This disclosure describes, in part, techniques for providing add-ons associated with network applications. For instance, a user may be controlling an application that is executing on a remote system using a control device and a display device. While the application is executing, the remote system may send user interface data to the display device, where the user interface data represents a user interface that includes add-ons that may be acquired for the application. If the user selects an add-on, the display device may communicate with a payment system in order to acquire the add-on. The remote system may then determine that the user acquired the add-on using data received from the display device and/or data received from a management system associated with the application. As such, the remote system may enable the add-on for the user within the application.

Methods for hosting and operating a service and systems are provided. One method includes executing one or more video games on one or more servers of a hosting service. The one or more video games are played or used by one or more users on one or more client devices remote to the hosting service via compressed streaming interactive video. The compressed streaming interactive video is sent to the one or more client devices where decompression of the compressed streaming interactive video is preformed to display video of each of said one or more video games and said one or more servers are configured to receive user control input to driver interactivity with said one or more video games. The method includes broadcasting the one or more video games as one or more streams of real-time compressed digital video to enable one or more viewing client devices to view play of said one or more video games over the Internet. Each of the one or more viewing client devices receives one or more of the streams of real-time compressed digital video. The method includes overlaying with the streams of real-time compressed digital video, audio from one or more of the viewing client devices, such that the audio is included in the broadcasting of the one or more video games. And, adjusting a compression rate for said broadcasting to each of said viewing client devices based on a respective connection performance each of said viewing client devices has with respect to said one or more servers of the hosting service.

A method by which a streaming interactive video user session is handed off from one streaming interactive video server to another without noticeable disruption to the video stream or the user interactivity. A compression technique utilized includes executing a video game on a game server to generate a stream of uncompressed streaming interactive video for a first player participating in a multiplayer session of the video game; receiving input commands at the game server over a network, wherein the input commands provide instructions for executing the video game in association with the first player and are generated from an input device of the first player; and compressing video frames associated with the execution of the video game at the first game server using tiles, wherein one tile from each video frame is encoded as an I tile, and remaining tiles in the corresponding video frame are encoded as P tiles.

A play mode selection screen image displaying section 108 displays a screen image for selecting a play mode relating to installation of game software 70. An installation execution section 110 installs game software into a storage device. When the game software is to be installed for the first time, the play mode selection screen image displaying section 108 displays a first selection screen image for selecting a play mode to install first from a plurality of play modes. Thereafter, the play mode selection screen image displaying section 108 displays a second selection screen image for selecting a play mode not to install or a play mode to install.

A game system, a game method, and a game program, which allow the user to enjoy a game with peace of mind even if a bias is provided in predetermined parameters. The game system is configured to acquire, as available environment information indicating an available environment for a game to be executed on a user terminal used by the user, information indicating a type of an operating system (OS); and determine a parameter to be used to provide a content to the user each time the user performs an input operation on the basis of the information indicating the type of the OS associated with the user at the time of the input operation.

A game management system generates a multidimensional parametric player model representative of player behavior by one or more players in a computer game. The parametric player model populated is used in the identification of groups or clusters of players, and/or in at least partly automated configuration of custom game content for behavior consistent with the parametric player model. A single parametric player model is defines a single set of parametric values corresponding to multiple predefined gameplay parameters, and can be used to model the behavior of a single respective player or to model the behavior of multiple players (e.g., based on cumulative historical gameplay data for the relevant players), providing a representative player model for those players. The player model is ingested by a content generator configured to generate game content customized to the behavior represented by the player model.

Systems and methods are described for recommending a proposed hardware configuration to a first user in response to determining that a performance aspect of the first user having a first hardware configuration playing a multiplayer game is worse than a performance aspect of a second user having a second hardware configuration jointly playing the multiplayer game. The proposed hardware configuration is generated based on the first hardware configuration and the second hardware configuration and caused to be displayed on a device of the first user.

A method includes receiving, at a media device, a video game from a server via a network. The method includes installing, via the media device, the video game to a storage device associated with the media device. The method includes receiving, at the media device, a request to play the video game. The method includes sending an authorization request to the server from the media device via the network in response to the request. The method includes receiving authorization to execute the video game at the media device. The authorization is based on an identifier of the media device included in the authorization request being associated with rights allowing execution of the video game. The method also includes executing the video game via the media device in response to receiving the authorization.

Systems and methods for updating content of a mobile video game allow for mobile communication devices to receive updated content for video games that operate on the devices. The updates may be promotional in nature, and may be pre-selected based on the device type, service, or service provider. The game may contain instructions that cause the mobile communication device to contact an interface and/or server to receive updated content. After the updated content is received by the mobile communication device, the content may be displayed in-game. The user of the mobile communication device may be provided with one or more options that affect the frequency or ability to receive or display updated content. In addition, the server may track what content has already been received by the mobile communication device.

The present application discloses a game picture display method and apparatus and a computer-readable storage medium. The method includes: displaying a picture in a target game in a client of the target game in a first display mode in response to that the client runs the target game, the client being installed on a mobile device; acquiring first state information of the mobile device; and switching a display mode of the client from the first display mode to a second display mode in a case that the first state information does not match the first display mode, and continuing to display the picture in the target game in the client in the second display mode, the target game in the client being kept in a running state in a process of switching the display mode. The present application solves the technical problem that a game cannot run smoothly in the related art.