Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device, information process method and program capable of controlling the number of issues of proper digital content according to performance of players.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes an issuance control part for issuing digital content corresponding to players of a prescribed game, where the issuance control part controls the number of issues of digital content in a second period including a period after a first period based on play performance of the players in the first period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, systems have been known that use blockchain technology to buy, sell, and manage digital content such as game items, videos, or cards depicting characters from manga or anime works (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Using blockchain to manage digital content makes it easier to manage the number of digital content in circulation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-152815 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-013271 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, the value of content, such as its rarity, is determined by the number of copies in circulation in the market, but when content is sold in limited quantities, the number of copies to be issued is generally decided by the seller. For example, if the content corresponds to a professional athlete, the value of the content for that athlete among consumers will fluctuate depending on the athlete's performance, but in conventional systems, the athlete's performance could not be reflected in the number of copies issued, and there was a risk that the value of the content would diverge from the evaluation by consumers.

[0005] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to control the appropriate number of digital contents to be issued depending on the performance of the players. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an issuance control unit that issues digital content corresponding to a player in a specified sport, and the issuance control unit controls the number of digital contents issued in a second period that includes a period after the first period based on the player's playing performance in a first period. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the appropriate number of digital contents to be issued depending on the performance of a player. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing system including an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a digital content display screen. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between a first period, a second period, and a third period. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a first notification screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a second notification screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of functions of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of user information. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of player information. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of digital content information. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an information processing flow according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an information processing flow according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The information processing device, information processing method, and program of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely an example given to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. In other words, the present invention may be modified or improved from the embodiment described below without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Naturally, the present invention also includes equivalents thereof.

[0010] Furthermore, the examples of screens described in this specification and drawings are merely examples, and the screen configuration and design, content of the displayed information, and GUI (Graphical User Interface), etc. can be freely designed according to the system design specifications and viewer preferences, etc., and can be changed as appropriate.

[0011] Furthermore, the term "user" in this specification refers to a user of the information processing device of the present invention, i.e., a user of the service provided by the information processing device of the present invention, and more specifically, a person who may own digital content provided by the information processing device of the present invention. Furthermore, a user is a unit to which a service usage account is assigned.

[0012] <Overview of the system according to this embodiment> 1 (hereinafter referred to as information processing system S) is a communication system including an information processing device (hereinafter referred to as server 10) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Information processing system S is a computer system that is responsible for the overall management of digital content corresponding to athletes in a specified sport, and provides users with services related to the issuance, collection, trading, etc. of digital content. In this embodiment, the technology used to record digital content is blockchain technology, which distributes and manages transaction histories, in order to avoid unauthorized data tampering, etc. However, the technology used to record digital content is not limited to blockchain, and other distributed ledger technologies may also be used, or other technologies may be used as long as they can prevent unauthorized data tampering, etc.

[0013] A competition is a game, such as a computer game or a sport, in which athletes (players) compete against each other according to certain rules to determine superiority in skills or abilities. Examples of competitions include real-life professional or amateur sports such as baseball, soccer, boxing, swimming, track and field, or racing. Competitions may be individual or team events. Competition also includes e-sports (electronic sports), which are competitive computer games in which players compete against each other. The game genre of e-sports is not particularly limited and may be any game genre. Note that e-sports may involve humans competing against each other as players, or humans competing against a computer (e.g., AI or a robot).

[0014] A player of a sport is a player who plays in the sport, and includes, for example, a baseball player, a soccer player, a boxer, a swimmer, a track and field athlete, a racer, a racing car, a jockey, a racehorse, or a gamer. A player may be a professional or an amateur player. Furthermore, a player is not limited to an individual, but may also be a team or a combination. For example, a professional baseball team may be considered one player, or a doubles combination or a combination of a jockey and a racehorse may be considered one player.

[0015] Digital content is unique data that cannot be replaced as a digital asset, and includes data equivalent to a trading card that records information such as the name, photo, affiliation, uniform number, position, results, and profile of an actual player in a specified sport, i.e., a so-called digital trading card. Furthermore, digital content may be data corresponding to an actual player in a specified sport, and may be, for example, a gameplay video of a few seconds to a few minutes that includes scenes of the player in action, or a behind-the-scenes video of the player. Digital content cannot be copied or altered, and each individual user can purchase and make their own unique digital content. Once a user becomes the owner, they can freely use the digital content they own, such as viewing, listening to, publishing, or transferring it, at any time.

[0016] An example of digital content is a non-fungible token, or NFT, which is managed as data on a known blockchain. Like NFTs, the digital content of this embodiment has a unique identifier (content ID) that enables it to be distinguished from other digital content, and has unique value that distinguishes it from other digital content. Similarly to NFTs, digital content can be traded on a blockchain, and the transaction history of the digital content can be recorded using blockchain or other distributed ledger technology. Furthermore, the owner and owner history (information about past owners) of the digital content can also be recorded using blockchain or other distributed ledger technology.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, the digital content displays the player's name and photo, as well as the player's nationality, uniform number, team, height, date of birth, performance, profile, etc. Also displayed is a content ID (e.g., 1001) indicating that the digital data is unique. This content ID is unique; no other digital content of the same player has the same number, and functions as a unique identifier.

[0018] As described above, the digital content in this embodiment is non-fungible data, and therefore the scarcity of the digital content depends on the number of issues of the digital content. In this embodiment, the number of issues of the digital content is set based on the playing performance of the player during a predetermined period. Specifically, the number of issues of the digital content for a second period, which includes a period after the first period, is determined based on the playing performance of the player during a first period.

[0019] For example, as shown in Figure 3(A), if the first period is set to January to December 2021 and the second period is set to January to December 2022, and the number of digital contents to be issued this year (this season) is determined based on the performance of players in the previous year (last season), players who performed well in the first period are likely to become more popular with users in the future, so in order to increase the rarity of digital content corresponding to that player, the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period is set to be small after the end of the first period or before the start of the second period. On the other hand, players who did not perform well in the first period are not likely to become more popular with users, so there is no need to increase the rarity of digital content corresponding to that player, and the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period is set to be large.

[0020] 3(B), the first period is set to January to June 2022, the second period is set to July to December 2022, and the third period is set to January to December 2022. The planned number of digital contents to be issued this year (this season) has already been determined based on the performance of players in the previous year (last season), and the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the second half of this season is determined before the start of the second half of this season based on the performance of players in the first half of this season. The planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period is divided into 12 and the same number is issued regularly every month starting in January 2022. The planned number of digital contents to be issued in the second period is controlled based on the number of digital contents issued during the period of the third period other than the second period and the playing performance of players in the first period. Note that the planned number of digital contents to be issued should be set higher for players with poor performance, such as rookies, and lower for popular players with sufficient performance.

[0021] Specifically, the planned number of issues in the third period (strictly speaking, the planned number of issues excluding the number of digital contents that have already been issued) may be changed to prioritize the number of issues in the second period, or the planned number of issues in the third period may be changed to prioritize the number of issues in the second period. For example, if the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period is 1,200, and 100 are to be issued each month from January to December 2022, the number of digital contents issued as of July 2022 will be 600, and the planned number of digital contents to be issued for the remaining period corresponding to the second period (July to December 2022) will be 600. In this case, if the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period, determined based on the playing performance of the player in the first period, is 500, the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period may be changed from 1,200 to 1,100 (500 for unissued content) in favor of the number to be issued in the second period, or the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the second period may be changed from 500 to 600 in favor of the number to be issued in the third period. In addition, the planned number of issues for the third period may be the number of issues for the second period (e.g., 500) divided by the number of remaining months in the third period (e.g., 6 months) multiplied by the total duration of the third period (e.g., 12 months).

[0022] In addition, if the number of digital contents issued in the second period is less than the number planned to be issued in the third period, the number planned to be issued in the second period may be given priority, and if the number of digital contents issued in the second period is more than the number planned to be issued in the third period, the number planned to be issued in the third period may be given priority. For example, if the planned number of issues in the third period is 1,200 and the planned number of issues in the remaining period corresponding to the second period (July to December 2022) is 600, if the number of digital content issues in the second period reaches 500, the planned number of issues in the third period will be changed from 1,200 to 1,100 (500 for unissued content) in order to prioritize the number of issues in the second period, and if the number of digital content issues in the second period reaches 700, the planned number of issues in the third period will be changed from 700 to 600 in order to prioritize the number of issues in the third period.

[0023] Although the above example shows that the first period and the second period do not overlap, the first period and the second period may partially overlap, for example, the first period (January to June 2022) and the second period (March to August 2022). Also, the first period and / or the second period may extend beyond the third period, for example, the first period (January to June 2022), the second period (July to December 2022), and the third period (April to October 2022). Also, the first period (January to December 2021), the second period (January to June 2022), and the third period (April to October 2022) may partially overlap. The first period may be outside the third period, such as (January to December 2022). Furthermore, in the above, the period is divided into months, but the period may be divided into game units or the like.

[0024] In this embodiment, the playing record is determined based on the number of points awarded to each player according to the player's play over a predetermined period of time. Specifically, a predetermined value is determined as a standard for setting the number of digital contents to be issued for each player, based on the number of digital contents corresponding to the player already issued during the first period, the player's position, or the player's playing record during the period prior to the first period.The points awarded to the player during the first period are then compared with this predetermined value.If the points are greater than the predetermined value, it is determined that the player will become more popular among users, and the number of digital contents to be issued during the second period is set to be equal to or less than the number of digital contents to be issued during the first period.On the other hand, if the points are less than the predetermined value, the number of digital contents to be issued during the second period is set to be equal to or greater than the number of digital contents to be issued during the first period. It is also possible to simply issue fewer digital contents if the number of points is high, and issue more digital contents if the number of points is low, without comparing with a predetermined value. Furthermore, the unit (period) for evaluating a player's play to award points may be monthly, weekly, or per game (one game or multiple games).

[0025] In this embodiment, excessively issued digital content is collected. Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 3(B) above, if the number of digital contents issued in the first period (a period other than the second period) becomes greater than the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period as a result of the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period being changed based on the number of digital contents issued in the second period, then the digital contents equivalent to the excess amount will be collected from users who own the issued digital contents. For example, if the planned number of digital contents for the third period is 3,600, and the number of digital contents for the second period is changed to 600, dividing the result by the remaining number of months in the third period (6 months) yields 100, which is multiplied by the total length of the third period (12 months), resulting in a change to 1,200. In this case, the number of digital contents issued between January and June is 1,800 (assuming 300 digital contents are issued each month), meaning that as of July, 600 digital contents have already been over-issued. Therefore, the excess 600 digital contents will be withdrawn. Specifically, if a rookie player suddenly becomes successful, it is likely that the digital content corresponding to that player will need to be withdrawn. After withdrawal, the digital content will be deleted, and no one will be able to own the digital content thereafter.

[0026] At this time, users who own over-issued digital content to be collected (recovered content) are prompted to exchange it by being presented with exchangeable content that can be exchanged for the collected content, selected based on predetermined criteria from among the digital content that can still be issued during the second period. For example, digital content whose number that can be issued during the second period is less than a predetermined value (predetermined number of issues) or digital content whose planned number of issues during the third period is within a predetermined range from the collected content, i.e., digital content of similar rarity, is selected as exchangeable content. If the number of digital contents issued during the first period is equal to or greater than the number planned for issuance during the third period, they will be exchangeable, but if the number of digital contents issued during the first period is equal to or less than the number planned for issuance during the third period, they will not be exchangeable. In other words, digital contents will be exchangeable until all excess digital contents are collected.

[0027] Because users can freely use the digital content they own, such as by viewing, listening to, publishing, or transferring it, at any time, they can also trade their digital content with other users, i.e., they can decide on a price for the digital content and transfer ownership of the digital content to other users at that price. In this embodiment, virtual currency is used for transactions, and digital content transactions are completed by exchanging it for virtual currency. Note that transactions are not limited to cases where the digital content is transferred for a fee, but also include cases where the digital content is transferred free of charge.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to stimulate the trading market for digital content, the number of digital content items to be issued in the third period, which is determined based on the playing performance of the player in at least a part of the first period, is notified to the user before the start of the second period. Specifically, the user is notified in advance of how many digital content items will be issued for that player given that playing performance. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a notification including information indicating the planned number of digital content items to be issued (e.g., 1,000) and a link to a location where the contents of the digital content items can be viewed is sent to the user before the start of the second period, i.e., before the digital content items are issued.

[0029] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to stimulate the digital content trading market, if the number of digital content issued in the second period is changed, a notification is sent to users who own the digital content to encourage them to trade with other users. Specifically, the owner user is notified that the number of digital content issued may decrease, causing the price to rise, or that the number of digital content issued may increase, causing the price to plummet. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a notification is sent to the user who owns the digital content, including information indicating the planned number of issues of the changed digital content (e.g., from 1,000 to 500) and a link to a location where the contents of the digital content can be viewed.

[0030] <Configuration of information processing device and user terminal according to this embodiment> Next, the configurations of the information processing device and various terminals according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The information processing device according to this embodiment is configured by a server 10 (hereinafter referred to as the server 10) that functions as a full node server that holds all data of a blockchain that manages transactions of digital content using distributed ledger technology. The server 10 is an example of a computer, and as shown in Fig. 1, is communicably connected to a plurality of user terminals 12 via a network 14, and together with the user terminals 12, forms an information processing system S. The network 14 is a communication network consisting of, for example, the Internet or a mobile communication network, and may include a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), an intranet, and the like.

[0031] The blockchain in this embodiment is a blockchain that links multiple blocks that store issuer information that identifies the issuer (source) of digital content, rule information that defines the trading rules for digital content, information about the virtual currency used in trading digital content, information associated with the digital content, and the transaction history of the digital content. As for other detailed blockchain technologies, they will be based on known technologies and will not be explained in detail here.

[0032] In the information processing system S of this embodiment, with the above configuration, the server 10 and the user terminal 12 cooperate to execute processes such as issuing, collecting, and trading digital content. Specifically, part of the processes such as issuing, collecting, and trading digital content is performed on the server 10 side, and part of the graphic processing is performed on the user terminal 12 side. For example, a program including certain rules, logic, and algorithms is executed on the server 10 side. Meanwhile, the user terminal 12 side synchronizes with the server 10 and executes processes such as issuing, collecting, and trading digital content according to the same rules, logic, and algorithms as the program executed on the server 10.

[0033] The server 10 is an example of the "information processing device" of the present invention, and is a computer that executes various information processes, such as generating, transmitting, and receiving data necessary for issuing, collecting, trading, etc. digital content. Specifically, the server 10 distributes information necessary for issuing, collecting, trading, etc. digital content to the user terminals 12 operated by each user, and also collects and stores information from the user terminals 12 operated by each user.

[0034] In this embodiment, the server 10 is preferably configured with multiple computers distributed in parallel, but may also be configured with a single computer. The server 10 may also be a server computer for a social network service (SNS), an application service provider (ASP), software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), or infrastructure as a service (IaaS). In this case, a series of information processing steps (excluding information input and display) are executed by the server 10, and the user terminal 12 inputs information to be delivered to the server 10, displays information distributed from the server 10, and so on.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, the server 10 has, as hardware devices, a processor 21, a memory 22, a communication interface 23, and a storage 24, which are electrically connected via a bus 25. In addition, the server 10 has installed thereon, as software, an operating system (OS) and a dedicated program for information processing relating to the issuance, collection, trading, etc. of digital content. These programs correspond to the "programs" of the present invention. When the processor 21 operates in accordance with the above programs, the server 10 functions as the information processing device of the present invention and executes a series of processes relating to the issuance, collection, trading, etc. of digital content. The program of the present invention may be acquired by reading it from a computer-readable recording medium, or may be acquired (downloaded) via a network 14 such as the Internet or an intranet.

[0036] The processor 21 may be configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), an MCU (Micro Controller Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc.

[0037] The memory 22 may be configured by semiconductor memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0038] The communication interface 23 may be configured by, for example, a network interface card, a communication interface board, etc. The standard of data communication by the communication interface 23 is not particularly limited, and examples include communication by wireless LAN, communication by 3G to 5G or later generation mobile communication systems, and communication based on LTE (Long Term Evolution).

[0039] Storage24 supports flash memory, HDD (Hard Disc Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), FD (Flexible Disc), MO disk (Magneto-Optical disc), CD The storage 24 may be configured by a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a Secure Digital card (SD card), a Universal Serial Bus memory (USB memory), or the like. In this embodiment, blockchain technology is used, but the storage 24 may be built into the server 10 or may be attached to the server main body in an external format. Furthermore, the storage 24 may be configured by an external computer (for example, a database server) or the like connected to the server main body so as to be able to communicate with it.

[0040] The user terminal 12 is a client terminal that a user operates to acquire digital content (including both purchasing it for a fee and obtaining it free of charge) and to view, listen to, publish, or transfer the acquired digital content at any time. The user terminal 12 is configured by, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a game console, a television set capable of inputting information, a wearable terminal, etc. Note that, for convenience of illustration, four user terminals 12 are shown in Fig. 1, but of course, in reality, there are as many user terminals 12 as there are users.

[0041] The user terminal 12 receives data from the server 10, displays an image (video) represented by the data on a display of the user terminal 12 or on a display device such as a TV connected to the user terminal 12, and outputs audio from a speaker or the like. That is, in this embodiment, the user terminal 12 functions as a display unit and an audio output unit. For example, the user terminal 12 displays a digital content display screen G1, a first notification screen G2, a second notification screen G3, and the like.

[0042] Furthermore, the user terminal 12 accepts user operations, such as operations for acquiring, viewing, listening to, publishing, or transferring digital content, and transmits information corresponding to the operation content to the server 10. In addition to the above operations, the user also performs appropriate operations on the user terminal 12 that are necessary for enjoying the services provided by the information processing system S of this embodiment.

[0043] <Functions of the information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention> The configuration of the server 10, which is an information processing device according to this embodiment, will be explained again from the functional standpoint. 6, the server 10 has a memory unit 30, an information acquisition unit 31, a display control unit 32, a points management unit 33, an issuance control unit 34, a collection control unit 35, a transaction control unit 36, a first notification unit 37, and a second notification unit 38. Of these, the memory unit 30 is realized by the memory 22 or the storage 24, and the other functional units are realized by cooperation between the hardware devices constituting the server 10 and programs installed on the server 10. Note that when the server 10 is made up of multiple computers, the above functions may be distributed so that each of the multiple computers performs a different function. Each functional unit will be described in detail below.

[0044] (Storage part) The storage unit 30 stores various information necessary to execute services related to the issuance, collection, and trading of digital content. Specifically, it stores information about users who use the service, information about athletes in a predetermined sport that are the subject of the digital content, information about digital content issued for athletes in the predetermined sport, etc. It also stores various other information, such as information about sports (not shown) and information about blockchains.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 7, information about users (user information) is stored for each user, with various types of information linked to identification information (such as a user ID) that identifies each user. For example, user information items include information indicating the user's name, attributes, owned virtual currency, owned digital content, and digital content transaction history. Information indicating the name includes the user's real name, nickname, or account name. Information indicating the user's attributes includes the user's gender and age. Information indicating the owned virtual currency includes the type and amount of virtual currency owned by the user. Information indicating the owned digital content includes the number of digital content items currently owned by the user and information for identifying the digital content items (e.g., content ID). Information indicating the digital content transaction history includes, for digital content items traded by the user in the past (including both currently owned digital content and digital content not currently owned), information for identifying the digital content items traded (e.g., content ID), transaction date and time, trading partner, transaction details, transaction amount, and transaction count. Note that user information other than the above, such as the user's personal information, such as contact information and profile, may also be included.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 8, information about athletes in a predetermined sport (athlete information) is stored for each athlete, with various information linked to identification information (athlete ID, etc.) that identifies each athlete. For example, player information items include the player's name, photo, sport, profile, playing history, and information indicating the price, number of issues, and issuance history of the corresponding digital content. Information indicating the profile includes the player's team, uniform number, position, results, and introduction. Information indicating playing history includes the value of points awarded based on play over a specified period. Information indicating the price of the digital content includes the price at the time the digital content was generated (initial setting price). Information indicating the number of issues of the digital content includes the number of issues or planned issues of the digital content set based on the playing history. Information indicating the issuance history of the digital content includes the total number of issues of the digital content that have already been issued, the number of issues of the digital content that have been deleted from the issues, the number of issues, and the timing of issuance. Note that the player information may also include information other than the above, such as the player's personal information, such as contact information.

[0047] As shown in Figure 9, information regarding digital content (digital content information) is stored for each digital content, with various information linked to identification information that identifies the digital content issued for each player (for example, a content ID, which is a unique identifier that enables distinction from other digital content). For example, items of digital content information include information indicating the player corresponding to the digital content, the owner of the digital content, and the owner history. The information indicating the player includes information for identifying the player corresponding to the digital content (such as a player ID). The information indicating the owner includes information for identifying the user who owns the unique digital content (such as a user ID). The information indicating the owner history includes a record of the unique digital content from its issuance to the present, i.e., information about past owners such as when and who owned it. Note that information other than the above, such as information specifying the issuer (publisher) of the digital content or the time of issue, may also be included in the digital content information.

[0048] (Information acquisition department) The information acquisition unit 31 acquires information (data) based on an operation performed by a user on the user terminal 12 by communicating with the user terminal 12. The information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31 includes, for example, information based on operations performed by the user to acquire, view, listen to, publish, or transfer digital content. In addition to the above information, the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31 also includes information based on various selections, designations, instructions, requests, commands, permission or denial, registration, and other input operations performed by the user when providing services related to the issuance, collection, and trading of digital content.

[0049] (Display control unit) The display control unit 32 controls the user terminal 12 to display on the screen of the user terminal 12 various types of information required to provide services related to the issuance, collection, and trading of digital content. Specifically, the display control unit 32 generates display data for displaying results of information processing by the issuance control unit 34, collection control unit 35, transaction control unit 36, first notification unit 37, second notification unit 38, etc., which will be described later, and transmits the generated display data to the user terminal 12 via the network 14. For example, the display control unit 32 causes the user terminal 12 to display a digital content display screen G1, a first notification screen G2, a second notification screen G3, etc.

[0050] (Points Management Department) The point management unit 33 assigns points to each player according to the player's play during a predetermined period, and manages the assigned points. Specifically, the point management unit 33 assigns and manages points to players by storing points (including negative points) calculated according to the player's play over a predetermined period in association with the player in the storage unit 30 and updating the player information. For example, +10 points are assigned for scoring a goal, +5 points for assisting a goal, +10 points for preventing a goal, or +2 points for playing the full game. Also, 200 points are assigned for receiving an MVP award, etc. On the other hand, for example, -5 points are assigned for making a serious mistake during a game, or -20 points are assigned, or taken away, for example, for a long absence.

[0051] In addition, the point management unit 33 determines a predetermined value that serves as a standard for setting the number of digital contents to be issued for each player, based on the number of digital contents corresponding to the player issued during the first period, the player's position, or the player's playing performance during the period prior to the first period. Specifically, the predetermined value of points determined based on the above conditions is stored in the storage unit 30 in association with the player, and the player information is updated, thereby setting the predetermined value for each player. For example, if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is large, if the position is a behind-the-scenes position where it is difficult to score, or if the player's playing record in the period prior to the first period is low, the predetermined value is set low. On the other hand, if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is small, if the position is a central position where it is easy to score, or if the player's playing record in the period prior to the first period is high, the predetermined value is set high.

[0052] (Issuance control unit) The issuance control unit 34 controls the number of digital contents to be issued in a second period that includes a period after the first period, based on the playing record of the player in the first period, and issues the digital contents in accordance with the number of issues. Specifically, if the points in the first period are greater than a predetermined value set for each player, it is determined that the player's popularity among users will increase, and in order to increase the rarity of digital content corresponding to that player, the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period is set to be equal to or less than the number of digital contents to be issued in the first period. The number of digital contents to be issued is then associated with the corresponding player and stored in storage unit 30, and the player information is updated, thereby setting the number of digital contents to be issued for each player. On the other hand, if the points in the first period are less than the predetermined value set for each player, the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period is set to be equal to or greater than the number of digital contents to be issued in the first period, and the number of digital contents to be issued is associated with the corresponding player and stored in storage unit 30, and the player information is updated, thereby setting the number of digital contents to be issued for each player. When setting the number of digital content to be issued, if the number is increased or decreased from the initial setting value, the initial setting value may be the same for all players, or may be different for each player, for example, by lowering the initial setting value for rookie players.

[0053] Furthermore, when the planned number of digital contents to be issued for a third period including the second period is set, the issuance control unit 34 controls the number of digital contents to be issued for the second period based on the number of digital contents already issued during periods of the third period other than the second period. Furthermore, when the third period includes the first period and the second period, the issuance control unit 34 changes the planned number of digital contents to be issued for the third period based on the play history for the first period. In other words, when the third period includes the first period and the second period, the planned number of digital contents to be issued for the third period is changed based on the play history for the first period. Specifically, the planned number of issues is changed based on the number of digital contents issued during periods other than the second period within the third period and the number of digital contents to be issued set for the second period, and the number of digital contents to be issued is changed for each player by associating it with the player, storing it in the memory unit 30, and updating the player information.

[0054] (Recovery control unit) If the third period includes the first period and the second period, and the number of digital contents issued in the first period is greater than the number of digital contents planned to be issued in the third period, the recovery control unit 35 executes a recovery process to recover and amortize the digital contents from users who own the issued digital contents. Specifically, the association between the collected published digital content and the user who owned the digital content is cancelled, and the collected digital content data is deleted or future association with other users is not permitted.

[0055] Furthermore, when collecting digital content, the collection control unit 35 selects exchangeable content that can be exchanged for the collection target content, and cooperates with the display control unit 32 to present the exchangeable content to the user. Specifically, the collection control unit 35 selects as the exchange target content digital content selected based on a predetermined criterion from among the digital content that can still be issued during the second period, for example, digital content whose number that can be issued during the second period is less than a predetermined number of issues (predetermined value), or digital content whose planned number of issues during the third period differs from the collection target content by a predetermined range. Furthermore, the collection control unit 35 controls the digital contents to be exchangeable if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is equal to or greater than the number planned to be issued in the third period, and controls the digital contents to be non-exchangeable if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is equal to or less than the number planned to be issued in the third period. In other words, the digital contents are exchangeable until all of the excess digital contents are collected.

[0056] (Transaction Control Unit) The transaction control unit 36 ​​controls transactions of digital content between users. Specifically, when a digital content transaction is concluded between users, the association between the transferring user and the digital content is released, the transferee user is associated with the digital content whose ownership has been transferred to the transferee user, and the respective pieces of information are stored in the storage unit 30, thereby updating the user information of the transferring and transferee users. Note that at this time, if the transfer is for a fee, the association between the receiving user and the virtual currency in an amount equivalent to the price of the digital content is released, and the transferring user is associated with the virtual currency in an amount equivalent to the price of the digital content, and the respective pieces of information are stored in the storage unit 30, thereby updating the user information of the transferring and transferee users.

[0057] (First Notification Department) The first notification unit 37 communicates with the user terminal 12 to notify the user before the start of the second period of the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period, which is determined based on the player's playing performance during at least a portion of the first period. Specifically, notification data is generated that includes information indicating the planned number of digital content items to be issued as determined by the issuance control unit 34 and a link to a location where the contents of the digital content items can be confirmed, and the generated notification data is sent via the network 14 to the user's user terminal 12 before the digital content items for the second period are issued.

[0058] (Second Notification Department) When the number of digital content issues in the second period is changed, the second notification unit 38 communicates with the user terminal 12 to notify the user who owns the digital content to encourage them to trade with other users. Specifically, when the issuance control unit 34 changes the number of issues of digital content that has already been issued, notification data is generated that includes information indicating the number of issues of the digital content before and after the change, or a link to a location where information regarding the number of issues of the digital content can be confirmed, and the generated notification data is sent via the network 14 to the user terminal 12 of the user who owns the corresponding digital content.

[0059] The above has described the configurations of the server 10 and the user terminal 12. Generally, the server 10 and the user terminal 12 have various functions other than those described above, but here, only the characteristic functions that produce the effects in the information processing system S of the present invention will be described, and illustrations and descriptions of other known functions will be omitted.

[0060] <Information processing flow according to one embodiment of the present invention> Next, with reference to Figures 11 and 12, the flow of information processing (hereinafter referred to as information processing flow) executed in the information processing system S configured as described above will be described. The information processing flow employs the information processing method of the present invention and is realized by using the information processing system S functioning as a computer system. In other words, each step in the information processing flow corresponds to a component of the information processing method of the present invention. Note that the information processing flow described below is merely an example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the order in which steps are performed may be changed, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0061] (Information processing flow) This information processing flow is the core information processing of the present invention, which controls the number of digital contents to be issued in a second period, which includes a period after the first period, based on the playing performance of a player in a first period, and proceeds, for example, along the flow shown in Figure 10. Here, we will explain how the number of digital contents to be issued this year (this season) will be determined before the start of this season based on the performance of players in the previous year (last season), with last season being set as the first period and this season as the second period.

[0062] As shown in Figure 10, first, the server 10, which is a computer, sets a predetermined value that serves as a standard for setting the number of digital contents to be issued for each player, based on the number of digital contents corresponding to the player that have been issued in the first period, the player's position, or the player's playing performance in the period prior to the first period (S101). Then, the server 10 assigns points to each player by storing the points calculated based on the player's play during the first period, i.e., the player's performance (for example, 10 points if the player scores a goal), in association with the player in the memory unit 30 (S102).

[0063] Next, if the server 10 determines that the points awarded to the player based on the playing record in the first period are greater than the predetermined value set for each player (S103: YES), it sets the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period to be equal to or less than the number to be issued in the first period (S104).On the other hand, if the server 10 determines that the points awarded to the player based on the playing record in the first period are less than the predetermined value set for each player (S103: NO), it sets the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period to be equal to or greater than the number to be issued in the first period (S105).

[0064] Then, the server 10 generates display data for displaying information about the digital content whose number of issues has been determined, and issues the digital content for the second period by making the generated display data viewable by the user (S106), and ends the processing. The above is an example of the information processing flow of the present invention.

[0065] As another example, the process may proceed along the flow shown in FIG. In the following, we will explain the case where the planned number of digital content items to be issued this year has already been determined based on the players' performance in the previous year, and the number of digital content items to be issued in the second half of this season is determined based on the players' performance in the first half of this season before the second half of this season begins. That is, we will explain this by setting the first half of this season (January to June 2022) as Period 1, the second half of this season (July to December 2022) as Period 2, and the entire season (January to December 2022) as Period 3. Furthermore, the planned number of digital content items to be issued in Period 3 will be divided into 12 and the same number will be issued regularly every month starting in January 2022.

[0066] As shown in Figure 11, first, the server 10, which is a computer, sets a predetermined value that serves as a standard for setting the number of digital contents to be issued for each player, based on the number of digital contents corresponding to the player already issued in the first period, the player's position, or the player's playing performance in the period prior to the first period (S201). Then, the server 10 assigns points to each player by storing the points calculated according to the play of the player in the first period, that is, the performance of the player, in the storage unit 30 in association with the player (S202).

[0067] Next, if the server 10 determines that the points awarded to the player based on the playing record in the first period are greater than the predetermined value set for each player (S203: YES), it sets the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period to be equal to or less than the number to be issued in the first period (S204).On the other hand, if the server 10 determines that the points awarded to the player based on the playing record in the first period are less than the predetermined value set for each player (S203: NO), it sets the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period to be equal to or greater than the number to be issued in the first period (S205).

[0068] Then, the server 10 changes the planned number of unpublished digital contents to be issued in the third period, i.e., the number of digital contents that were scheduled to be issued from July to December 2022, which corresponds to the second period, to the newly set number to be issued in the second period by processing S204 or S205 (S206). Furthermore, if the server 10 determines that the planned number of digital contents for the third period, which has been changed in conjunction with the change in the number of digital contents for the second period, is equal to or less than the number of digital contents already issued for the third period—specifically, the period of the third period other than the second period, from January to June 2022 (S207: YES), the server 10 collects digital contents equivalent to the amount of digital contents issued in excess of the planned number of digital contents for the third period (S208) and deletes the collected digital contents (S209). Specifically, the server 10 disassociates the collected, published digital contents from the user who owned the digital contents, and then deletes the collected digital contents data or prohibits future association with other users. Furthermore, when collecting digital contents, the server 10 selects exchangeable contents that can be exchanged for the collected digital contents and transmits the selected exchangeable contents to the user terminal 12 of the corresponding user. If it is determined that the planned number of issues for the third period is equal to or greater than the number of digital contents already issued for the third period (S207: NO), the process proceeds to the next step without executing the processes of S208 and S209.

[0069] Then, the server 10 generates display data for displaying information about the digital content whose number of issues has been determined, and issues the digital content for the second period by making the generated display data viewable by the user (S210), and ends the processing. The above is another example of the information processing flow of the present invention.

[0070] <Other embodiments> Up to this point, we have explained the information processing device, information processing method, and program of the present invention using specific examples, but the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and other embodiments may also be considered.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the digital content is primarily a collection, but the digital content may also be used as characters that move in the game or items that are used in the game. For example, digital content can be used in a game in which real-world athletic matches are reflected in the game world and users can earn points or the like in the game. Specifically, users who are game players own digital content corresponding to athletes in their favorite sports, and can earn points when the athletes corresponding to the digital content owned by the users perform well in actual real-world athletic matches. Players with the highest points are then awarded virtual currency or the like as rewards. In this case, digital content corresponding to athletes who frequently perform well provides an advantage in the game, and coupled with the fact that fewer such content is issued, it becomes increasingly popular in the trading market, making it more likely for prices to soar. In this case, it is advisable to install a separate game server within the information processing system S to provide the game to users.

[0072] In the above embodiment, the server 10 functions as the information processing device of the present invention, but this is not limited thereto, and some of the functions of the server 10 may be provided in the user terminal 12. For example, some or all of the functions of the point management unit 33, the transaction control unit 36, the first notification unit 37, or the second notification unit 38 may be provided in the user terminal 12.

[0073] In the above embodiment, user information, player information, digital content information, etc. are stored on the server 10, but it is also possible to provide a separate database server (not shown) and store all of the information in that database server, or to store the information on the user terminal 12 side.

[0074] In the above embodiment, in principle, users can enjoy all functions free of charge, but some functions may be limited and available by paying a specified usage fee. Furthermore, various conditions may be set for paying users who have paid a specified usage fee to make it advantageous for them when trading digital content, such as by providing preferential notification of information about rare digital content, offering discounts or bonuses when purchasing digital content, etc. The usage fee may be a pay-as-you-go system, or may be a subscription-like system in which a one-time payment is valid for the viewer for a certain period of time (e.g., one month or one year).

[0075] <Summary> An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to determine the rarity of digital content to be issued in accordance with the playing record of a player corresponding to the digital content. For example, if the digital content corresponds to a player in a sport, the object may be to determine the rarity of the digital content in accordance with the playing record of the corresponding player. The main features of the information processing device, information processing method, and program according to the above-described embodiment are as follows.

[0076] [1] The information processing device of this embodiment includes an issuance control unit that issues digital content corresponding to a player in a specified sport, and the issuance control unit controls the number of digital contents to be issued in a second period, which includes a period after the first period, based on the player's playing performance in a first period. According to the above information processing device, the number of digital contents to be issued in a second period, which includes a period after the first period, is controlled based on the player's playing performance in a first period, so that the number of digital contents to be issued can be controlled appropriately according to the player's performance.

[0077] [2] The information processing device includes a point management unit that manages points awarded to each player according to the player's play during a predetermined period, and an issuance control unit that controls the number of digital contents issued during the second period to be equal to or less than the number issued during the first period if the points during the first period are greater than a predetermined value, and controls the number of digital contents issued during the second period to be equal to or greater than the number issued during the first period if the points during the first period are less than the predetermined value. In this way, by converting a player's playing record over a specified period into points and comparing them with a specified value to control the number of digital contents issued, it is possible to more accurately and simply control the appropriate number of digital contents issued in accordance with the player's performance.

[0078] [3] In the information processing device, the point management unit determines a predetermined value for each player based on the number of digital contents issued in the first period or the playing record in the period before the first period. In this way, by setting a predetermined standard point value for each player, it is possible to more accurately and simply control the appropriate number of digital content items to be issued according to the player's performance.

[0079] [4] In the above-mentioned information processing device, when the planned number of digital contents to be issued in a third period including the second period is set, the issuance control unit controls the number of digital contents to be issued in the second period based on the number of digital contents already issued in the third period other than the second period. In this way, the number of issues in the second period, which is included in the third period for which the planned number of issues has already been set, is controlled based on the number of issues already issued in the periods other than the second period within the third period. Therefore, it is possible to change the number of issues in the second period while maintaining the planned number of issues in the third period, and it is possible to more accurately control the appropriate number of digital contents to be issued in accordance with the player's performance.

[0080] [5] The information processing device includes a collection control unit, the third period includes the first period and the second period, the issuance control unit changes the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period based on the play history in the first period, and the collection control unit executes a collection process to collect the digital contents from users who own the digital contents if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is greater than the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period. In this way, in a third period that includes the first and second periods, if the number of digital contents issued in the second period is changed based on the playing results in the first period and the number of digital contents issued in the first period exceeds the number of digital contents planned to be issued in the third period, the excess digital contents are collected. This makes it possible to more accurately control the appropriate number of digital contents to be issued in accordance with the player's performance.

[0081] [6] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the collection control unit presents the user with exchangeable content to be exchanged for the digital content during the collection process, and the exchangeable content is selected based on predetermined criteria from among the digital content that can be issued during the second period. In this way, when collecting excess digital content, the user is presented with exchangeable content selected based on predetermined criteria, which motivates the user to exchange digital content. This makes collection easier and more accurate, allowing for more accurate control of the appropriate number of digital content to be issued in accordance with the player's performance.

[0082] [7] In the information processing device, the exchangeable content is, among the digital contents that can be issued during the second period, a digital content of which the number that can be issued during the second period is less than a predetermined value. In this way, when collecting excess digital content, the exchange target content is high-value digital content that can be issued in fewer numbers than a predetermined value during the second period, which motivates users to exchange digital content. This makes collection easier and more smooth, and makes it possible to more accurately control the appropriate number of digital content to be issued according to the player's performance.

[0083] [8] In the information processing device, the exchangeable content is digital content that can be issued in the second period and whose planned number of issues in the third period differs from that of the withdrawn content by a predetermined range. In this way, when excessively issued digital content is collected, digital content of the same value as the collected digital content is made available as exchange content, which motivates users to exchange digital content. This makes collection easier and more smooth, and makes it possible to more accurately control the appropriate number of digital content to be issued according to the player's performance.

[0084] [9] In the above-mentioned information processing device, the recovery control unit allows exchange if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is equal to or greater than the number planned to be issued in the third period, and prevents exchange if the number of digital contents issued in the first period is equal to or less than the number planned to be issued in the third period. In this way, since the excess digital content can be exchanged until it is completely collected, the number of digital contents issued can be controlled more accurately according to the performance of the player.

[0085]

[10] In the above information processing device, the recovery control unit deletes the issued digital content after exchanging it. In this way, by deleting the collected digital content, it becomes impossible to exchange it and no one can own it, so the appropriate number of digital contents to be issued can be controlled more accurately according to the player's performance.

[0086]

[11] The information processing device includes a first notification unit that notifies the user before the start of the second period of the planned number of digital contents to be issued in the third period, which is determined based on the player's playing performance during at least a portion of the first period. In this way, by notifying users in advance of the planned number of digital contents to be issued, users are motivated to purchase or trade the digital contents, and the appropriate number of digital contents to be issued can be controlled according to the performance of the players, thereby stimulating the digital content trading market.

[0087]

[12] The information processing device further includes a second notification unit that notifies users who own the digital content to encourage them to trade with other users when the number of digital content issues in the second period is changed. In this way, when the number of digital content issued is changed, users who own the digital content are notified to encourage them to trade with other users, which motivates users to trade the digital content. This makes it possible to control the appropriate number of digital content issued according to the player's performance, thereby revitalizing the digital content trading market.

[0088]

[13] In the information processing method of this embodiment, a computer issues digital content corresponding to a player in a specified sport, and the computer controls the number of digital contents issued in a second period, which includes a period after the first period, based on the player's playing performance in a first period. According to the above information processing method, the number of digital contents issued in the second period, which includes the period after the first period, is controlled based on the player's playing performance in the first period, so that the appropriate number of digital contents issued can be controlled according to the player's performance.

[0089]

[14] The program of this embodiment causes a computer to issue digital content corresponding to players in a specified sport, and controls the number of digital contents issued in a second period, which includes a period after the first period, based on the players' playing performance in a first period. According to the above program, the number of digital contents issued in the second period, which includes the period after the first period, is controlled based on the player's playing performance in the first period, so that the appropriate number of digital contents issued can be controlled according to the player's performance. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 10 Server 12 User terminal 14 Network 21 Processor 22 Memory 23 Communication interface 24 Storage 25 Bus 30 Memory unit 31 Information acquisition unit 32 Display control unit 33 Point management unit 34 Issuance control unit 35 Collection control unit 36 ​​Transaction control unit 37 First notification unit 38 Second notification unit G1 Digital content display screen G2 First notification screen G3 Second notification screen S Information processing system

Claims

1. Displaying information on athletes in a specified sport on the first screen; determining the number of digital contents to be issued, each of which records information about the player, based on the playing record of the player in a first period, and displaying the number of digital contents to be issued on a second screen; The digital content is a non-fungible token managed as data on a blockchain. Information processing device.

2. The processor displays information about athletes in a predetermined sport on the first screen; the processor determines the number of issues of digital content recording information about the player based on the playing record of the player in a first period, and displays the number of issues of the digital content on a second screen; The digital content is a non-fungible token managed as data on a blockchain. Information processing methods.

3. Displaying information on athletes in a specified sport on the first screen; determining the number of digital contents to be issued, each of which records information about the player, based on the playing record of the player in a first period, and displaying the number of digital contents to be issued on a second screen; The digital content is a non-fungible token managed as data on a blockchain. program.

4. A server and a terminal are provided, The server Displaying information about athletes in a predetermined sport on the display of the terminal; determining the number of digital contents recorded with information about the player to be issued based on the playing record of the player during a first period, and displaying the number of digital contents to be issued on a display of the terminal; The digital content is a non-fungible token managed as data on a blockchain. system.

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