An example of such an aspect that has a different appearance is media that have the same functions, etc., and the same outline of the appearance, but differ only in color.

[0031] Each electronic medium included in the same type of electronic medium may be further associated with serial information for identifying each of them, and may also be associated with the above-mentioned non-fungible token.

[0032] The medium-listing information may also be associated with information indicating a bidding unit, which is the minimum number of medium-listings to be bid on. This makes it possible to prevent a bidder from bidding on a medium-listing that is desirably used in a minimum number of units, with a number less than the minimum number being won. The medium-listing information may also be associated with information indicating an upper limit on the number of units that a single winning bidder can win. This makes it possible for the bidder to adjust the number of winning bidders.

[0033] The bid amount information acquisition unit 112 acquires bid amount information indicating the bid amount of a bidding user who will place a bid in the auction. For example, the bid amount information acquisition unit 112 may acquire bid amount information indicating the bid amount of each of a plurality of bidding users who will place a bid in the auction. The bid amount information may also be associated with the time at which a bid was made based on the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information. Hereinafter, the time at which a bid was made is also referred to as the bid time.

[0034] The bid amount information may be associated with bid quantity information indicating the number of bids specified by the bidding user. This allows the bidding user to bid on the desired number of items at once. For example, for game media that are set to be advantageous when used in a predetermined number of units, the user can bid on the predetermined number of items at once. However, the bid amount information does not necessarily have to be associated with bid quantity information.

[0035] The ranking information acquisition unit 113 acquires ranking information indicating the ranking of the bid amount information in descending order of the bid amount. For example, when there are multiple pieces of bid amount information with the same bid amount, the ranking information indicates that the bid amount information that was bid at an earlier bidding time has a higher ranking. As a result, in an auction with multiple winning bidders, some bids may be successful and others may not, even though the bid amount is the same. In such a case, the satisfaction of the users who did not win the bid is improved.

[0036] In addition, when there are multiple bid amount information with the same bid amount, these bid amount information may be ranked based on other information, not limited to the bid time. The other information may be, for example, the number of bids. The number of bids is the number of exhibited media that the bidding user wishes to win among the multiple exhibited medium information of the same type indicated by the exhibited medium information. For example, when there are multiple bid amount information with the same bid amount, these bid amount information may be ranked in order of the earliest bid time, and next, when there are multiple bid amounts with the same bid amount and bid time, these bid amount information may be ranked in order of the largest number of bids. However, the ranking indicated by the ranking information is not limited to these examples.

[0037] Until the end condition of the bidding period of the auction is met, the automatic bidding management unit 114 (1) determines whether or not to update the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information for which the ranking is outside the bidding range set based on the number of media being exhibited to a bid amount that will bring the ranking within the bidding range, based on a setting made in advance by a bidding user associated with the bid amount information, and (2) executes the update if it is determined that the update is possible. For example, the bidding range set based on the number of media being exhibited is a range from 1st place to the number of media being exhibited. Also, for example, the bid amount for bringing the ranking within the bidding range may be the minimum bid amount for bringing the ranking within the bidding range.

[0038] This reduces the effort required for users to monitor the auction status while increasing the possibility of winning. In addition, the number of users who can purchase at the minimum price to be in the winning range or at a price close to the minimum price increases, improving the sense of fairness. For example, if another user who has recently placed a bid and fallen within the winning range has placed a bid at the lowest price within the winning range, considering the purpose of being within the winning range, a different embodiment from this embodiment can be considered, in which a certain amount (for example, the minimum unit amount for bidding set in the auction) is automatically added to the minimum price to automatically bid again. However, in such an embodiment, the amount re-bid is not the minimum price to be within the winning range, and the minimum price within the winning range increases quickly. Therefore, the amount required for winning the bid becomes higher. On the other hand, according to the above configuration of this embodiment, the amount re-bid is the minimum price to be within the winning range, so the increase in the amount required for winning the bid can be suppressed. And the more media are put up for auction in one auction, the greater the effect of suppressing the increase in the amount required for winning the bid.

[0039] Also, for example, the prior settings made by the bidding users may include an upper limit of the bid amount to be updated. The upper limit of the bid amount to be updated is hereinafter also referred to as the "maximum bid amount." This can prevent the bidding users from making bids higher than expected. However, the prior settings do not necessarily have to include the maximum bid amount.

[0040] Here, the "termination condition" refers to a condition under which the bidding period ends. Examples include the expiration of a specified deadline set in advance as the deadline for bidding (e.g., the passage of a specified time or point in time), or the sale of the offered medium by a bid at the buy now price being made before the expiration of the specified deadline (if there are multiple offered media, the multiple offered media are sold). Furthermore, if there is only one offered medium, the termination condition may be the sale of that one offered medium. Furthermore, in a case in which multiple offered media are offered for a single auction, the termination condition may be the sale of the product. For example, if multiple products are offered, the auction may end when the multiple products are sold.

[0041] In addition, the "minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range" refers to the smallest amount among the bid amounts required to be within the winning bid range. For example, if the minimum amount was the lowest amount within the winning bid range set by another user who placed a bid most recently and entered the winning bid range, the minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range may be the same as the minimum amount, or if the minimum amount is not enough to be within the winning bid range, a preset minimum unit amount may be added to the minimum amount.

[0042] However, the updated bid amount is not limited to the "minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range" and may be an amount higher than the minimum amount. For example, the amount higher than the minimum amount may be a bid amount in a predetermined order of lowest to lowest within the winning bid range (e.g., the second lowest bid amount), but is not limited to this.

[0043] The buy now condition acquisition unit 115 acquires buy now condition information indicating buy now conditions for determining a winning user who will win the bid for the medium before the deadline set in advance as the bid deadline for the auction expires. The buy now condition may be, for example, that the bid amount is a buy now amount set in advance. In this case, it may be impossible to make a bid that exceeds the buy now amount.

[0044] The status information acquisition unit 116 acquires status information indicating the status of the auction. Status information is information indicating a status that changes as the auction progresses. Examples of status information include (1) the number of remaining items that have not yet been sold in the case of multiple media being offered for auction, (2) the bid amounts of other bidding users, (3) the number of bidding users participating in the auction, (4) the time remaining in the auction, and (5) the number of bids.

[0045] For example, the status information may include information indicating the remaining number obtained by subtracting the number of sold exhibited media from the number of multiple exhibited media of the same type indicated by the exhibited medium information. Also, for example, the status information may include information indicating the bid amounts of other bidding users. Also, for example, the status information may include information indicating the number of bidding users bidding on the auction. Also, for example, the status information may include information indicating the remaining time until the expiration of a preset deadline. Note that the status information is not limited to the above-mentioned information, and may include information indicating other situations that change as the auction progresses. For example, the status information may include information indicating a successful bidder determined by a buy-now bid, which will be described later. For example, a bidding user who wishes to acquire the same exhibited media as a specific user may set the buy-now bid instruction information, which will be described later, to "execute a bid that satisfies the buy-now condition if the successful bidder indicated by the status information is the specific user."

[0046] The immediate purchase instruction information acquisition unit 117 acquires immediate purchase instruction information indicating an immediate purchase instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance. Here, the "immediate purchase instruction information" is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance. The immediate purchase instruction may be, for example, an instruction to execute a bid at the immediate purchase amount when the immediate purchase amount is specified as the immediate purchase condition, an instruction to execute a bid at the immediate purchase amount, an instruction to execute a bid at an amount equal to or greater than the immediate purchase amount, or an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition without including a specific amount of the immediate purchase amount in the instruction. For example, when the immediate purchase amount is 10,000 yen, the instruction may be an instruction to execute a bid at 10,000 yen, an instruction to execute a bid at an amount greater than 10,000 yen, or an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase amount without including information indicating the amount of 10,000 yen in the instruction itself.

[0047] Examples of the situation information being of a predetermined content include (1) when there are multiple auction media, the number of remaining items that have not yet been sold falls below a predetermined number, (2) the bid amounts by other bidding users are equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, (3) the number of bidding users participating in the auction is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, (4) the time remaining in the auction is equal to or less than a predetermined time, (5) the number of bids is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, etc. These conditions may be used alone or in combination.

[0048] For example, the immediate purchase instruction information may be information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the remaining number indicated by the information included in the status information is equal to or less than a predetermined number. By setting such immediate purchase instruction information, a bidding user can make an immediate purchase in an auction in which multiple media of the same type are offered for sale before all of the media are sold. It is also possible to reduce the number of times that a bidding user makes an immediate purchase at an unnecessarily high price.

[0049] Also, for example, the buy now instruction information may be information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the buy now condition when the bid amount of the other bidding users indicated by the information included in the status information is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. As the number of bids by other bidding users increases, the bid amount increases, and the possibility that the bid amount will reach the buy now amount increases. According to this configuration, a buy now can be executed before the bid amounts of the other bidding users reach the buy now amount.

[0050] Also, for example, the immediate purchase instruction information may be information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the number of the bidding users indicated by the information included in the status information is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. If the number of other bidding users increases, the possibility of not being able to win the bid increases. According to the present configuration, immediate purchase can be performed even in such a case.

[0051] Also, for example, the immediate purchase instruction information may be information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the remaining time indicated by the information included in the status information is equal to or less than a predetermined time. By setting such immediate purchase instruction information, the bidding user can make an immediate purchase with plenty of time left. For example, when the remaining time is short, there is a risk that the immediate purchase instruction will not be reflected due to server congestion, etc., but this configuration can reduce such a risk.

[0052] The quick buy instruction information is not limited to the above conditions as conditions for executing a bid that satisfies the quick buy condition, and may be information including conditions related to any information included in the situation information.

[0053] When the status information is a predetermined content set in advance, the immediate purchase management unit 118 executes a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase conditions based on the immediate purchase instruction information. This makes it possible to provide a system that allows bidding users to make immediate purchases according to the auction status. For example, it is possible to reduce cases where bidding users make immediate purchases at unnecessarily high prices. In addition, bidding users can make immediate purchases well before the auction end time without having to manage the auction end time.

[0054] The successful bidder determination unit 119 determines, from among the multiple bidding users, multiple successful bidders who will win at least some of the multiple same type of listed media indicated by the listing medium information. The successful bidder determination unit 119 may also determine the successful bidders so that the number of the same type of listed media indicated by the listing medium information that the same successful bidder will win is equal to or less than an upper limit. The successful bidder determination unit 119 determines, based on a bid that satisfies the immediate buyout condition executed by the immediate buyout management unit 118, a bidding user associated with the immediate buyout instruction information as the successful bidder who will win the listing medium. Hereinafter, determining a successful bidder based on a bid that satisfies the immediate buyout condition is also referred to as "immediate buyout."

[0055] The notification unit 120 notifies the bidding users associated with the bid amount information of a lower rank than the winning range that they are outside the winning range. This allows the bidding users who are outside the winning range to know that fact. However, the notification by the notification unit 120 does not necessarily have to be performed. The notification unit 120 may also notify the bidding users of the winning bid result indicating whether or not they have been determined as the winning bidder. The notification unit 120 may also notify the listing user of the winning bid result including the winning bidder who won the listed medium after the auction ends. In addition, when the listed medium is a game medium, the notification unit 120 may also notify the game server 30 of the winning bid result including the owner of the listed medium being changed from the listing user to the bidding user after the auction ends. In addition, when the listed medium is associated with an NFT after the auction ends, the notification unit 120 may also notify the blockchain system 90 of the winning bid result including the owner of the listed medium being changed from the listing user to the bidding user after the auction ends.

[0056] (Information stored in the auction server 10) As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 130 stores the listing medium information, the listing setting information, the ranking information, the bidding time, the bidding amount information, and the bidding setting information. The listing medium information is information acquired by the listing medium information storage unit, and includes information indicating the listing medium and the number of listings of the listing medium. The listing setting information is information acquired by the listing medium information acquisition unit 111 in association with the listing medium information, and is information indicating the prior settings made by the listing user. For example, the listing setting information may include information indicating the bidding deadline, the immediate purchase condition, the bidding unit, and the upper limit. The ranking information is information acquired by the ranking information acquisition unit 113. The listing medium information, the listing setting information, and the ranking information are stored in association with each other for each auction. When multiple auctions are ongoing in parallel, the storage unit 130 stores multiple sets of the listing medium information, the listing setting information, and the ranking information.

[0057] The bid amount information is information acquired by the bid amount information acquisition unit 112. The bid time indicates the time when the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information was updated. The bid setting information is information acquired by the bid amount information acquisition unit 112 in association with the bid amount information, and is information indicating a setting made in advance by a bidding user. The bid setting information includes information indicating whether or not the bid amount for the listing medium is to be automatically updated. Automatically updating the bid amount is hereinafter also referred to as automatic bidding. Not automatically updating the bid amount is hereinafter also referred to as manual bidding. In other words, the bid setting information includes information indicating whether or not automatic bidding is to be performed. For example, the bid setting information may include information indicating the maximum bid amount, the number of bids, whether or not a portion of the number of bids can be purchased, whether or not a notification of being out of the winning range is to be made, and the like. The bid setting information may also include buy-now instruction information. The bid amount information and the bid setting information are stored in association with each other for each bid. When multiple bids are made for one auction, the storage unit 130 stores multiple sets of the bidding time, bid amount information, and bid setting information in association with the auction.

[0058] Here, an example of the ranking information will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the ranking information. In FIG. 3, table T1 shows ranking information at a certain time associated with certain listing medium information. In table T1, bids by one or more bidding users for the auction are generated as one row of records for each bidding unit. In this example, the bidding unit is 1. Table T1 may be updated during the bidding period. For example, table T1 is updated in response to a new bid being made, an update of the bid amount in an existing bid, an update of the bid setting information, and the like. Table T1 includes records L1 to L30, indicating that 30 units of bids have been made up to this point in time. In this example, the number of listing mediums is 30, and the first 30 are within the winning bid range. At the time shown in FIG. 3, there are no records outside the winning bid range.

[0059] Moreover, each record in table T1 includes the following fields: rank, bidding user ID, automatic bidding availability, bid amount, highest bid amount, number of bids, bidding time, and successful bid status. The rank in each record is assigned based on at least the bid amount. In this example, records L1 to L30 are assigned ranks from 1st to 30th in descending order of bid amount. Furthermore, multiple bids with the same bid amount (e.g., records L4 to L30) are assigned ranks in descending order of the bidding time (e.g., 4th to 30th). Furthermore, multiple bids with the same bid amount and bidding time (e.g., records L4 to L6) are assigned ranks in descending order of the number of bids (e.g., 4th to 6th).

[0060] Additionally, in each record, the bidding user ID is information that identifies the bidding user who placed the bid indicated by the record. A bidding user with a bidding user ID of "U001" will also be referred to as bidding user U001, etc. Records L1 to L3 and L6 to L30 each indicate bids made by different bidding users U001 to U003 and U005 to U028, each with one bid. Records L4 to L5 indicate bids made by the same bidding user U004 with two bids.

[0061] The automatic bidding availability indicates whether or not automatic bidding is to be performed for the bid indicated by the record. The automatic bidding availability is information selected by the bidding user. The bid amount indicates the current bid amount. When the automatic bidding availability is "yes", the initial value of the bid amount may be the minimum bid amount set by the listing user, and may be updated by the automatic bidding management unit 114. When the automatic bidding availability is "no", the initial value of the bid amount is the amount input by the bidding user, and may be updated by the input of the bidding user. The maximum bid amount is the upper limit amount set by the bidding user when the automatic bidding availability is "yes", and is not set when the automatic bidding availability is "no". The number of bids indicates the number of bids. When a plurality of bids are made, the number of bids is the number of the plurality of bids (2 in this example) in each of the records (e.g., records L4 and L5) for the plurality of bids. The bid time is the time when the bid was made, and when the bid amount is updated, it is updated to the update time. The automatic bidding availability, the maximum bid amount, and the number of bids may be changeable based on the operation of the bidding user after bidding.

[0062] The successful bid status is information indicating the status of the successful bid, and indicates whether the bid has been confirmed or not confirmed before the end of the bidding period. After the end of the bidding period, it indicates whether the bid has been confirmed or not. Before the end of the bidding period, a record with a confirmed status indicates that the bid has been decided immediately.

[0063] In this example, record L1 indicates a manual bid that meets the buy now amount. The successful bid for record L1 was confirmed (buy now) before the end of the bidding period. Records L2 to L3 each indicate a manual bid that is less than the buy now amount. Records L4 to L31 each indicate automatic bids, and the minimum bid amount described below is applied as the initial bid amount.

[0064] (Functional configuration of game server 30) Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the game server 30. As shown in Fig. 4, the game server 30 includes a control unit 310 and a storage unit 330. The control unit 310 is realized by the processor 31 executing a program stored in the memory 32. The storage unit 330 is configured by the memory 32. The control unit 310 includes a medium management unit 311.

[0065] The storage unit 330 stores medium information, listing status information, owner information, and NFT identification information. The number of pieces of medium information stored in the storage unit 330 may be one or more. The medium information indicates the game medium used in the game progressed by the game server 30. In addition, each piece of medium information is associated with listing status information. The listing status information indicates whether the game medium indicated by the medium information is being auctioned. In the initial state, the listing status information indicates that the game medium is not being auctioned.

[0066] Furthermore, each piece of medium information is associated with owner information indicating the owner of the game medium indicated by the medium information. Note that the game medium indicated by the medium information may not have an owner. For example, a game medium newly sold by the operator does not yet have an owner. Owner information indicating that there is no owner may be associated with the medium information indicating such a game medium. Furthermore, if the owner of the game medium indicated by the medium information is managed by the blockchain system 90, the medium information is associated with the identification information of the NFT. Furthermore, in this case, the owner information associated with the medium information is configured to be synchronized with the owner information associated with the identification information of the NFT in the blockchain system 90.

[0067] When the media management unit 311 is notified that the game medium has been put up for auction, the media management unit 311 updates the listing status information associated with the media information indicating the game medium to indicate that the game medium is being put up for auction. In the following, a case will be described in which the notification source of "the game medium has been put up for auction" is the putting up user terminal 50. However, the notification source is not limited to the putting up user terminal 50, and may be the auction server 10. In addition, when the media management unit 311 is notified by the auction server 10 that the game medium has been sold, the media management unit 311 updates the listing status information associated with the media information indicating the game medium to indicate that the game medium is not being put up for auction. In addition, the media management unit 311 refers to the listing status information and does not allow the game medium that is being put up for auction to be used in the game. In addition, when the game medium is not being put up for auction (including when the game medium has been sold), the media management unit 311 allows the game medium to be used in the game.

[0068] (Functional configuration of the exhibition user terminal 50) Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the selling user terminal 50. As shown in Fig. 5, the selling user terminal 50 includes a control unit 510 and a storage unit 530. The control unit 510 is realized by the processor 51 executing a program stored in the memory 52. ​​The storage unit 530 is configured by the memory 52.

[0069] The control unit 510 includes a listing UI unit 511 and a listing medium notification unit 512. The listing UI unit 511 provides the listing user with a user interface for listing the listing medium. When the listing medium is a game medium, the listing medium notification unit 512 notifies the game server 30 of the listing status of the game medium. The storage unit 530 stores medium information indicating media that the listing user can list in the auction. For example, the media that the listing user can list in the auction may be, for example, a game medium owned by the listing user.

[0070] In addition, if the putting up user is an operator of the game management side, the medium that the putting up user can put up for auction may be a game medium that is newly sold by the management side and does not yet have an owner. In this case, the putting up user terminal 50 may be a terminal that functions as a management terminal of the game server 30.

[0071] (Functional Configuration of Bidding User Terminal 70) Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the bidding user terminal 70. As shown in Fig. 6, the bidding user terminal 70 includes a control unit 710 and a storage unit 730. The control unit 710 is realized by a processor 71 executing a program stored in a memory 72. The storage unit 730 is configured by the memory 72.

[0072] The control unit 710 includes a bidding UI unit 711, an out-of-range receiving unit 712, and a winning bid result receiving unit 713. The bidding UI unit 711 provides a user interface for bidding in the auction to the bidding user. When the out-of-range receiving unit 712 receives information from the auction server 10 that the bidding user is out of range, the bidding user outputs the received information in a manner recognizable by the bidding user. The winning bid result receiving unit 713 receives the winning bid result of the auction in which the bidding user placed a bid from the auction server 10, and outputs the received winning bid result in a manner recognizable by the bidding user. Examples of output in a manner recognizable by the bidding user include display on the display device 75, audio output to an audio output device (not shown), or a combination of these. In addition, when the winning bid result indicates that the bid has been made, the winning bid result receiving unit 713 stores medium information indicating the medium for which the bid was made in the storage unit 730. The storage unit 730 stores medium information indicating the medium owned by the bidding user, and a bidding user ID for identifying the bidding user. The media owned by the bidding user may include media that was won in the auction, and may also include game media owned by the bidding user, for example.

[0073] <System 1 Processing> The system 1 configured as above executes an information processing method S1. Fig. 7 is a flow diagram showing the flow of the information processing method S1. In the following explanation of the information processing method S1, an example in which game media used in a game progressed by the game server 30 is applied as the exhibiting media will be mainly described. Also, an example in which the exhibiting user is an operator on the management side of the game progressed by the game server 30 will be mainly described. Also, an example in which the management side newly sells multiple game media of the same type using the system 1 will be mainly described.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 7, information processing method S1 includes a process for listing a game medium (steps S500 to S506), a process for managing the listed game medium (S300 to S304), a process for trading the listed game medium by auction (S100 to S116), and a process for bidding in the auction (S700 to S706).

[0075] In step S500, the listing UI unit 511 of the listing user terminal 50 acquires listing medium information and listing setting information based on the operation of the listing user. In addition, the listing UI unit 511 transmits the acquired listing medium information and listing setting information to the auction server 10. FIG. 8 is a screen example G1 displayed on the display device 55 of the listing user terminal 50 in this step. In the screen example G1, a user interface (hereinafter, referred to as UI) object G101 accepts an operation to select a listing medium to be put up for auction. As an example, when an operation on the UI object G101 is accepted, a list (not shown) of media indicated by the medium information stored in the storage unit 530 is displayed, and a medium specified based on an operation on the list may be selected as the listing medium. Information G102 and image G103 indicate the selected listing medium. In this example, a game medium "character A's sword" that can be used in game A is selected as the listing medium. Game A is, for example, a type of game that the game server 30 advances. Information G104 indicates the number of the selected listing medium owned by the listing user. In this example, the listing user owns 50 units of the game medium "Character A's Sword."

[0076] The UI object G105 accepts an operation to input the number of items to be put up for auction of the auction medium selected by the UI object G101. In this example, 30 of the 50 "character A's swords" owned are being put up for auction in question. Information indicating the auction medium and the number of items to be put up for auction, which is input by operating the UI objects G101 and G105, constitutes, for example, auction medium information.

[0077] The UI object G106 accepts an operation to input a bidding unit. In this example, the bidding unit is "1." In other words, a bidding user may bid on only one of the 30 "Character A's Swords," or may bid on multiple units of one.

[0078] The UI object G107 accepts an operation to input a bid deadline. In this example, the input bid deadline "2023 / 12 / 06 18:00" is the latest time when the bid deadline ends. However, as described above, the bid deadline may end before the input bid deadline expires. For example, if the remaining number of the auction medium becomes zero due to a quick decision before the bid deadline expires, the bid deadline ends at that point. The start of the bid deadline may be the time when an operation to instruct the auction to be put up for sale (for example, an operation on the UI object G113) is performed. Note that instead of accepting an operation to input a bid deadline, the UI object G104 may accept an operation to input the length from the start of the bid deadline (e.g., three days).

[0079] The UI object G108 accepts an operation to input a minimum bid amount. In manual bidding, a bid lower than the minimum bid amount is not accepted. In automatic bidding, the minimum bid amount is applied as the initial value of the bid amount. Note that it is not necessary to input the minimum bid amount. If an operation to instruct putting up an item is performed without inputting the minimum bid amount, for example, the minimum bid amount may be treated as a predetermined amount (e.g., 1 yen).

[0080] The UI object G109 accepts an operation to input a buy-now amount. The buy-now amount is an example of a buy-now condition, and indicates a bid amount for a successful bidder who wins the auction medium before the end of the bidding period. In this example, a user who bids for the buy-now amount of "30,000 yen" is immediately purchased as the successful bidder. Note that it is not necessary to input a buy-now amount, but if one is input, bids exceeding the buy-now amount will not be accepted.

[0081] The UI object G110 accepts an operation to input the upper limit of the number of items that one successful bidder can bid on. Note that the input of the upper limit is not necessarily required. If an operation to instruct auction is performed without inputting the upper limit, for example, the upper limit may be treated as the number of items to be put up for auction.

[0082] The UI object G111 accepts an operation to input a comment for the medium to be put up for sale. The information input by operating the UI objects G106 to G111 constitutes, for example, the listing setting information.

[0083] The UI object G112 accepts an operation to cancel the listing based on the screen example G1. The UI object G113 accepts an operation to list the medium to be listed according to the input contents on the screen example G1. When an operation on the UI object G113 is accepted, the listing UI unit 511 transmits to the auction server 10 the listing medium information input by the UI objects G101 and G105 and the listing setting information input by the UI objects G106 to G111.

[0084] 7, the flow of the information processing method S1 after step S502 will be described. In step S502, the exhibition medium notification unit 512 also notifies the game server 30 of the exhibition medium information transmitted to the auction server 10.

[0085] In step S300, when the medium management unit 311 of the game server 30 receives the exhibited medium information from the exhibiting user terminal 50, the medium management unit 311 updates the exhibit status information associated with the medium information indicating the game medium for each of the exhibited game media indicated in the exhibited medium information to indicate that the game media is being exhibited. As a result, the medium management unit 311 makes the game media in the exhibited game media unavailable for use in the game.

[0086] In step S100 (listing medium information acquisition step, immediate purchase condition acquisition step), the listing medium information acquisition unit 111 of the auction server 10 receives listing medium information and listing setting information from the listing user terminal 50. In this example, the listing medium information indicates multiple listing media of the same type. Furthermore, if the listing setting information includes immediate purchase condition information, the immediate purchase condition acquisition unit 115 acquires the immediate purchase condition information. The listing setting information may include information indicating the bidding unit. Furthermore, the listing setting information may include information indicating the upper limit number. Furthermore, the listing medium information acquisition unit 111 issues an auction ID that identifies the auction, and associates the auction ID, listing medium information, and listing setting information and stores them in the memory unit 130.

[0087] In step S102, the control unit 110 transmits information indicating one or more auctions to the bidding user terminal 70. The information indicating the auctions is generated based on the listing medium information and listing setting information stored in the storage unit 130. For example, the control unit 110 may transmit the information indicating one or more auctions in response to a request from the bidding user terminal 70.

[0088] In step S700, the bidding UI unit 711 of the bidding user terminal 70 displays the received information indicating the auction, and acquires bid amount information and bid setting information for one of the auctions based on the operation of the bidding user. The bidding UI unit 711 also transmits the acquired bid amount information, bid setting information, and the bidding user ID stored in the storage unit 730 to the auction server 10. Figures 9 to 11 are diagrams showing example screens G2 to G4 displayed on the display device 75 of the bidding user terminal 70 in this step.

[0089] The screen example G2 shown in FIG. 9 shows a list of auctions, and includes information G201 indicating one or more auctions currently being held. The information G201 shows information about one auction, and includes information indicating the medium for exhibiting, the number of exhibits, the bidding unit, and comments. The information G201 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 9, and may include information based on the exhibit setting information stored in the storage unit 130 of the auction server 10 (e.g., bidding deadline, immediate purchase conditions, etc.). The information G201 may also include status information indicating the status of the auction acquired by the status information acquisition unit 116 (e.g., the current minimum acceptable bid amount, the number of current bidding users, etc.). The information G201 may also include information indicating the exhibiting user (e.g., the name of the exhibiting user, etc.). The UI object G202 is arranged corresponding to each piece of information G201. When an operation on the UI object G202 is accepted, the auction indicated by the corresponding information G201 is considered to have been selected, and the example screen G2 transitions to an automatic bidding selection screen (not shown) for selecting whether or not to make an automatic bid.

[0090] If automatic bidding is not selected on the automatic bidding selection screen, the automatic bidding selection screen transitions to a manual bidding screen (not shown) for inputting the bid amount for manual bidding. In addition, the bidding UI unit 711 transmits to the auction server 10 bid amount information including the bid amount input on the manual bidding screen, bid setting information including no automatic bidding, and the bidding user ID stored in the storage unit 730.

[0091] Also, when automatic bidding is selected on the automatic renewal selection screen, the automatic renewal selection screen transitions to a screen example G3 for setting automatic bidding. On the screen example G3 shown in FIG. 10, information G301 shows detailed information on the auction, and in this example, the target medium is "character A's sword", the minimum bid amount is "9500 yen", and the remaining time for bidding is "48 hours and 20 minutes". The minimum bid amount indicates the minimum amount required to be within the winning range at the current time in the auction, and is calculated according to the current ranking information. The current time is the time when the screen example G3 is displayed. The remaining time for bidding indicates the length of the period from the current time until the bidding deadline, and in this example, it indicates the period until the bidding deadline entered by the seller on the screen example G1.

[0092] The UI object G302 accepts an operation to input a maximum bid amount for the auction. In this example, bids up to the maximum bid amount of "20,000 yen" are automatically accepted for the auction.

[0093] The UI object G303 accepts an operation to input the desired number of media of the same type that the bidding user wishes to purchase (the number of bids). In this example, it is input that the bidding user wishes to purchase 3 of the 30 "character A's swords" that are being offered. If a bidding unit is input by the bidding user in the example screen G1, the UI object G303 only accepts multiples of the bidding unit as the desired number. For example, if the bidding unit is 2, multiples of 2 such as 2, 4, ... are accepted as the desired number, but numbers that are not multiples of 2 such as 3, 5, etc. are not accepted. If a maximum number is input by the bidding user in the example screen G1, the UI object G303 only accepts numbers equal to or less than the maximum number as the desired number. For example, if the maximum number is 10, numbers equal to or less than 10 are accepted as the desired number, and even if the number of items offered is 30, numbers exceeding 10 are not accepted. If multiple numbers are input as the desired number, the maximum bid amount described above indicates the maximum bid amount per item.

[0094] The UI object G304 accepts an operation to select whether or not to accept a bid for fewer than the desired number of items. For example, in the ranking information after the end of the bidding period, it is possible that only a portion of the desired number of items will be within the winning range. For example, if "OK" is selected in the UI object G304, and the desired number of items is three and the number within the winning range is one, only one item will be accepted. Also, for example, if "NO" is selected in the UI object G304, and the desired number of items is three and the number within the winning range is one, none will be accepted.

[0095] The UI object G305 accepts an operation to select whether or not to receive a notification that the bidder is out of the winning range. The notification that the bidder is out of the winning range may be sent based on the timing when the bidder changes from being in the winning range to being out of the winning range, or may be sent at a predetermined interval.

[0096] The UI object G306 accepts an operation to set quick decision instruction information. When the operation on the UI object G306 is accepted, the example screen G3 transitions to an example screen G4 for setting quick decision instruction information. The information input on the example screen G3 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 730.

[0097] In the screen example G4 shown in FIG. 11, the UI objects G401 to G404 accept an operation to input information that may be a buy now instruction. Also, the UI objects G401a to G404a accept an operation to select whether or not to set the information input by the UI objects G401 to G404 as buy now instruction information. In this example, an operation on the UI object G401 inputs information to instruct a bid that satisfies the buy now amount when the remaining number of unsold items is 5 or less. Also, an operation on the UI object G402 inputs information to instruct a bid that satisfies the buy now amount when the lowest amount in the bid range is 25,000 yen or more. Also, an operation on the UI object G403 inputs information to instruct a bid that satisfies the buy now amount when the number of bidding users is 100 or more. Also, an operation on the UI object G404 inputs information to instruct a bid that satisfies the buy now amount when the remaining time is 2 hours or less. Furthermore, since UI objects G402a and G404a are selected from among UI objects G401a to G404a, information input through UI objects G402 and G404 is set as immediate decision instruction information.

[0098] The UI object G405 accepts an operation to input a buy now quantity that indicates a bid that satisfies the buy now price when the condition indicated by the buy now instruction information is satisfied. In this example, the buy now quantity is accepted as an input of a number that is 1 or more and is equal to or less than the desired number. For example, a bidding user can set a desired number to multiple and allow bidding at the buy now price for at least some of the desired numbers, thereby increasing the certainty of winning the bid.

[0099] The UI object G406 accepts an operation to cancel the setting based on the screen example G4. The UI object G407 accepts an operation to determine quick decision instruction information according to the input contents on the screen example G4. When the operation on the UI object G407 is accepted, the screen example G4 transitions to the screen example G3. The information input on the screen example G4 constitutes an example of quick decision instruction information, and is temporarily stored in the storage unit 730.

[0100] In the screen example G3 shown in FIG. 10, the UI object G307 accepts an operation to cancel the settings based on the screen example G3. The UI object G308 accepts an operation to place a bid on the auction. When an operation on the UI object G308 is accepted, the bidding UI unit 711 transmits the bid amount information, bid setting information, the bidding user ID stored in the storage unit 730, and the bidding time inputted in the screen examples G3 to G4 to the auction server 10. The bid setting information includes the immediate purchase instruction information inputted in the screen example G4. However, inputting the immediate purchase instruction information is not essential, and the bid setting information does not have to include the immediate purchase instruction information. The bid time may be, for example, the time of transmission of the bid amount information and the bid setting information, but is not limited thereto.

[0101] Referring again to FIG. 7, the flow of the information processing method S1 from step S104 onwards will be described. In step S104 (a bid amount information acquisition step, a buy now instruction information acquisition step), the bid amount information acquisition unit 112 of the auction server 10 receives the bid amount information and the bid setting information from the bidding user terminal 70. During the bidding period, the bid amount information acquisition unit 112 may receive the bid amount information, the bid setting information, and the bidding user ID from each of the multiple bidding user terminals 70. If the bid setting information includes the buy now instruction information, the buy now instruction information acquisition unit 117 acquires the buy now instruction information. The bid amount information acquisition unit 112 associates the received bid amount information, the bid setting information, the bidding user ID, and the bidding time, and stores them in the storage unit 130.

[0102] In step S106 (ranking information acquisition step, automatic bidding management step), the control unit 110 executes an automatic bidding management process for managing automatic bidding based on the ranking information. Details of the automatic bidding management process will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flow diagram showing an example of a detailed flow of the automatic bidding management process.

[0103] As shown in Fig. 12, the automatic bid management process includes steps S120 to S134. In step S120, the ranking information acquisition unit 113 acquires ranking information based on the bid amount information and bid setting information that have been received up to the present time. For example, it is assumed that the table T1 shown in Fig. 3 is stored in the storage unit 130, and new bid amount information and bid setting information are received in step S700. In this case, the ranking information acquisition unit 113 acquires ranking information by updating table T1 based on the new bid amount information and bid setting information.

[0104] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of ranking information updated by a new bid. In FIG. 13, table T2 is an updated version of table T1, and shaded cells indicate differences from table T1. In table T2, record L31 indicates a new bid. In this example, the new bid was made by a new user U030 who selected automatic bidding, with a bid amount of 3100 yen, a maximum bid amount of 30000 yen, and a bid quantity of 1. Record L31 is given the fourth place as a ranking. This is based on the result of rearranging records L1 to L31 including the new record L31 based at least on the bid amount. As a result, the rankings of records L4 to L30 are updated by being moved down by one each. The rankings of records L1 to L29 and L31 are within the winning bid range. The ranking of record L30 has changed from within the winning bid range to outside the winning bid range due to table T1 being updated to table T2.

[0105] Next, the automatic bidding management unit 114 refers to the ranking information, and executes the processes of steps S122 to S132 in Fig. 12 for each of the bid amount information outside the winning bid range, starting from the highest ranking. In the explanation of steps S122 to S132, the bid amount information being processed is referred to as the bid amount information being processed.

[0106] In step S122, the automatic bidding management unit 114 judges whether automatic bidding is set in the bid setting information associated with the bid amount information to be processed. If the judgment in step S122 is No, the processing on the bid amount information to be processed ends, and steps S122 to S132 are executed with the next bid amount information outside the winning bid range as the new processing target. Note that when there is no more bid amount information to be newly processed in steps S122 to S132 outside the winning bid range, step S134 described below is executed. If the judgment in step S122 is Yes, the next step S124 is executed.

[0107] In step S124, the automatic bidding management unit 114 refers to the ranking information and calculates the minimum amount for the ranking of the bid amount information to be processed to be within the winning bid range. For example, referring to table T2 shown in FIG. 13, the minimum bid amount within the winning bid range is 3000 yen. In this example, if the bid amounts are the same, the bid amount placed earlier is given a higher ranking, so the bid amount information to be processed cannot be within the winning bid range even if the bid amount is updated to a bid amount equal to the minimum amount. Therefore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 sets an amount larger than the minimum amount as the minimum amount to be within the winning bid range. For example, the minimum amount to be within the winning bid range may be a value (e.g., 3100 yen) obtained by adding a predetermined value (e.g., 100 yen) to the minimum amount.

[0108] In step S126, the automatic bidding management unit 114 determines whether or not to update the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information to the minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range, based on the bid setting information. For example, when the maximum bid amount for automatic bidding is set to be equal to or greater than the "minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range" in the bid setting information associated with the bid amount information to be processed, the automatic bidding management unit 114 may determine to perform the update. Also, when the maximum bid amount is less than the "minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range", the automatic bidding management unit 114 may determine not to perform the update. For example, it is assumed that table T2 contains 50 records and the winning bid range is up to 30th place. Also, it is assumed that the "minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range" is 3100 yen. In this case, it is determined to perform the update for each record from 31st to 50th place if the maximum bid amount for automatic bidding is equal to or greater than 3100 yen.

[0109] Furthermore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 may determine to perform the update if the ranking of the bid amount information to be processed is within a predetermined ranking and the maximum bid amount for the automatic bidding is set to be equal to or higher than the "minimum amount required to be in the winning bid range." In this case, the automatic bidding management unit 114 may determine not to perform the update regardless of the content of the bid setting information if the ranking of the bid amount information to be processed is lower than the predetermined ranking. For example, in the above example of table T2, if the predetermined ranking is 40th, it is determined that each record in 31st to 40th place is updated if the maximum bid amount for the automatic bidding is 3100 yen or more. In this case, it is determined that the records in 41st to 50th place are not updated regardless of the content of the bid setting information.

[0110] In addition, the automatic bidding management unit 114 may determine to perform the update when the bid amount information to be processed has changed from within the winning bid range to outside the winning bid range due to the most recent update of the ranking information, and the highest bid amount for the automatic bidding is set to be equal to or higher than the "minimum amount for being within the winning bid range." In this case, the automatic bidding management unit 114 may determine not to perform the update regardless of the content of the bid setting information if the ranking of the bid amount information to be processed was outside the winning bid range even before the most recent update of the ranking information. For example, in the example of table T2 described above, it is determined that each record that has dropped from within 30th place to 31st place or lower due to the update from table T1 to T2 is updated if the highest bid amount for the automatic bidding is 3100 yen or more. In this case, it is determined that the records that are 31st place or lower in both tables T1 and T2 are not updated regardless of the content of the bid setting information.

[0111] If it is determined in step S126 that an update is not to be performed (No in step S128), the processing for the bid amount information to be processed ends, and steps S122 to S132 are executed with the next bid amount information outside the winning range as the new processing target. Note that when there is no more bid amount information outside the winning range to be newly processed in steps S122 to S132, step S134, which will be described later, is executed. If it is determined in step S126 that an update is to be performed (Yes in step S128), the next step S130 is executed.

[0112] In step S130, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information to be processed to the "minimum amount required to be within the winning bid range" calculated in step S124. In step S132, the ranking information acquisition unit 113 updates the ranking information based on the updated bid amount. Processing relating to the bid amount information to be processed is terminated, and steps S122 to S132 are executed with the next bid amount information outside the winning bid range as the new processing target. Note that when there is no more bid amount information outside the winning bid range to be newly processed in steps S122 to S132, step S134, which will be described later, is executed.

[0113] An example of the process of steps S122 to S132 will be described with reference to Figs. 13 to 15. In table T2 shown in Fig. 13, record L30 in 31st place, which is outside the winning range, includes "yes" as the automatic bidding availability (S122). As described above, the minimum amount to be within the winning range is calculated to be 3100 yen (S124). Furthermore, the highest bid amount of 12000 yen included in record L30 is equal to or greater than the "minimum amount to be within the winning range" of 3100 yen. Therefore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 decides to update record L30 (S126 to S128), and updates the bid amount of 3000 yen to the "minimum amount to be within the winning range" of 3100 yen (S130). Furthermore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the bidding time of record L30 to the time of the update. Furthermore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 rearranges the records L1 to L31 based on the updated bid amount and bidding time (S132).

[0114] As a result, table T2 shown in Fig. 13 is updated to table T3 shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of ranking information updated in step S132. In Fig. 14, table T3 is table T2 shown in Fig. 13 after it has been updated, and the shaded cells indicate the differences from table T2. In table T3 shown in Fig. 14, record L30, which was outside the winning bid range in table T2 shown in Fig. 13, has been given a ranking of 5th place, which is within the winning bid range.

[0115] Furthermore, record L29, which has now become 31st outside the winning range in table T3, includes "yes" as the automatic bidding availability option (S122). Furthermore, in table T3, the minimum bid amount within the winning range is 3000 yen, and 3100 yen is still calculated as the "minimum amount to be within the winning range" (S124). Furthermore, the highest bid amount of 18000 yen included in record L29 is equal to or greater than the "minimum amount to be within the winning range" of 3100 yen. Therefore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 decides to update record L29 (S126 to S128), and updates the bid amount of 3000 yen to the "minimum amount to be within the winning range" of 3100 yen (S130). Furthermore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the bidding time of record L29 to the time of the update. Furthermore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 rearranges the records L1 to L31 based on the updated bid amount and bidding time (S132).

[0116] In this way, in the process of executing steps S122 to S132 for each record outside the winning bid range, it is assumed that the "minimum bid amount within the winning bid range" becomes 3100 yen. In this example, as described above, if the bid amounts are the same, the bid amount placed earlier is given a higher ranking, so the record being processed cannot be within the winning bid range even if the bid amount is updated to the same amount as the minimum amount. Therefore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 calculates a value (e.g., 3200 yen) by adding a predetermined value (e.g., 100 yen) to the minimum amount 3100 yen as the minimum amount to be within the winning bid range (S124). Next, the bid amount of the record being processed is updated using the 3200 yen, and the ranking information is updated (S126 to S132).

[0117] In this manner, by repeating steps S122 to S132, table T3 shown in FIG. 14 is updated to table T4 shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of ranking information updated in step S132. In FIG. 15, table T4 is table T3 shown in FIG. 14 that has been updated, and the shaded cells indicate the difference from table T3. In table T4 shown in FIG. 15, the minimum bid amount within the winning bid range is 5000 yen. In this example, as described above, when the bid amount is the same, the bid amount placed earlier is given a higher ranking, so record L5, which is out of the winning bid range and is ranked 31st, cannot be within the winning bid range even if its bid amount is updated to the same amount as the minimum bid amount. Therefore, 5100 yen is calculated as the "minimum amount to be within the winning bid range" (S122). However, record L5 includes 5000 yen as the maximum bid amount. The maximum bid amount is less than the "minimum amount to be within the winning bid range" of 5100 yen. Therefore, the automatic bidding management unit 114 decides not to update record L5 (S124).

[0118] When steps S122 to S132 are completed for each piece of bid amount information outside the winning range, step S134 is executed. In step S134, the automatic bidding management unit 114 judges whether there is at least one piece of bid amount information that has been updated. If it is determined that the answer is No in step S134, the automatic bidding management process ends. If it is determined that the answer is Yes in step S134, the automatic bidding management unit 114 executes steps S122 to S132 for each piece of bid amount information that is outside the winning range. For example, in the example of table T4 shown in FIG. 15, it has been decided that no update will be performed for record L5, and there is not even one record that has been updated within the winning range. Therefore, the automatic bidding management process ends.

[0119] Referring again to FIG. 7, the flow of the information processing method S1 after step S108 will be described. In step S108 (situation information acquisition step, quick decision management step, quick decision successful bidder determination step), the control unit 110 executes a quick decision management process for making a quick decision on the successful bidder based on the situation information. Note that the automatic bidding management process in step S106 and the quick decision management process in step S108 do not necessarily have to be executed in this order. For example, step S106 may be executed after step S108, or may be executed in parallel. Details of the quick decision management process in step S108 will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of a detailed flow of the quick decision management process. As shown in FIG. 16, the quick decision management process includes steps S150 to S160.

[0120] In step S150, the status information acquisition unit 116 acquires status information indicating the status of the auction. For example, the status information acquisition unit 116 may acquire information indicating the remaining number obtained by subtracting the number of sold exhibited media from the number of exhibited media in the auction, as the status information. The information indicating the remaining number may be acquired by referring to tables, examples of which are shown in Fig. 3 and Figs. 13 to 15. For example, in table T4 shown in Fig. 15, the remaining number "29" is calculated by subtracting the number of records with the sold-bid status "confirmed", "1", from the number of exhibited media, "30".

[0121] Also, for example, the status information acquisition unit 116 may acquire, as the status information, information indicating the bid amounts of other bidding users who are bidding in the auction. For example, the bid amounts of other bidding users acquired as the status information may be the minimum bid amount within the winning bid range. Such bid amounts of other bidding users may be acquired by referring to tables, examples of which are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 13 to FIG. 15. For example, in table T4 shown in FIG. 15, the minimum bid amount within the winning bid range is "5,000 yen."

[0122] Furthermore, for example, the status information acquisition unit 116 may acquire, as the status information, information indicating the number of bidding users who are bidding on the auction. The information indicating the number of bidding users may be acquired by referring to the tables, examples of which are shown in Figures 3 and 13 to 15. For example, in table T4 shown in Figure 15, the number of bidding users U001 to U030 identified by the bidding user IDs is "30 people."

[0123] Also, for example, the status information acquisition unit 116 may acquire, as the status information, information indicating the time remaining until a preset deadline expires. The information indicating the time remaining may be acquired by referring to the bidding deadline included in the auction medium information.

[0124] Next, the control unit 110 executes steps S152 to S158 for each piece of bid amount information received so far. In step S152, the quick decision management unit 118 judges whether the status information is a predetermined content set in advance. The predetermined content is included in the quick decision instruction information included in the bid setting information associated with the bid amount information.

[0125] For example, the immediate purchase management unit 118 may determine whether the remaining number indicated by the status information is equal to or less than a predetermined number. Also, for example, the immediate purchase management unit 118 may determine whether the bid amount of the other bidding user indicated by the status information is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. Also, for example, the immediate purchase management unit 118 may determine whether the number of the bidding users indicated by the status information is equal to or more than a predetermined number. Also, for example, the immediate purchase management unit 118 may determine whether the remaining time indicated by the status information is equal to or less than a predetermined time.

[0126] If it is determined in step S152 that the status information does not have the predetermined content, the process for the bid amount information ends, and the processes in steps S152 to S158 are executed for the next bid amount information. If it is determined in step S152 that the status information has the predetermined content, step S154 is executed.

[0127] In step S154, the immediate purchase management unit 118 updates the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information to the immediate purchase amount in order to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition. For example, in the auction setting information associated with table T4, an example of which is shown in FIG. 15, it is assumed that the immediate purchase amount is set to 30,000 yen. Also, it is assumed that the bid setting information associated with record T30 includes immediate purchase instruction information that states, "When the minimum bid amount in the successful bid range is 25,000 yen or more and the remaining time is 2 hours or less, a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition will be executed." In this case, when the minimum bid amount in the successful bid range is 25,000 yen or more and the remaining time is 2 hours or less (Yes in S152), the bid amount in record T30 is updated to the immediate purchase amount of 30,000 yen.

[0128] In step S156, the successful bidder determination unit 119 determines the bidding user associated with the immediate purchase instruction information as the successful bidder who will win the bid for the medium to be sold, based on the bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition described above. For example, in table T4, an example of which is shown in Fig. 15, if the bid amount included in record T30 is updated to the immediate purchase amount of 30,000 yen, the successful bidder determination unit 119 determines the bidding user U030 indicated by record T30 as the successful bidder. In addition, the successful bidder determination unit 119 updates the successful bid status of record T30 in table T4 from "unconfirmed" to "confirmed."

[0129] In step S158, the notification unit 120 transmits information notifying the successful bidder of the instant purchase to the bidding user terminal 70 used by the successful bidder who made the instant purchase. The information notifying the successful bid may include situational information that triggered the instant purchase. For example, the information notifying the successful bid may include text such as "The minimum bid amount within the successful bid range is now 25,000 yen or more, and the remaining time is less than two hours, so an instant purchase has been made for the instant purchase amount of 30,000 yen."

[0130] In step S160, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the remaining number of the exhibition medium is 1 or more as a result of the quick decision on the successful bidder. If it is determined that the remaining number is 1 or more, the processes of steps S152 to S158 are repeated for the next bid amount information. If it is determined that the remaining number is 0, or if the processes of steps S152 to S158 have been completed for all bid amount information, the quick decision management process ends.

[0131] 7 again, the flow of the information processing method S1 after step S110 will be described. In step S110, the notification unit 120 refers to the latest ranking information and notifies the bidding users associated with bid amount information with a ranking lower than the winning range that they are out of the winning range. For example, the notification unit 120 refers to table T4 shown in FIG. 15, and transmits information notifying the bidding user terminal 70 used by the bidding user U028 indicated by record L29, which is 31st out of the winning range, that they are out of the winning range.

[0132] In step S702, when the out-of-bidding range receiving unit 712 of the bidding user terminal 70 receives the information notifying the user that he or she is out of the bidding range, the out-of-bidding range receiving unit 712 outputs the information in a manner that the bidding user can recognize. For example, if manual bidding is set, the bidding user who receives the notification can take action such as placing a new bid in order to get within the bidding range. Also, if automatic bidding is set, the bidding user who receives the notification can take action such as paying attention to the progress of automatic bidding or changing the automatic bidding settings.

[0133] In step S112, the control unit 110 of the auction server 10 determines whether or not the end condition for the bidding period of the auction is satisfied. If the end condition is not satisfied, the processes of steps S700 and S104 to S110 are repeated. If the end condition is satisfied, the subsequent step S114 is executed.

[0134] In step S114, the successful bidder determination unit 119 determines, among the multiple bidding users, multiple successful bidders who will win at least some of the multiple listing media of the same type. For example, the successful bidder determination unit 119 may determine, as the successful bidder, a bidding user indicated by a bidding user ID associated with bid amount information within the successful bid range in the ranking information after the end of the bidding period. For example, it is assumed that, after the end of the bidding period, the table T4 shown in FIG. 15 is stored in the storage unit 130. In this case, the successful bidder determination unit 119 determines, as the successful bidder, a bidding user indicated by a bidding user ID included in records L1 to L3, L31, L6 to L29, and L4 within the successful bid range. In addition, the successful bidder determination unit 119 updates the successful bid status of the records in table T4 that are "unconfirmed" to "confirmed."

[0135] In addition, when the bid setting information includes a plurality of bid quantities, the successful bidder determination unit 119 may refer to the availability of "purchase of a portion of the desired quantity" included in the bid setting information to determine whether or not to accept the bid. For example, in the example of table T4 described above, records L4 and L5 indicate a bid of two bid quantities by the bidding user U004. Of these, record L4 is ranked 30th and is within the range of successful bidding, but record L5 is ranked 31st and is outside the range of successful bidding. In this case, if the setting of "purchase of a portion of the desired quantity" corresponding to records L4 and L5 is "available", record L4 is confirmed as a successful bid and record L5 is not successful. In other words, the bidding user U004 can win one of the two bid quantities, which is a portion of the two bid quantities.

[0136] On the other hand, if the setting for "purchase a portion of the desired quantity" corresponding to records L4 and L5 is "not allowed", both records L4 and L5 will be rejected. In other words, if the bidding user U004 is outside the range of winning for even one of the records corresponding to each of the two bid quantities, he / she will not be able to win both. In this case, if there are records ranked 32nd or lower, the record with the desired quantity of 1 or the highest ranked record with the option to purchase a portion of the desired quantity will be confirmed as the successful bid.

[0137] In step S116, the notification unit 120 notifies the selling user terminal 50 and the bidding user terminal 70 of the successful bid result. In addition, if an NFT is associated with the exhibited medium, the notification unit 120 notifies the blockchain system 90 that the owner of the exhibited medium has changed from the exhibited user to the bidding user.

[0138] For example, the bidding result notified to the bidding user terminal 50 may include information indicating the bidding user who won the bidding for the listed medium. For example, the bidding result may be a list of the bidding users who won each of multiple listed media of the same type. Furthermore, the bidding result notified to the bidding user terminal 70 may include information indicating whether or not a bid was made, or the number of successful bids. For example, in the example of table T4 described above, the bidding result notified to the bidding user U004 may include information that the number of successful bids was 1 out of 2 bids.

[0139] In step S704, the successful bid result receiving unit 713 of the bidding user terminal 70 outputs the received successful bid result in a form recognizable by the bidding user. An example of the recognizable form is as described above. In addition, in step S706, if there is a successful bid for a bid medium, the successful bid result receiving unit 713 stores medium information indicating the bid medium in the storage unit 730. Note that steps S704 and S706 do not necessarily have to be performed in this order, and may be performed in the reverse order or in parallel.

[0140] In step S504, the exhibiting medium notification unit 512 of the exhibiting user terminal 50 outputs the received successful bid result in a form recognizable by the exhibiting user, and transmits it to the game server 30. In addition, in step S506, the exhibiting medium notification unit 512 deletes medium information indicating the successful bid for the exhibiting medium from the storage unit 530. Note that steps S504 and S506 do not necessarily have to be performed in this order, and may be performed in the reverse order or in parallel.

[0141] In step S302, when the media management unit 311 of the game server 30 receives the successful bid result from the selling user terminal 50, the media management unit 311 updates the exhibition status information associated with the media information of the game medium indicated by the successful bid result to indicate that the game medium is not being exhibited. As a result, the media management unit 311 allows the use of the game medium in the game. In addition, in step S304, the media management unit 311 changes the owner information of the game medium indicated by the media information from the exhibiting user to the bidding user. Note that steps S302 and S304 do not necessarily have to be performed in this order, and may be performed in the reverse order or in parallel. With this, the system 1 ends the information processing method S1.

[0142] <Variation 1> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the minimum bid amount included in the listing setting information is applied as the initial bid amount in automatic bidding. The initial bid amount in automatic bidding may be specified by the bidding user. In this case, for example, the example screen G3 shown in FIG. 10 may include a UI object that accepts input of the initial bid amount. This makes it possible to avoid starting with a bid amount that is too low compared to the market price, and to form the market price for the auction at an early stage.

[0143] <Variation 2> Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, whether or not to make an automatic bid may be made switchable after placing a bid based on an operation of the bidding user. For example, assume that the bid setting information associated with the bid amount information indicating the bid amount set by manual bidding is changed to make an automatic bid. Such a change in the bid setting information may be made using, for example, screen examples G3 to G4 in Figs. 10 to 11. In this case, the automatic bid management unit 114 updates the bid amount information based on the bid amount most recently manually input, without subsequently updating the bid amount based on an input by the bidding user.

[0144] Also, for example, assume that the bidding setting information associated with the bidding amount information indicating the bid amount set by automatic bidding is changed so as not to perform automatic bidding. In this case, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the bid amount information based on the input of the bidding user, rather than updating it through automatic bidding thereafter. In this case, the bid amount and number of bids most recently updated in automatic bidding may be maintained at the start of manual bidding after the change.

[0145] <Variation 3> In the above embodiment, the order of the earliest bidding time and the largest number of bids is applied in order to rank multiple bid amount information with the same bid amount. However, the type of information referenced to rank multiple bid amount information with the same bid amount and the order of application are not limited to this. For example, multiple bid amount information with the same bid amount may first be ranked in order of the largest number of bids, and then multiple bid amount information with the same bid amount and number of bids may be ranked in order of the earliest bidding time. This gives preferential treatment to bidding users who wish to purchase more of the same type of listing medium.

[0146] Also, when there are multiple bids, the bid amount information corresponding to some of the bids may be given a higher rank, and the bid amount information corresponding to the other bids may be given a lower rank. For example, the bid amount information corresponding to at least some of the bids (e.g., the first bid) for each of multiple bidding users may be given a rank first. In this case, when there are other parts of the bids for each bidding user (e.g., the second or subsequent bids), the bid amount information corresponding to the other parts may be given a rank lower than the lowest rank given to each bid amount information corresponding to the first bid. This allows more bidding users to win bids on multiple listing media of the same type.

[0147] <Variation 4> In the above-described embodiment, step S124 in the automatic bid management process shown in FIG. 12 can be modified as follows. For example, when the bid amount is the same and a higher ranking is assigned with reference to information other than the bidding time, the minimum price within the bidding range may be the "minimum price for being within the bidding range". For example, when the bid amount is the same, the more the number of bids, the higher the ranking is assigned. In this case, if the number of bids associated with the bid amount information to be processed that is outside the bidding range is greater than the number of bids associated with the minimum bid amount information within the bidding range, the bid amount information to be processed is updated to the minimum price, thereby placing the bid amount information within the bidding range. Therefore, in step S124 in FIG. 12, the automatic bid management unit 114 may calculate a provisional ranking for the bid amount information to be processed when the bid amount is updated to the minimum price within the bidding range, and if the provisional ranking is within the bidding range, the minimum price may be calculated as the "minimum price for being within the bidding range". Furthermore, if the provisional ranking is still outside the winning bid range, the automatic bidding management unit 114 may calculate the minimum price plus a predetermined amount as the "minimum price to be within the winning bid range."

[0148] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the automatic bidding management process shown in FIG. 12 can be modified as follows. For example, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the ranking information so that the new bid amount information acquired in step S104 is within the winning bid range. Next, the automatic bidding management unit 114 identifies, among the multiple bid amount information for which automatic bidding is set below the ranking of the new bid amount information, the bid amount information with the lowest maximum bid amount associated with each bid amount information as a new bid outside the winning bid range. Note that, if there are multiple bid amount information with the lowest maximum bid amount, the automatic bidding management unit 114 identifies the bid amount information with the later bidding time as a new bid outside the winning bid range. Next, the automatic bidding management unit 114 determines the amount obtained by adding a predetermined amount to the lowest maximum bid amount as a new re-bid amount. Next, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the bid amount of each bid amount information for which automatic bidding is set below the ranking of the new bid amount information within the winning bid range to the determined re-bid amount. Next, the automatic bidding management unit 114 updates the ranking information based on the updated bid amount. This makes it possible to update, for example, table T2 to table T4, which cannot be updated any further, without performing the repetitive processing as shown in FIG.

[0149] <Variation 5> In the above embodiment, it has been described that a bidding user can select whether to place an automatic bid or a manual bid in one auction. However, the presenting user may be able to set the bidding method for each auction. The settable bidding method may include automatic bidding only, manual bidding only, and both automatic bidding and manual bidding. Since the process or result of an auction may differ depending on the bidding method, by setting the bidding method for each auction, it is possible to make an auction more suitable for the contents of the listing. In an auction in which the bidding method has been set to "automatic bidding only" by the presenting user, only bidding users who have previously set "make automatic bids in all auctions" may be able to participate in the bid, or the auction may be set to automatically make an automatic bid at the same time as placing a bid.

[0150] <Variation 6> In the above embodiment, the number of items that one bidding user can bid on one auction is one. Here, one bid refers to a bid that applies the same bid setting information. This may be modified to allow one bidding user to bid multiple times on one auction. This allows the bid setting information to be different for each of the multiple bids. For example, a bidding user can make multiple bids on one auction, setting a high maximum bid amount for one bid and a low maximum bid amount for the other bid. This allows the bidding user to adopt a strategy of increasing the certainty of acquiring at least one item by bidding with a high maximum bid amount, and acquiring the others if they are low priced. In this modified example, the listing user may be allowed to set an upper limit on the number of items that one bidding user can bid on.

[0151] <Variation 7> In the above embodiment, the explanation was given mainly on an example where the exhibition medium information indicates a plurality of exhibition media of the same type. However, the exhibition medium information may be information indicating only one exhibition medium, or may be information indicating a plurality of exhibition media including at least two different types of exhibition media. Even in this case, the quick purchase management process, particularly in step S108, can be similarly executed. Also, in the above embodiment, the bid amount information acquisition unit 112 was explained as accepting bids from each of a plurality of bidding users. However, the bid amount information acquisition unit 112 may accept bids from at least one bidding user. Even in this case, the quick purchase management process, particularly in step S108, can be similarly executed.

[0152] <Variation 8> In addition, the device configuration constituting the system 1 is not limited to the configuration shown in Fig. 1. For example, the auction server 10 and the game server 30 may be realized on the same computer. In addition, one or both of the auction server 10 and the game server 30 may be one of the distributed nodes in the blockchain system 90. In addition, the listing user terminal 50 and the bidding user terminal 70 may be configured by the same terminal.

[0153] [Note] From the above description, the present invention can be understood, for example, as follows: In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference characters in the accompanying drawings are conveniently added in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments.

[0154] The system (1) according to the first aspect includes an item medium information acquisition unit (111) that acquires item medium information indicating multiple items of the same type to be offered in one auction from a selling user who offers the item medium; a bid amount information acquisition unit (112) that acquires bid amount information indicating the bid amount of each of multiple bidding users who will bid in the auction; a winning user determination unit (119) that determines multiple winning users, among the multiple bidding users, who will win at least some of the multiple item media; a ranking information acquisition unit (113) that acquires ranking information indicating the ranking of the bid amount information when the bid amount is sorted in descending order; and an automatic bidding management unit (114) that determines whether or not to update the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information, where the ranking is outside the winning bid range set based on the number of the item media, to the lowest bid amount for bringing the ranking into the winning bid range, until an end condition is satisfied at the end of the bidding period of the auction, based on a prior setting by a bidding user associated with the bid amount information, and executes the update if it is determined that the update is possible. According to the above configuration, the number of users who can purchase at or near the minimum price increases, improving the sense of fairness.

[0155] In the system (1) according to the second aspect, in the first aspect, the advance settings made by the bidding user include an upper limit of the bid amount to be updated. With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the bidding user from making a bid higher than expected.

[0156] In the system (1) according to aspect 3, in aspect 1 or 2, the bid amount information is associated with the time at which the bid was made based on the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information, and the ranking information indicates that when there is a plurality of bid amount information with the same bid amount, the bid amount information that was made earlier has a higher ranking. With the above configuration, in an auction with multiple successful bidders, there may be cases where some bids are successful and others are not, despite the same bid amount. In such cases, the satisfaction of users who were not successful in winning the bid is improved.

[0157] The system (1) according to aspect 4 is any one of aspects 1 to 3, in which the exhibit medium information is associated with information indicating a bidding unit, which is the minimum number of exhibit mediums to be bid on. With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent an exhibit medium, which is preferably used in the minimum number, from being bid on in less than the minimum number.

[0158] The system (1) according to aspect 5 is any one of aspects 1 to 3, in which the exhibit medium information is associated with information indicating the upper limit of the number of items that one successful bidder can bid on. With the above configuration, multiple exhibit media of the same type can be bid on by more users.

[0159] The system (1) according to the sixth aspect is any one of the first to fifth aspects, and further includes a notification unit (120) that notifies a bidding user associated with the bid amount information of a lower ranking than the successful bidding range that the user is outside the successful bidding range. According to the above configuration, the bidding user who is outside the successful bidding range can know that fact.

[0160] The system according to aspect 7 is any one of aspects 1 to 6, in which the auction medium is an electronic medium associated with a non-fungible token whose holder is managed on a blockchain. With the above configuration, the credibility of the electronic medium can be maintained. For example, it can be shown that the electronic medium was not generated through fraudulent activity. Furthermore, by associating the non-fungible token, information regarding transaction history can be obtained more easily.

[0161] The method (S1) according to the eighth aspect is a method executed by one or more computers, and includes a medium-selling information acquisition step (S100) of acquiring medium-selling information indicating a plurality of the same type of medium-selling media to be offered in one auction from a user who offers the medium-selling media; a bid amount information acquisition step (S104) of acquiring bid amount information indicating the bid amount of each of a plurality of bidding users who will bid in the auction; and a winning bidder determination step (S114) of determining a plurality of winning bidders who will win bids for at least some of the plurality of medium-selling media from among the plurality of bidding users. ), a ranking information acquisition step (S106) of acquiring ranking information indicating the ranking of the bid amount information when the bid amount information is sorted in descending order of the bid amount, and an automatic bid management step (S106) of determining whether or not to update the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information, which is outside the bidding range set based on the number of media to be exhibited, to the lowest bid amount for bringing the rank within the bidding range, until a termination condition is met at the end of the bidding period of the auction, based on a setting made in advance by a bidding user associated with the bid amount information, and executing the update if it is determined that the update is possible. With the above configuration, the same effect as in aspect 1 can be achieved.

[0162] The program according to the ninth aspect includes a program for causing one or more computers to execute a medium selling information acquisition step (S100) of acquiring medium selling information indicating a plurality of the same type of medium selling media to be sold in one auction from a selling user who sells the medium selling, a bidding amount information acquisition step (S104) of acquiring bid amount information indicating the bid amount of each of a plurality of bidding users who will bid in the auction, a winning bidder determination step (S114) of determining a plurality of winning bidders who will win at least some of the plurality of medium selling media from among the plurality of bidding users, and The method includes the steps of: acquiring ranking information indicating the ranking of the bid amount information when the bid amount information is sorted in descending order of the bid amount (S106); and determining whether or not to update the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information, which is outside the bidding range set based on the number of media to be exhibited, to the lowest bid amount for bringing the ranking into the bidding range until a termination condition is met in which the bidding period for the auction ends, based on a setting made in advance by a bidding user associated with the bid amount information, and executing the update if it is determined that the update is possible. With the above configuration, the same effect as in aspect 1 can be achieved.

[0163] The system (1) according to the tenth aspect includes a medium information acquisition unit that acquires medium information indicating a medium to be put up for auction from a user who puts up a medium to be put up for auction, a bid amount information acquisition unit (111) that acquires bid amount information indicating a bid amount of a bidding user who will bid at the auction, an immediate decision condition acquisition unit (115) that acquires immediate decision condition information indicating a condition for immediate decision for determining a successful bidder who will win the bid for the medium to be put up for auction before a deadline preset as a bid deadline for the auction expires, and a status information acquisition unit (116) that acquires status information indicating a status of the auction. 6), an immediate purchase instruction information acquisition unit (117) for acquiring immediate purchase instruction information indicating an immediate purchase instruction for executing a bid satisfying the immediate purchase condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance, an immediate purchase management unit (118) for executing a bid satisfying the immediate purchase condition based on the immediate purchase instruction information when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance, and a winning bidder determination unit (119) for determining a bidding user associated with the immediate purchase instruction information as a winning bidder who will win the listing medium based on the bid satisfying the immediate purchase condition executed by the immediate purchase management unit. According to the above configuration, a system is provided in which a bidding user can make an immediate purchase according to the situation of the auction. For example, it is possible to reduce an immediate purchase by a bidder at an unnecessarily high price, and to make an immediate purchase with plenty of time before the auction end time even if the bidding user does not manage the auction end time.

[0164] In the system (1) according to the eleventh aspect, in the tenth aspect, the medium information acquisition unit (111) acquires from the bidding user medium information indicating a plurality of the same type of medium to be put up for auction, the bid amount information acquisition unit (112) acquires bid amount information indicating the bid amount of each of the plurality of bidding users, the successful bidder determination unit determines a plurality of successful bidders among the plurality of bidding users who will win at least some of the plurality of mediums to be put up for auction, the status information includes information indicating the remaining number obtained by subtracting the number of the sold mediums from the number of the plurality of mediums to be put up for auction, and the buy now instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the buy now condition when the remaining number is equal to or less than a predetermined number. According to the above configuration, for an auction in which a plurality of mediums to be put up for auction are put up for auction, it is possible to win the bid for the mediums to be put up for auction by buy now before all the mediums to be put up for auction are sold, and it is possible to reduce the number of bidding users making buy now at unnecessarily high prices.

[0165] In the system (1) of aspect 12, in aspect 10 or 11, the status information includes information indicating the bid amounts of other bidding users, and the immediate buyout instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate buyout condition if the bid amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. According to the above configuration, as the bid amounts of other bidding users increase, the possibility that the bid amount will reach the immediate buyout amount increases. According to this configuration, an immediate buyout can be made before the bid amounts of other bidding users reach the immediate buyout amount.

[0166] A system (1) according to aspect 13 is any one of aspects 10 to 12, in which the status information includes information indicating the number of bidding users bidding on the auction, and the immediate purchase instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition if the number of bidding users is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. According to the above configuration, as the number of bidding users increases, the possibility of not being able to win the bid increases. With this configuration, immediate purchase is possible even in such a case.

[0167] A system (1) according to a fourteenth aspect is any one of aspects ten to thirteen, in which the status information includes information indicating the time remaining until the expiration of the preset deadline, and the immediate purchase instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the remaining time is equal to or less than a predetermined time. With the above configuration, an immediate purchase can be made with plenty of time left. For example, when the remaining time is short, there is a risk that the immediate purchase instruction will not be reflected due to server congestion, but with this configuration, such a risk can be reduced.

[0168] The system (1) according to aspect 15 is any one of aspects 10 to 14, in which the item medium information acquisition unit (111) acquires item medium information indicating multiple items of the same type of item medium being offered in one auction from the item selling user, the bid amount information acquisition unit (112) acquires bid amount information indicating the bid amount of each of the multiple bidding users, and the successful bidder determination unit (119) determines multiple successful bidders from the multiple bidding users who will win bids for at least some of the multiple item mediums. With the above configuration, an auction can be held for media that is valuable when acquired in multiple units, such as electronic media that are used in multiple units.

[0169] The system (1) according to aspect 16, in any one of aspects 10 to 15, further includes a ranking information acquisition unit (113) that indicates the ranking of the bid amount information when the bid amount is sorted in descending order, and an automatic bidding management unit (114) that determines whether or not to update the bid amount indicated by the bid amount information, which is outside the bidding range set based on the number of the auction media, to a bid amount that will bring the ranking within the bidding range, based on a setting made in advance by a bidding user associated with the bid amount information, until a termination condition is met at the end of the bidding period of the auction, and executes the update if it is determined that the update is possible. With the above configuration, it is possible to increase the possibility of a user winning a bid while reducing the effort required for the user to monitor the status of the auction.

[0170] The system (1) according to aspect 17 is any one of aspects 10 to 16, in which the auction medium is an electronic medium associated with a non-fungible token whose holder is managed on a blockchain. With the above configuration, the credibility of the electronic medium can be maintained. For example, it can be shown that the electronic medium was not generated through fraudulent activity. In addition, by associating the non-fungible token, information regarding transaction history can be obtained more easily.

[0171] The method (S1) according to aspect 18 is a method executed by one or more computers, and includes a medium information acquisition step (S100) of acquiring medium information indicating a medium to be auctioned from a selling user who is auctioning the medium, the medium information being acquired, a bid amount information acquisition step (S104) of acquiring bid amount information indicating a bid amount of a bidding user who is bidding in the auction, an immediate buyout condition acquisition step (S100) of acquiring immediate buyout condition information indicating an immediate buyout condition for determining a successful bidder who will win the medium to be auctioned before a deadline preset as a bid deadline for the auction expires, and an acquisition of status information indicating a status of the auction. The method includes a situation information acquisition step (S108) of acquiring a situation information indicating an immediate decision instruction for executing a bid satisfying the immediate decision condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance, a prompt decision management step (S108) of executing a bid satisfying the immediate decision condition based on the immediate decision instruction information when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance, and a winning bidder determination step (S108) of determining a bidding user associated with the immediate decision instruction information as a winning bidder who will win the bid for the medium for sale based on the bid satisfying the immediate decision condition executed by the immediate decision management unit (118). The above configuration provides the same effects as those of mode 10.

[0172] The program according to aspect 19 includes, on one or more computers, a medium-listing information acquisition step (S100) of acquiring medium-listing information indicating the medium to be auctioned from a user who lists the medium, the medium-listing information acquisition step (S104) of acquiring bid amount information indicating the bid amount of a bidding user who will bid on the auction, an immediate buyout condition acquisition step (S100) of acquiring immediate buyout condition information indicating the immediate buyout conditions for determining a successful bidder who will win the medium to be auctioned before a deadline preset as a bid deadline for the auction expires, and a status information acquisition step (S100) of acquiring status information indicating the status of the auction. The method executes a step (S108), an immediate decision instruction information acquisition step (S104) of acquiring immediate decision instruction information indicating an immediate decision instruction for executing a bid satisfying the immediate decision condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance, an immediate decision management step (S108) of executing a bid satisfying the immediate decision condition based on the immediate decision instruction information when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance, and a winning bidder determination step (S108) of determining a bidding user associated with the immediate decision instruction information as a winning bidder who will win the bid for the medium for sale based on the bid satisfying the immediate decision condition executed by the immediate decision management unit (119). The above configuration produces the same effects as those of mode 10.

[0173] [Software implementation example] The functions of each device (hereinafter referred to as a "device") that constitutes system 1 can be realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the device, and by a program for causing a computer to function as each control block of the device (in particular, each unit included in the control unit 110 of the auction server 10).

[0174] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and storage device execute the program to realize each function described in each of the above embodiments.

[0175] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded in one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be provided to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0176] In addition, some or all of the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0177] Furthermore, each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may be executed by the control device or another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0178] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0179] 1 System 10. Auction Server 30 Game Servers 50 Seller user terminal 70 User terminal 90 Blockchain System 11, 31, 51, 71 processors 12, 32, 52, 72 memory 13, 33, 53, 73 Communication Interface 19, 39, 59, 79 Bus 54, 74 Input device 55, 75 Display device 110, 310, 510, 710 Control unit 130, 330, 530, 730 storage section 111 Exhibition media information acquisition department 112 Bid information acquisition unit 113 Ranking Information Acquisition Unit 114 Automatic Bidding Management Department 115 Upper limit number information acquisition unit 116 Quick decision acquisition section 117 Status Information Acquisition Department 118 Immediate Instruction Information Acquisition Department 119 Quick Decision Management Department 120 Winning Bidder Determination Department 121 Notification Department 311 Media Management Department 511 Exhibition UI Department 512 Exhibition media notification department 711 Bidding UI Department 712 Out of Bid Reception Department 713 Bidding Result Reception Department

Claims

1. a medium-for-sale information acquisition unit that acquires medium-for-sale information indicating a medium to be auctioned from a user who auctions the medium; a bid amount information acquisition unit that acquires bid amount information indicating bid amounts of bidding users who will bid in the auction; an immediate decision condition acquisition unit that acquires immediate decision condition information indicating immediate decision conditions for determining a successful bidder who will win the bid for the exhibited medium before a deadline preset as a bidding deadline for the auction expires; a status information acquisition unit for acquiring status information indicating a status of the auction; an immediate decision instruction information acquisition unit that acquires immediate decision instruction information indicating an immediate decision instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate decision condition when the situation information is a predetermined content that is set in advance; a prompt decision management unit that executes a bid that satisfies the prompt decision condition based on the prompt decision instruction information when the status information is a predetermined content that has been set in advance; a winning bidder determination unit that determines a bidding user associated with the quick decision instruction information as a winning bidder who will win the bid for the exhibition medium based on the bid that satisfies the quick decision condition executed by the quick decision management unit; A system comprising:

2. The selling medium information acquisition unit acquires, from the selling user, selling medium information indicating a plurality of selling media of the same type to be put up for a single auction; the bid amount information acquisition unit acquires bid amount information indicating a bid amount of each of the plurality of bidding users; The successful bidder determination unit determines a plurality of successful bidders among the plurality of bidding users who will win bids for at least some of the plurality of listing media; The status information includes information indicating a remaining number obtained by subtracting the number of the sold media from the number of the plurality of the sold media, The immediate purchase instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition when the remaining number is equal to or less than a predetermined number. The system of claim 1 .

3. The status information includes information indicating bid amounts of other bidding users, The system according to claim 1 , wherein the immediate purchase instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate purchase condition if the bid amount is equal to or exceeds a predetermined amount.

4. the status information includes information indicating the number of bidding users placing bids in the auction, The instant purchase instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the instant purchase condition when the number of the bidding users is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. The system of claim 1 .

5. the status information includes information indicating the remaining time until the preset time limit expires, The immediate decision instruction information is information indicating an instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the immediate decision condition when the remaining time is equal to or less than a predetermined time. The system of claim 1 .

6. The selling medium information acquisition unit acquires, from the selling user, selling medium information indicating a plurality of selling media of the same type to be put up for a single auction; the bid amount information acquisition unit acquires bid amount information indicating a bid amount of each of the plurality of bidding users; the successful bidder determination unit determines, from among the plurality of bidding users, a plurality of successful bidders who will win bids for at least some of the plurality of listing media; The system of claim 1 .

7. a ranking information acquisition unit that indicates a ranking of the bid amount information in descending order of the bid amount; Until the end of the bidding period for that auction is met, and an automatic bidding management unit that determines whether or not to update a bid amount indicated by the bid amount information, the ranking of which is outside the bidding range set based on the number of the auction media, to a bid amount that will bring the ranking into the bidding range based on a setting made in advance by a bidding user associated with the bid amount information, and executes the update when it is determined that the update is possible. The system of claim 1 .

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the listing medium is an electronic medium associated with a non-fungible token whose holder is managed on a blockchain.

9. A method implemented by one or more computers, comprising: a medium-selling information acquisition step of acquiring medium-selling information indicating a medium to be sold at an auction from a selling user who sells the medium; a bid amount information acquisition step of acquiring bid amount information indicating bid amounts of bidding users who will bid in the auction; a step of acquiring information on immediate purchase conditions indicating immediate purchase conditions for determining a successful bidder who will win the bid for the medium before a period that is preset as a period during which the medium can be bid for in the auction expires; a status information acquiring step of acquiring status information indicating a status of the auction; a prompt decision instruction information acquisition step of acquiring prompt decision instruction information indicating a prompt decision instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the prompt decision condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; a prompt decision management step of executing a bid that satisfies the prompt decision condition based on the prompt decision instruction information when the status information is a predetermined content that has been set in advance; a winning bidder determination step of determining a bidding user associated with the quick decision instruction information as a winning bidder who will win the bid for the exhibition medium based on the bid that satisfies the quick decision condition executed by the quick decision management step; The method includes:

10. On one or more computers, a medium-selling information acquisition step of acquiring medium-selling information indicating a medium to be sold at an auction from a selling user who sells the medium; a bid amount information acquisition step of acquiring bid amount information indicating bid amounts of bidding users who will bid in the auction; a step of acquiring information on immediate purchase conditions indicating immediate purchase conditions for determining a successful bidder who will win the bid for the medium before a period that is preset as a period during which the medium can be bid for in the auction expires; a status information acquiring step of acquiring status information indicating a status of the auction; a prompt decision instruction information acquisition step of acquiring prompt decision instruction information indicating a prompt decision instruction to execute a bid that satisfies the prompt decision condition when the situation information is a predetermined content set in advance; a prompt decision management step of executing a bid that satisfies the prompt decision condition based on the prompt decision instruction information when the status information is a predetermined content that has been set in advance; a winning bidder determination step of determining a bidding user associated with the quick decision instruction information as a winning bidder who will win the bid for the exhibition medium based on the bid that satisfies the quick decision condition executed by the quick decision management step; A program that executes the following.

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