Patent ID: 8219617
Filing Date: 2012-07-10
Classification: A63F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A game system comprising: plural communication groups, each having been allocated different communication paths from one another and each including plural game terminals sharing the communication path allocated to the respective communication groups; and a server device communicating with the game terminals via the communication path wherein each of the plural game terminals of the plural communication groups comprises: an inputter that receives an instruction input by a player; a securer that secures, upon a predetermined instruction being input via the inputter, bandwidth that is equal to or greater than a certain amount of bandwidth necessary for communication with another of the game terminals and is equal to or less than the a remaining amount of bandwidth of a communication path used for the game terminal; a grouping request transmitter that transmits a grouping request for requesting formation of a player group of terminals which will play a multiple player game to the server device, the grouping request also indicating the bandwidth secured by the securer; a player group data receiver that receives the player group data indicating the configuration of the player group from the server device; a controller that controls, on the basis of the player group data, communication during the game; a deallocation bandwidth identifier that identifies, as bandwidth to be deallocated, the difference between the bandwidth secured by the securer and bandwidth that will be required at the game terminal in the player group having the configuration indicated by the player group data; and a deallocator that deallocates the bandwidth to be deallocated, the server device comprising: a grouping request receiver that receives the grouping request from the game terminals; a secured amount storage that stores a piece of secured amount data indicating the bandwidth indicated by the grouping request in association with a game terminal that has transmitted the grouping request; a grouper that forms the player group based on the piece of secured amount data stored in the secured amount storage by selecting one of the game terminals stored in the secured amount storage as a parent node and a number of game terminals stored in the secured amount storage as child nodes, wherein the number of child nodes varies for different player groups within a range having an upper limit and a lower limit, wherein the child nodes of the player group each exclusively use the certain amount of bandwidth for the communication with the parent node of the player group; a player group data transmitter that transmits the player group data of the player group to each of the game terminals that are selected, through the selection by the grouper, wherein the grouper compares bandwidth indicated by the pieces of secured amount data for game terminals, the comparison of the bandwidths being performed among the game terminals of the number that is greater than the number of child nodes to be selected for the player group, and selects as the parent node one game terminal corresponding to the piece of secured amount data indicating a bandwidth that is found to be the largest by the comparison.