Methods and systems are described for providing a retail product that allows a consumer to participate in a personalized interactive entertainment experience in one or more venues. The retail product is capable of wirelessly interfacing with interactive devices in the venues that are capable of producing sensory effects based on communication from and/or to the retail product. Furthermore, the retail product preferably has an independent or intrinsic value apart from the use of the product in the venues, and may include, for example, a toy, apparel, and/or jewelry. In certain examples, the methods include tracking the consumer's use of the retail product in the venue(s). Such tracking information may be used to customize the experience of the user during a subsequent visit to the same venue or another venue.

Methods and apparatus for monitoring video games are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein monitoring a data interface between a game controller and a game port of a game console with a monitoring device. Disclosed example methods also include determining whether the game console is operating a video game in a demonstration mode or an active play mode based on data detected by the monitoring device.

A multi-user video game with communications capabilities allows players to communicate with one another via simulated mail, leaflets and conversations. Different installations of the game on different discrete video game playing platforms may be unique or different depending upon random or other data available at the platform. For example, different installations may have different subsets of characters, different landscapes, or the like. Player characters from one virtual environment or village may visit another virtual environment or village and return home to his or her resident environment or village. Non-player characters may move from one virtual environment or village to anotherthereby providing an ever-changing variety of characters. Communications between different game playing platforms can be provided via portable memory devices, portable game playing devices, or conventional communications means such as networks.

A load detecting apparatus includes a load controller. In order to identifying predetermined number of motions performed on the load controller by the player, for example, a condition of a ratio of load values to a body weight value and a condition relating to a position of a center of gravity are defined in advance. The ratio of the detected load values to the body weight value and the position of the center of gravity are calculated, and on the basis of the ratio and the position of the center of gravity, a motion performed on the load controller by the player is determined.

User-involved battle development with strategic or tactical elements in a game is enabled. A method, implemented in a computer including a control unit, for providing a battle game in which a user repeatedly attacks and defends against an opponent using a plurality of objects placed in a plurality of areas arranged in a matrix, includes: a selection step of causing the user to select an area from the plurality of areas, and holding the area which has been already selected as a selected area; a first execution step of causing an object placed in the selected area, to execute a first action; a determination step of determining whether or not a combination of an already selected area and the currently selected area matches at least one line which is any of a row, a column, and a diagonal of the matrix; and a second execution step of causing an object to execute a second action, in the case where the determination step determines that the combination matches the at least one line.

A system and method are disclosed for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play. A load boundary associated with a game environment is identified. A position of a character in the game environment is then monitored. Instructions corresponding to a next game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is not interrupted.

A video game includes a peripheral device that senses the presence and identity of toys near or on the peripheral. Each of the toys includes an identification device such as an RFID tag. Each of the toys is also associated with a corresponding game character or object. A toy stores information about the status of the corresponding character or object in the game, for example, a character name, a score, and an owner of the toy may be stored in a character toy. The information about the toy is updated during game play. The toys may be sensed, read, and written concurrently.

A game device for playing a game includes a first display having a first display area, and being configured to display images for the game in the first display area, the first display area including an operation area on which a user item of a user is movably placeable, a computing device, and a storage medium containing program instructions stored therein, execution of which by the computing device causes the game device to provide the functions of: obtaining item information from the user item, the item information including a game character that is used by the user in the game, executing the game using the item information, and controlling displaying of the first display, by causing an associated image that is associated with the user item that has been movably placed on the operation area to display in the first display area.

A server includes a content storage medium configured to store content data of content usable in different types of games up to a first upper number, and a management information storage medium configured to store valid period information of a right to use an extended function concerning the content data The server, in case that a right to use an extended function is valid, sends the content data to an information-processing device or receives the content data from the information-processing device, and stores the content data in the content storage medium up to a second upper number larger than the first upper number. The server, in case that the right is invalid, performs at least one of transmission of the content data to the information-processing device and reception of the content data from the information-processing device, in a restricted manner as compared with a case where the right is valid.

A system is disclosed including a first display control section 218 for selectively displaying, in a first display area, a second predetermined number of first objects among first objects, corresponding to a first predetermined number of game programs, for which an order is set, a second display control section for displaying a position designation image at a position corresponding to a position, of subject software, in an order set for the first predetermined number of pieces of software; a display change section for designating a first object to be displayed in the first display area, based on an operation input received by using the position designation image; and an activation execution section for activating software corresponding to one first object which is selected from among the second predetermined number of first objects displayed in the first display area, based on the operation input.