Patent Publication Number: US-2022226732-A1

Title: Game system, game system control method, computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having game program stored therein, and game apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/815,589 filed Mar. 11, 2020, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2019-096746, 2019-096747, and 2019-096748, filed on May 23, 2019. Each of these applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The exemplary embodiments relate to a process for an operation for selecting a certain item in a game in a game system in which a first type of controller having a plurality of operation sections and a second type of controller having fewer operation sections than the first type of controller are usable. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
     Hitherto, a game in which a player is caused to select a certain item has been known. For example, a game in which a player is allowed to perform an operation for selecting an object that is to be thrown by a player character within a game space, has been known. In the game, selection items are arranged in a predetermined order, and an operation for switching a currently selected item is possible. In addition, regarding the direction of switching, switching is possible only in one predetermined direction. That is, the number of operation sections used for a selection operation is only one (for example, only a predetermined button). 
     Regarding the selection operation described above, since the direction of switching is one direction, when there are many selection items, there is a problem that time is taken to select a target item. 
     In view of the above, for example, increasing the types of selection operation in order to deal with the problem is conceivable. For example, two operation buttons are assigned for selection operation such that switching is possible not only in one direction, but also, for example, in two directions, that is, in the right and left directions. 
     Meanwhile, in recent years, for example, in addition to a “standard controller” that goes with a game system, it is also possible to use an “extended controller” that has more or fewer operation sections than the “standard controller” and that is sold separately from the game system. In addition to this, a game system that has two controllers and that allows the two controllers to be used in combination as one controller or allows the two controllers to be individually used as two controllers, has also been known. With such a game system, for example, in the case of playing a certain game by a single player, the player uses the above two controllers in combination as one controller. Moreover, in the case of simultaneous play by two players, the above two controllers are individually used by the two players, and each player can use one controller and enjoy the simultaneous play by the two players. In such a case, it is assumed that the number of operation sections that can be used for operation varies depending on the use form of each controller. Specifically, it is assumed that, in the case of using the two controllers in combination as one controller, for example, 10 operation sections (buttons, etc.) can be used, and, in the case of individually using the two controllers by two players, the number of operation sections in each controller is, for example, only five. That is, in the case of simultaneous play by two players, a controller having fewer operation sections, as compared to play by a single player, is used by each player. 
     In a game that can be played by a single player and can also be played simultaneously by two players as described above, when assuming that different types of controllers having different numbers of operation sections can be used, particularly, when a type of controller having a small number of operation sections is used, a problem that the number of buttons assigned to various types of operations in the game is insufficient may also arise. For example, it is also assumed that, with the number of buttons, there is no extra button that can be assigned for the object selection operation described above. 
     Due to the above, there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of improving the operability of the selection operation described above in the case where controllers having different numbers of operation sections are used for a game that can be played by a single player and can also be played simultaneously by two players. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the exemplary embodiments to provide a game system, etc., which are capable of providing an appropriate user interface (UI), for selection operation, corresponding to the number of operation sections of a controller. 
     In order to attain the object described above, for example, the following configuration examples are exemplified. 
     A configuration example is directed to a game system that includes at least one processor and in which a first type of controller having a plurality of operation sections and a second type of controller having fewer operation sections than the first type of controller are usable, the processor executing: acquiring operation data from either the first type of controller or the second type of controller; performing a game process on the basis of the operation data; switching a selection item that is an item currently selected from among a plurality of items arranged in a predetermined order in a game, on the basis of the operation data; generating a game image including an image showing the selection item; when the first type of controller is used for operation in the game process, performing a forward direction switching process of switching the selection item in a forward direction of the predetermined order for the plurality of items in accordance with an operation on a first operation section of the first type of controller, and a reverse direction switching process of switching the selection item in a reverse direction of the predetermined order in accordance with an operation on a second operation section of the first type of controller, and generating a game image including at least a selection item image showing the selection item, a forward side image showing an item to be selected next by the forward direction switching process, and a reverse side image showing an item to be selected next by the reverse direction switching process; and when the second type of controller is used for operation in the game process, performing the forward direction switching process in accordance with an operation on a third operation section of the second type of controller, and generating a game image including at least the selection item image and the forward side image. 
     According to the above configuration example, regarding a user interface for selecting a selection item, an appropriate user interface corresponding to controllers having different numbers of operation sections can be provided, so that the operability can be improved. 
     In another configuration example, when the first type of controller is used for operation in the game process, the processor may generate a game image in which the forward side image is located at one of positions on both sides of the selection item image in a size relatively smaller than that of the selection item image and the reverse side image is located at the other of the positions on both sides of the selection item image in a size relatively smaller than that of the selection item image. Furthermore, when the second type of controller is used for operation in the game process, the processor may generate a game image in which the forward side image is located at only one of positions on both sides of the selection item image in a size relatively smaller than that of the selection item image. 
     According to the above configuration example, a player is allowed to easily recognize an item to be selected next. 
     In another configuration example, the processor may control a motion of a player character within a virtual game space in accordance with an operation on another operation section different from the first operation section, the second operation section, and the third operation section. 
     According to the above configuration example, while the player character is being operated, for example, an operation for selecting a certain object can be performed in parallel, so that the operability and the entertainment characteristics of the game can be enhanced. 
     In another configuration example, the game system may include two controllers that are also useable in combination as one controller. When the two controllers are used in combination as one controller, the processor may acquire operation data from the controller as operation data from the first type of controller, and, when only one controller of the two controllers is used, the processor may acquire operation data from the one controller as operation data from the second type of controller. 
     In another configuration example, each of the two controllers may have a shape that allows the controller to face toward a player when the player holds the controller in order to play the game, and in which a predetermined side of a predetermined surface of the controller on which a predetermined operation section is provided is longer than another side of the predetermined surface. Furthermore, when the two controllers are used in combination as the first type of controller, each controller maybe held by the player in an orientation in which the predetermined side extends vertically, and may be used for operation in the game process, and, when only one controller of the two controllers is used as the second type of controller, the controller may be held by the player in an orientation in which the predetermined side extends horizontally, and may be used for operation in the game process. 
     In another configuration example, the processor may perform a game process that also enables simultaneous play by two players using the two controllers as the second type of controller. 
     According to the above configuration example, for example, the two controllers can be individually used by two players. In addition, regarding a user interface for selecting a selection item, an appropriate user interface corresponding to controllers having different numbers of operation sections can be provided, so that the operability can be improved. 
     According to the exemplary embodiments, regarding an operation for selecting an item in a game, an appropriate user interface corresponding to the number of operation sections of the controller can be provided. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an example of the state where a left controller  3  and a right controller  4  are attached to a main body apparatus  2 ; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a non-limiting example of the state where each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  is detached from the main body apparatus  2 ; 
         FIG. 3  is six orthogonal views showing a non-limiting example of the main body apparatus  2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is six orthogonal views showing a non-limiting example of the left controller  3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is six orthogonal views showing a non-limiting example of the right controller  4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing a non-limiting example of the internal configuration of the main body apparatus  2 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing non-limiting examples of the internal configurations of the main body apparatus  2 , the left controller  3 , and the right controller  4 ; 
         FIG. 8  shows a non-limiting example of a game screen according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 16  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 17  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 18  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 19  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 20  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 21  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 22  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 23  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 24  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 25  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 26  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 27  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 28  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 29  shows a non-limiting example of the game screen according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 30  is a diagram for explaining following movement of a lock-on cursor; 
         FIG. 31  is a diagram for explaining a lock-on adjustable range; 
         FIG. 32  is a diagram for explaining the lock-on adjustable range; 
         FIG. 33  shows a non-limiting example of a to-be-thrown object selection UI; 
         FIG. 34  shows a non-limiting example of the to-be-thrown object selection UI; 
         FIG. 35  is a diagram for explaining a non-limiting example of the manner of movement in the to-be-thrown object selection UI; 
         FIG. 36  is a diagram for explaining a non-limiting example of the manner of movement in the to-be-thrown object selection UI; 
         FIG. 37  is a diagram for explaining a non-limiting example of the manner of movement in the to-be-thrown object selection UI; 
         FIG. 38  is a memory map showing a non-limiting example of various data stored in a DRAM  85  of the main body apparatus  2 ; 
         FIG. 39  is a diagram showing a non-limiting example of the data structure of companion character master data  312 ; 
         FIG. 40  is a diagram showing a non-limiting example of the data structure of companion character data  313 ; 
         FIG. 41  is a diagram showing a non-limiting example of the data structure of first party data  315 ; 
         FIG. 42  is a diagram showing a non-limiting example of the data structure of 1P section UI data  319 ; 
         FIG. 43  is a flowchart showing the details of a game process; 
         FIG. 44  is a flowchart showing the details of processes based on operation contents; 
         FIG. 45  is a flowchart showing the details of a movement process; 
         FIG. 46  is a flowchart showing the details of a lock-on process; 
         FIG. 47  is a flowchart showing the details of the lock-on process; 
         FIG. 48  is a flowchart showing the details of a cursor control process; 
         FIG. 49  is a flowchart showing an operation target switching process; 
         FIG. 50  is a flowchart showing the details of the operation target switching process; 
         FIG. 51  is a flowchart showing the details of a throwing process; 
         FIG. 52  is a flowchart showing the details of a mode setting process; 
         FIG. 53  is a flowchart showing the details of a joining process; 
         FIG. 54  is a flowchart showing the details of a dividing process; 
         FIG. 55  is a flowchart showing the details of a virtual camera setting process; and 
         FIG. 56  is a flowchart showing the details of a UI placement process. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment will be described. 
     A game system according to an example of the exemplary embodiment is described below. An example of a game system  1  according to the exemplary embodiment includes a main body apparatus (an information processing apparatus; which functions as a game apparatus main body in the exemplary embodiment)  2 , a left controller  3 , and a right controller  4 . Each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  is attachable to and detachable from the main body apparatus  2 . That is, the game system  1  can be used as a unified apparatus obtained by attaching each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  to the main body apparatus  2 . Furthermore, in the game system  1 , the main body apparatus  2 , the left controller  3 , and the right controller  4  can also be used as separate bodies (see  FIG. 2 ). Hereinafter, first, the hardware configuration of the game system  1  according to the exemplary embodiment is described, and then, the control of the game system  1  according to the exemplary embodiment is described. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an example of the state where the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are attached to the main body apparatus  2 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  is attached to and unified with the main body apparatus  2 . The main body apparatus  2  is an apparatus for performing various processes (e.g., a game process) in the game system  1 . The main body apparatus  2  includes a display  12 . Each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  is an apparatus including operation sections with which a user provides inputs. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of the state where each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  is detached from the main body apparatus  2 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are attachable to and detachable from the main body apparatus  2 . It should be noted that hereinafter, the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  will occasionally be referred to collectively as a “controller”. 
       FIG. 3  is six orthogonal views showing an example of the main body apparatus  2 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the main body apparatus  2  includes a substantially plate-shaped housing  11 . In the exemplary embodiment, a main surface (in other words, a surface at a front side, i.e., a surface on which the display  12  is provided) of the housing  11  has a generally rectangular shape. 
     It should be noted that the shape and the size of the housing  11  are optional. As an example, the housing  11  may have a size that makes the main body apparatus  2  portable. In addition, the main body apparatus  2  alone or the unified apparatus obtained by attaching the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  to the main body apparatus  2  may function as a mobile apparatus. Furthermore, the main body apparatus  2  or the unified apparatus may function as a handheld apparatus or a portable apparatus. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the main body apparatus  2  includes the display  12 , which is provided on the main surface of the housing  11 . The display  12  displays an image generated by the main body apparatus  2 . In the exemplary embodiment, the display  12  is a Liquid Crystal Display device (LCD). The display  12 , however, may be any type of display device. 
     Furthermore, the main body apparatus  2  includes a touch panel  13  on a screen of the display  12 . In the exemplary embodiment, the touch panel  13  is of a type that allows a multi-touch input (e.g., a capacitive type). The touch panel  13 , however, may be of any type. For example, the touch panel  13  may be of a type that allows a single-touch input (e.g., a resistive type). 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes speakers (i.e., speakers  88  shown in  FIG. 6 ) within the housing  11 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , speaker holes  11   a  and  11   b  are formed on the main surface of the housing  11 . Then, sounds output from the speakers  88  are output through the speaker holes  11   a  and  11   b.    
     Furthermore, the main body apparatus  2  includes: a left terminal  17  that is a terminal for the main body apparatus  2  to perform wired communication with the left controller  3 ; and a right terminal  21  that is a terminal for the main body apparatus  2  to perform wired communication with the right controller  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the main body apparatus  2  includes a slot  23 . The slot  23  is provided on an upper side surface of the housing  11 . The slot  23  has a shape that allows a predetermined type of storage medium to be attached to the slot  23 . The predetermined type of storage medium is, for example, a dedicated storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card) for the game system  1  and an information processing apparatus of the same type as the game system  1 . The predetermined type of storage medium is used to store, for example, data (e.g., saved data of an application, or the like) to be used by the main body apparatus  2  and/or a program (e.g., a program for an application, or the like) to be executed by the main body apparatus  2 . Furthermore, the main body apparatus  2  includes a power button  28 . 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a lower terminal  27 . The lower terminal  27  is a terminal for the main body apparatus  2  to communicate with a cradle. In the exemplary embodiment, the lower terminal  27  is a USB connector (more specifically, a female connector). In addition, when the unified apparatus or the main body apparatus  2  alone is mounted on the cradle, the game system  1  can display on a stationary monitor an image generated by and output from the main body apparatus  2 . Moreover, in the exemplary embodiment, the cradle has the function of charging the unified apparatus or the main body apparatus  2  alone mounted on the cradle. Furthermore, the cradle has the function of a hub device (specifically, a USB hub). 
       FIG. 4  is six orthogonal views showing an example of the left controller  3 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the left controller  3  includes a housing  31 . In the exemplary embodiment, the housing  31  has a vertically long shape, i.e., is shaped to be long in an up-down direction (i.e., a y-axis direction shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 ). In the state where the left controller  3  is detached from the main body apparatus  2 , the left controller  3  can also be held in the orientation in which the left controller  3  is vertically long. The housing  31  has such a shape and a size that when held in the orientation in which the housing  31  is vertically long, the housing  31  can be held with one hand, particularly the left hand. Furthermore, the left controller  3  can also be held in the orientation in which the left controller  3  is horizontally long. When held in the orientation in which the left controller  3  is horizontally long, the left controller  3  may be held with both hands. 
     The left controller  3  includes an analog stick  32 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the analog stick  32  is provided on a main surface of the housing  31 . The analog stick  32  can be used as a direction input section with which a direction can be input. The user tilts the analog stick  32  and thereby can input a direction corresponding to the direction of the tilt (and input a magnitude corresponding to the angle of the tilt). It should be noted that the left controller  3  may include a directional pad, a slide stick that allows a slide input, or the like as the direction input section, instead of the analog stick. Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, it is possible to provide an input by pressing the analog stick  32 . 
     The left controller  3  includes various operation buttons. The left controller  3  includes four operation buttons  33  to  36  (specifically, a right direction button  33 , a down direction button  34 , an up direction button  35 , and a left direction button  36 ) on the main surface of the housing  31 . Furthermore, the left controller  3  includes a record button  37  and a “−” (minus) button  47 . The left controller  3  includes a first L-button  38  and a ZL-button  39  on an upper left portion of a side surface of the housing  31 . Moreover, the left controller  3  includes a second L-button  43  and a second R-button  44  on the side surface of the housing  31  on which the left controller  3  is attached to the main body apparatus  2 . These operation buttons are used to give instructions depending on various programs (e.g., an OS program and an application program) executed by the main body apparatus  2 . 
     Furthermore, the left controller  3  includes a terminal  42  for the left controller  3  to perform wired communication with the main body apparatus  2 . 
       FIG. 5  is six orthogonal views showing an example of the right controller  4 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the right controller  4  includes a housing  51 . In the exemplary embodiment, the housing  51  has a vertically long shape, i.e., is shaped to be long in the up-down direction. In the state where the right controller  4  is detached from the main body apparatus  2 , the right controller  4  can also be held in the orientation in which the right controller  4  is vertically long. The housing  51  has such a shape and a size that when held in the orientation in which the housing  51  is vertically long, the housing  51  can be held with one hand, particularly the right hand. Furthermore, the right controller  4  can also be held in the orientation in which the right controller  4  is horizontally long. When held in the orientation in which the right controller  4  is horizontally long, the right controller  4  may be held with both hands. 
     Similar to the left controller  3 , the right controller  4  includes an analog stick  52  as a direction input section. In the exemplary embodiment, the analog stick  52  has the same configuration as that of the analog stick  32  of the left controller  3 . In addition, the right controller  4  may include a directional pad, a slide stick that allows a slide input, or the like, instead of the analog stick. Moreover, similar to the left controller  3 , the right controller  4  includes four operation buttons  53  to  56  (specifically, an A-button  53 , a B-button  54 , an X-button  55 , and a Y-button  56 ) on a main surface of the housing  51 . Moreover, the right controller  4  includes a “+” (plus) button  57  and a home button  58 . Furthermore, the right controller  4  includes a first R-button  60  and a ZR-button  61  on an upper right portion of a side surface of the housing  51 . Furthermore, similar to the left controller  3 , the right controller  4  includes a second L-button  65  and a second R-button  66 . 
     Moreover, the right controller  4  includes a terminal  64  for the right controller  4  to perform wired communication with the main body apparatus  2 . 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main body apparatus  2 . The main body apparatus  2  includes components  81  to  91 ,  97 , and  98  shown in  FIG. 6  in addition to the components shown in  FIG. 3 . Some of the components  81  to  91 ,  97 , and  98  may be mounted as electronic components on an electronic circuit board and accommodated in the housing  11 . 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a processor  81 . The processor  81  is an information processing section for executing various types of information processing to be executed by the main body apparatus  2 . For example, the processor  81  may be composed only of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or may be composed of a SoC (System-on-a-chip) having a plurality of functions such as a CPU function and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) function. The processor  81  performs the various types of information processing by executing an information processing program (e.g., a game program) stored in a storage section (specifically, an internal storage medium such as a flash memory  84 , an external storage medium attached to the slot  23 , or the like). 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a flash memory  84  and a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)  85  as examples of internal storage media built in the main body apparatus  2 . The flash memory  84  and the DRAM  85  are connected to the processor  81 . The flash memory  84  is a memory mainly used to store various data (or programs) to be saved in the main body apparatus  2 . The DRAM  85  is a memory used to temporarily store various data to be used for information processing. 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a slot interface (hereinafter abbreviated as “I/F”)  91 . The slot I/F  91  is connected to the processor  81 . The slot I/F  91  is connected to the slot  23 , and in accordance with an instruction from the processor  81 , reads and writes data from and to the predetermined type of storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card) attached to the slot  23 . 
     The processor  81  performs the above information processing by reading and writing data from and to the flash memory  84 , the DRAM  85 , and each of the above storage media as appropriate. 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a network communication section  82 . The network communication section  82  is connected to the processor  81 . The network communication section  82  communicates (specifically, through wireless communication) with an external apparatus via a network. In the exemplary embodiment, as a first communication form, the network communication section  82  connects to a wireless LAN and communicates with an external apparatus, using a method compliant with the Wi-Fi standard. Furthermore, as a second communication form, the network communication section  82  wirelessly communicates with another main body apparatus  2  of the same type, using a predetermined communication method (e.g., communication based on a unique protocol or infrared light communication). It should be noted that the wireless communication in the above second communication form achieves the function of enabling so-called “local communication” in which the main body apparatus  2  can wirelessly communicate with another main body apparatus  2  placed in a closed local network area, and the plurality of main body apparatuses  2  directly communicate with each other to transmit and receive data. 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a controller communication section  83 . The controller communication section  83  is connected to the processor  81 . The controller communication section  83  wirelessly communicates with the left controller  3  and/or the right controller  4 . The method for communication between the main body apparatus  2  and the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  is optional. In the exemplary embodiment, the controller communication section  83  performs communication compliant with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard with the left controller  3  and with the right controller  4 . 
     The processor  81  is connected to the left terminal  17 , the right terminal  21 , and the lower terminal  27 . When performing wired communication with the left controller  3 , the processor  81  transmits data to the left controller  3  via the left terminal  17  and also receives operation data from the left controller  3  via the left terminal  17 . In addition, when performing wired communication with the right controller  4 , the processor  81  transmits data to the right controller  4  via the right terminal  21  and also receives operation data from the right controller  4  via the right terminal  21 . Moreover, when communicating with the cradle, the processor  81  transmits data to the cradle via the lower terminal  27 . As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the main body apparatus  2  can perform both wired communication and wireless communication with each of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 . Furthermore, when the unified apparatus obtained by attaching the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  to the main body apparatus  2  or the main body apparatus  2  alone is attached to the cradle, the main body apparatus  2  can output data (e.g., image data or sound data) to the stationary monitor or the like via the cradle. 
     Here, the main body apparatus  2  can communicate with a plurality of left controllers  3  simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). Furthermore, the main body apparatus  2  can communicate with a plurality of right controllers  4  simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). Thus, a plurality of users can simultaneously provide inputs to the main body apparatus  2 , each using a set of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 . As an example, a first user can provide an input to the main body apparatus  2  using a first set of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 , and simultaneously, a second user can provide an input to the main body apparatus  2  using a second set of the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 . 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a touch panel controller  86  that is a circuit for controlling the touch panel  13 . The touch panel controller  86  is connected between the touch panel  13  and the processor  81 . On the basis of a signal from the touch panel  13 , the touch panel controller  86  generates, for example, data indicating the position where a touch input is provided. Then, the touch panel controller  86  outputs the data to the processor  81 . 
     Furthermore, the display  12  is connected to the processor  81 . The processor  81  displays a generated image (e.g., an image generated by executing the above information processing) and/or an externally acquired image on the display  12 . 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a codec circuit  87  and the speakers (specifically, a left speaker and a right speaker)  88 . The codec circuit  87  is connected to the speakers  88  and a sound input/output terminal  25  and also connected to the processor  81 . The codec circuit  87  is a circuit for controlling the input and output of sound data to and from the speakers  88  and the sound input/output terminal  25 . 
     The main body apparatus  2  includes a power control section  97  and a battery  98 . The power control section  97  is connected to the battery  98  and the processor  81 . Furthermore, although not shown, the power control section  97  is connected to components of the main body apparatus  2  (specifically, components that receive power supplied from the battery  98 , the left terminal  17 , and the right terminal  21 ). On the basis of a command from the processor  81 , the power control section  97  controls the supply of power from the battery  98  to the above components. 
     Furthermore, the battery  98  is connected to the lower terminal  27 . When an external charging device (e.g., the cradle) is connected to the lower terminal  27 , and power is supplied to the main body apparatus  2  via the lower terminal  27 , the battery  98  is charged with the supplied power. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing examples of the internal configurations of the main body apparatus  2 , the left controller  3 , and the right controller  4 . It should be noted that the details of the internal configuration of the main body apparatus  2  are shown in  FIG. 6  and therefore are omitted in  FIG. 7 . 
     The left controller  3  includes a communication control section  101  that communicates with the main body apparatus  2 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the communication control section  101  is connected to components including the terminal  42 . In the exemplary embodiment, the communication control section  101  can communicate with the main body apparatus  2  through both wired communication via the terminal  42  and wireless communication not via the terminal  42 . The communication control section  101  controls the method for communication performed by the left controller  3  with the main body apparatus  2 . That is, when the left controller  3  is attached to the main body apparatus  2 , the communication control section  101  communicates with the main body apparatus  2  via the terminal  42 . Furthermore, when the left controller  3  is detached from the main body apparatus  2 , the communication control section  101  wirelessly communicates with the main body apparatus  2  (specifically, the controller communication section  83 ). The wireless communication between the communication control section  101  and the controller communication section  83  is performed in accordance with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, for example. 
     Furthermore, the left controller  3  includes a memory  102  such as a flash memory. The communication control section  101  includes, for example, a microcomputer (or a microprocessor) and performs various processes by executing firmware stored in the memory  102 . 
     The left controller  3  includes buttons  103  (specifically, the buttons  33  to  39 ,  43 ,  44 , and  47 ). Furthermore, the left controller  3  includes the analog stick (“stick” in  FIG. 7 )  32 . Each of the buttons  103  and the analog stick  32  outputs information regarding an operation performed on itself to the communication control section  101  repeatedly at appropriate timing. 
     The left controller  3  includes inertial sensors. Specifically, the left controller  3  includes an acceleration sensor  104 . Furthermore, the left controller  3  includes an angular velocity sensor  105 . In the exemplary embodiment, the acceleration sensor  104  detects the magnitudes of accelerations along predetermined three axial (e.g., xyz axes shown in  FIG. 4 ) directions. It should be noted that the acceleration sensor  104  may detect an acceleration along one axial direction or accelerations along two axial directions. In the exemplary embodiment, the angular velocity sensor  105  detects angular velocities about predetermined three axes (e.g., the xyz axes shown in  FIG. 4 ). It should be noted that the angular velocity sensor  105  may detect an angular velocity about one axis or angular velocities about two axes. Each of the acceleration sensor  104  and the angular velocity sensor  105  is connected to the communication control section  101 . Then, the detection results of the acceleration sensor  104  and the angular velocity sensor  105  are output to the communication control section  101  repeatedly at appropriate timing. 
     The communication control section  101  acquires information regarding an input (specifically, information regarding an operation or the detection result of the sensor) from each of input sections (specifically, the buttons  103 , the analog stick  32 , and the sensors  104  and  105 ). The communication control section  101  transmits operation data including the acquired information (or information obtained by performing predetermined processing on the acquired information) to the main body apparatus  2 . It should be noted that the operation data is transmitted repeatedly, once every predetermined time. It should be noted that the interval at which the information regarding an input is transmitted from each of the input sections to the main body apparatus  2  may or may not be the same. 
     The above operation data is transmitted to the main body apparatus  2 , whereby the main body apparatus  2  can obtain inputs provided to the left controller  3 . That is, the main body apparatus  2  can determine operations on the buttons  103  and the analog stick  32  on the basis of the operation data. Furthermore, the main body apparatus  2  can calculate information regarding the motion and/or the orientation of the left controller  3  on the basis of the operation data (specifically, the detection results of the acceleration sensor  104  and the angular velocity sensor  105 ). 
     The left controller  3  includes a power supply section  108 . In the exemplary embodiment, the power supply section  108  includes a battery and a power control circuit. Although not shown, the power control circuit is connected to the battery and also connected to components of the left controller  3  (specifically, components that receive power supplied from the battery). 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the right controller  4  includes a communication control section  111  that communicates with the main body apparatus  2 . Furthermore, the right controller  4  includes a memory  112  that is connected to the communication control section  111 . The communication control section  111  is connected to components including the terminal  64 . The communication control section  111  and the memory  112  have functions similar to those of the communication control section  101  and the memory  102 , respectively, of the left controller  3 . Thus, the communication control section  111  can communicate with the main body apparatus  2  through both wired communication via the terminal  64  and wireless communication not via the terminal  64  (specifically, communication compliant with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard). The communication control section  111  controls the method for communication performed by the right controller  4  with the main body apparatus  2 . 
     The right controller  4  includes input sections similar to the input sections of the left controller  3 . Specifically, the right controller  4  includes buttons  113 , the analog stick  52 , and inertial sensors (an acceleration sensor  114  and an angular velocity sensor  115 ). These input sections have functions similar to those of the input sections of the left controller  3  and operate similar to the input sections of the left controller  3 . 
     The right controller  4  includes a power supply section  118 . The power supply section  118  has a function similar to that of the power supply section  108  of the left controller  3  and operates similar to the power supply section  108 . 
     [Outline of Game Process in Exemplary Embodiment] 
     Next, an operation outline of the game process executed in the game system according to the exemplary embodiment will be described. It should be noted that, in the exemplary embodiment, the case where the main body apparatus  2  alone is mounted on the cradle and a game is played in a form in which the main body apparatus  2  outputs image data or sound data to the stationary monitor or the like via the cradle, will be described as an example. 
     The game process assumed in the exemplary embodiment assumes the case where two players mainly play, that is, simultaneous play by two players. However, for easy understanding, first, an outline of a game according to the exemplary embodiment will be described with the case of play by a single player as an example. 
       FIG. 8  shows an example of a screen of the game generated by taking an image of a virtual three-dimensional game space, which is a stage for the game, using a virtual camera. In  FIG. 8 , player characters  201 A,  201 B, and  201 C (hereinafter, occasionally referred to collectively as player character), a plurality of companion characters  202 , a cursor object  203  (hereinafter, simply referred to as cursor), a to-be-thrown object selection UI (user interface)  204 , and an operation character information image  205  are displayed. Each player character is an object that can be operated on the basis of an operation input by a player. Meanwhile, each companion character  202  is an object that cannot be operated directly by a player. The companion characters  202  basically move following movement of the player characters. Here, the game has a concept of a “party”. The “party” can be composed of one “leader” and a plurality of “members”. The party needs at least one “leader”, but the number of “members” may be 0. That is, there can be a party composed of only a “leader”. Then, among the above three player characters  201 , any player character can be a “leader”. The other player characters  201  that are not a “leader” become “members”, or become “leaders” of other parties. In addition, the companion characters  202  are included as “members”. The companion characters  202  are scattered on a game field, and the player can add determined companion characters  202  to the party by performing a predetermined operation. In the game, the characters in the “party” basically move together as a unit. The game is a game that proceeds using the companion characters  202  in various situations. 
     The cursor  203  is an object that is displayed at a position away from the position of the player character  201  by a predetermined distance at the movement direction side of the player character  201 , and has a role as an aiming point. Although will be described later, the companion character  202  can be “thrown” to a spot at which the cursor  203  is present, in the game. In addition, the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  is a UI for selecting an object to be thrown. The to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  will be described later. The operation character information image  205  indicates the player characters  201  present in the same party and indicates the currently operated player character. Although will be described later, the player can operate either one of the three player characters as an operation target in the game. In addition, the operation target can be switched. 
     Moreover, although not shown, various types of information regarding the game such as a mini map image and an image indicating carried items and the number of the items are also displayed on the game screen. 
     In the game, motions that can be made by the player characters  201  include a motion of “throwing” and a motion of “whistling”. The motion of “throwing” is a motion of throwing the companion character  202  within the party toward the spot of the cursor  203 . The spot of the cursor  203  is a position away by a predetermined distance or longer from the position of either one of the player characters  201 A to  201 C that is currently an operation target. Thus, the motion of “throwing” can also be considered as a process of moving the companion character  202  to a spot away from the player character  201  by the predetermined distance or longer. The thrown companion character  202  performs various actions in accordance with various objects that are present near the location to which the companion character  202  has been thrown. For example, when an “enemy character” is present near the location to which the companion character  202  has been thrown, the companion character  202  attacks the enemy character. In addition, when a “material object” or a “food object” is present near the location to which the companion character  202  has been thrown, the companion character  202  makes an action of carrying the object to a place that is preset as a “base” on the game field. Regarding an object to be thrown, the player can also throw the player character  201  that is a “rear character” described later. Then, by throwing the “rear character”, the player can create another party including the thrown rear character as a “leader”. Creating another party by throwing the “rear character” as described above is referred to as “division” of the party. Operations for the division will be described separately later. 
     Meanwhile, the motion of “whistling” is a motion for controlling the structure of the party. Specifically, the companion characters  202  that are scattered on the game field can be caused to join the own party, or the party can be broken up, in accordance with the manner of whistling. Control for joining and breakup of the party will be described separately later. 
     In the game, several types of companion characters having different characteristics and abilities are prepared as the companion characters  202 . In  FIG. 8  described above, the differences in type are shown by differences in color between the companion characters  202 . Actions that are performed by the companion characters  202  that are thrown as described above are different depending on the types thereof. Also, regarding attack actions, attacking power is different depending on the type, or a certain type of companion character  202  provides an abnormality state (e.g., a poisoned state or the like) to an enemy character. Thus, the player plays while considering which type of companion character  202  is appropriate to be thrown, in accordance with the object that is present near the destination of throwing. Operations for selecting a companion character or the like to be thrown will be described later. 
     Meanwhile, in the game, the three player characters  201 A to  201 C are present as described above. In the case of play by a single player, either one of these player characters can be directly operated by the player. The player can also switch the player character  201  that is an operation target. That is, in the case of play by a single player, the player can play while switching the three player characters. In addition, in the case of later-described play by two players, two of the three player characters  201  can be operated by the respective players. For example, the case where the player character  201 A and the player character  201 B are present in the same party and the player character  201 C is present in another party is assumed. In this case, a first player can operate the player character  201 A, and a second player can operate the player character  201 B. In addition, since an operation target can be switched during play, the second player can switch the own operation target from the player character  201 B to the player character  201 C during play. Furthermore, thereafter, the first player can switch the own operation target from the player character  201 A to the player character  201 B. That is, the operation target can be switched to the player character  201  that is not an operation target. It should be noted that, in the exemplary embodiment, the player character to which the operation target is switched may be a player character within the same party, or may be a player character within another party. In another embodiment, for example, the operation target may be switchable to only a player character within another party. 
     When such switching occurs, basically, a virtual camera is controlled as appropriate such that the player character  201  that is an operation target is displayed substantially at the center of the screen. For example, virtual cameras corresponding to the respective player characters are prepared (that is, there are three virtual cameras in total), and control of switching a virtual camera to be used and the like are performed in accordance with the above switching operation. In addition, in another example, a virtual camera may be prepared for each player, and parameters such as the position and the direction of the virtual camera may be changed in accordance with the above switching operation such that the player character  201  that is an operation target is displayed substantially at the center of the screen. That is, a process in which one virtual camera is moved in accordance with change of an operation target may be performed. 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  each show an example of a screen when switching a character in the case of play by a single player.  FIG. 9  shows a state where the current operation target is the player character  201 A. In addition,  FIG. 9  shows a state where only the player character  201 A is present as a player character within a party. Each of the player characters  201 B and  201 C is waiting at another place that is not displayed on the screen, as another party. For example, the case where the player switches the operation target to the player character  201 C in this state is considered. In this case, when the player performs a predetermined operation for character switching, for example, presses the Y-button  56 , a character switching menu  207  is displayed so as to be superimposed on the current game screen during play as shown in  FIG. 9 . In the character switching menu  207 , images of switchable player characters are displayed. In this state, for example, by tilting the analog stick  32  rightward or leftward while pressing the Y-button  56  and then separating the finger from the Y-button  56 , the player can switch the operation target to the player character  201  corresponding to the direction of the tilt. At this time, the character switching menu  207  is deleted from the screen. In the state in  FIG. 9 , for example, when the player tilts the stick  32  leftward while pressing the Y-button  56  and then separates the finger from the Y-button  56 , the player can switch the operation target from the player character  201 A to the player character  201 C as shown in  FIG. 10 . In addition, the operation target may be switched by merely tilting the stick  32  while pressing the Y-button  56 . With the switching, a game screen corresponding to the player character  201 C is displayed as the game screen. Moreover, the position of the cursor  203  is also changed from a position on a straight line along the movement direction of the player character  201 A to a position on a straight line along the movement direction of the player character  201 C. 
     In the following description, the player character  201  that is an operation target of the first player is referred to as “1P character”. In addition, the player character  201  that is an operation target of the second player is referred to as “2P character”. Moreover, in the above party, either one of the above three player characters is set as a “leader”. In the case of play by a single player, the 1P character is the leader of the party. That is, the leader moves in accordance with an operation of the player, and the other player characters  201  and the companion characters  202  within the party move following the leader. In the following description, the player characters  201  that are not a leader and become members of the party are referred to as “rear characters”. The player character  201  that is set as a leader is referred to as “leader character”. 
     Here, regarding the above motion of “throwing”, the leader character can “throw” not only the companion characters  202  within the own party but also the rear characters in the game. Even when the rear character is an operation target of either player, the rear character can be an object to be “thrown”. In other words, regarding the rear character, the position of the rear character can be forcedly moved by “throwing” the rear character regardless of presence/absence of an operation by the player. Thus, a motion described below is also enabled. First, in the case of play by a single player, for example, when the player character  201 A is a 1P character, by “throwing” the player character  201 B, the player character  201 B can be removed from the party and caused to wait at a spot to which the player character  201 B has been thrown. In addition, in accordance with this, another party including the player character  201 B as a “leader” is created. That is, the party can be divided by “throwing” the player character  201 B. Thereafter, by performing the above character switching operation and switching the 1P character from the player character  201 A to the player character  201 B, the operation target can be switched to the player character  201 B. In this case, the party including the player character  201 B as a leader character (however, no companion characters  202  are present therein at this time point) is operated. In addition, in the case of play by two players, for example, by the 1P character, which is a leader character, throwing the 2P character, the party can be divided such that another party including the 2P character as a leader character is created. Thus, in the case of play by two players, when the 1P character and the 2P character individually act in different parties, each of the 1P character and the 2P character is a leader character. Meanwhile, when the 1P character and the 2P character are present in the same party, either one of the 1P character or the 2P character is a leader character, and the other is handled as a rear character. In the following, in the description in which a leader character and a rear character need to be distinguished from each other, for example, when the 1P character is a leader character and the 2P character is a rear character, the 1P character and the 2P character are referred to as “1P character (leader)” and “2P character (rear)”, respectively. 
     It should be noted that a rear character cannot throw a leader character. Thus, when the 1P character is a leader and the 2P character is a rear character within the same party, the 2P character cannot throw the 1P character. In addition, the rear character or each companion character within the same party can be thrown, and the player character  201  and the companion characters  202  within another party cannot be thrown. 
     Next, control performed during play of the game by two players will be described. First, flow in which play by two players is started from a state of play by a single player will be described, and then an outline of screen control and the like in the case of play by two players will be described. 
     [Start of Play by Two Players] 
     The game has a game mode called a “story mode” in which the game is caused to proceed along a predetermined scenario. Here, the case where this game mode is initially played by a single player and then the play is switched to play by two players in the middle, will be described as an example. First, in a state where the game screen during play by a single player as shown in  FIG. 8  described above is displayed, the first player performs an operation of opening an “option menu”. Furthermore, the first player selects an item of “Play by two persons” from the option menu. That is, an operation indicating that the play is changed from play by a single player to play by two players (play by two players is started) is performed. 
     When the above operation has been performed, a screen for setting a controller to be used by each player is displayed as shown in  FIG. 11 . In  FIG. 11 , a controller frame  208  for the first player is displayed at the left side of the screen, and a controller frame  209  for the second player is displayed at the right side of the screen. In addition, a message, “Please press L+R of a controller to be used”, is also displayed in an upper portion of the screen. Each of the first player and the second player can inform the main body apparatus  2  about a controller to be used by the player, by pressing L+R of the controller to be used by the player. Specifically, the pressed buttons and a controller ID or the like indicating the controller are transmitted from the controller to the main body apparatus  2 . The main body apparatus  2  recognizes the controllers to be used by the first player and the second player by identifying the pressed buttons and the controller IDs. Images indicating the identified controllers are displayed in the controller frames  208  and  209 . 
     Here, a supplemental description of types and use forms of controllers will be given. As described above, the game system  1  includes two controllers, that is, the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 . In the game, the two controllers, that is, the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 , can be used as one set. In other words, the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  can be considered as one unified controller and used. In this case, for example, the first player can perform operations for the game while holding the right controller  4  with the right hand and the left controller  3  with the left hand. In addition, in this case, the player holds each controller in the orientation in which the controller is vertically long when seen from the player&#39;s perspective (hereinafter, this holding manner is referred to as “vertically holding”). 
     In addition, in the game, the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  can be handled as separate controllers. For example, in the case of play by two players, the first player can play using the left controller  3 , and the second player can play using the right controller  4 . That is, this use form is a form in which each player uses only either one of the left controller  3  or the right controller  4 .  FIG. 12  shows an example of a controller setting screen in the case where the first player and the second player individually use the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 . In  FIG. 12 , an image of the left controller  3  oriented such that the left controller  3  is horizontally long is displayed in the controller frame  208  for the first player, and an image of the right controller  4  oriented such that the right controller  4  is horizontally long is displayed in the controller frame  209  for the second player. When the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are individually used by the two players as described above, each player uses the controller in the orientation in which the controller is tilted by 90 degrees from the “vertically held” state. That is, each player holds the controller in the orientation in which the controller is horizontally long when seen from the player&#39;s perspective (hereinafter, this holding manner is referred to as “horizontally holding”). In this case, each controller is used as a controller having a smaller number of operation sections such as a stick and buttons as compared to the case where the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are used in a unified manner. Thus, also in the game process, assignment of buttons is made different in consideration of such a difference in number of operation sections and such a difference in orientation. 
     A combination of controllers to be used by the first player and the second player may be, for example, a combination described below. For example, as shown in  FIG. 13 , the first player may use the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  in a unified manner, and the second player may use a right controller  4  that is different from the right controller  4  used by the first player. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 14 , the second player may use another type of game controller that is different from the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 . 
     As described above, when setting of the controller to be used by each player has ended, play by two players is started.  FIG. 15  shows an example of a game screen immediately after start of play by two players. In  FIG. 15 , the display area of the screen is divided laterally into two areas. The first player plays in the left display area, and the second player plays in the right display area. Hereinafter, the left display area in such a divided screen is referred to as “1P display area”, and the right display area in such a divided screen is referred to as “2P display area”. In addition, in the screen, the 1P character is the player character  201 A, and the 2P character is the player character  201 B. Moreover, cursors  203  are displayed above the 1P character and the 2P character. That is, cursors  203  corresponding to the 1P character and the 2P character, respectively, are displayed during play by two players. Hereinafter, the cursor  203  corresponding to the 1P character is referred to as “1P cursor”, and the cursor  203  corresponding to the 2P character is referred to as “2P cursor”. The 1P cursor and the 2P cursor have different colors, so that it is easy to recognize which cursor is the cursor for the 1P character or the cursor for the 2P character. Control of movement of the cursors will be described separately later. 
     In addition, the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and the operation character information image  205  are displayed in each of the “1P display area” and the “2P display area”. The to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and the operation character information image  205  are elements that change for each player, and thus are displayed in each display area. 
     In the game, in a state immediately after start of play by two players, the 1P character and the 2P character are in different parties. That is, play by two players is started in a state where both the 1P character and the 2P character are leader characters. In addition, regarding the party of the 2P character, at this time point, only the 2P character is present. From the state in  FIG. 15 , the second player can operate the 2P character such that the 2P character acts separately from the 1P character. Then, the 2P character can individually add companion characters  202  to the own party.  FIG. 16  shows an example of a screen in a state where the 2P character moves to a place different from that in  FIG. 15  and some companion characters are added to the own party during the movement. As described above, the player characters  201  and the parties can be separately operated using the divided screen. 
     [Joining, Division, and the Like of Party] 
     Next, “joining”, “division”, and “breakup” of the above party and screen control accompanying them will be described. In the game, screen control in which divided screen display and single-screen display are selectively used depending on the state of the party is performed. 
     First, “joining” of the party will be described. As described above, immediately after start of play by two players, different parties are present. In the game, such different parties can be “joined” together into one party. The parties can be joined by performing a predetermined “joining operation”. In the exemplary embodiment, the parties can be joined together into one party by performing an operation for bringing the 1P character and the 2P character in the different parties into contact with each other. In this case, regarding which character becomes a leader of the party, for example, control in which the “contacting” character adds the party of the “contacted” character to the own party may be performed, or control opposite thereto may be performed. In another embodiment, for example, in a state where the 1P character and the 2P character are close to each other to some extent, by performing an operation for either character to “whistle” in a predetermined pattern, the party of the other character may be joined to the party of the character that has whistled. 
     In the state of  FIG. 15  described above, the second player performs the predetermined joining operation. Accordingly, control in which the 2P character is added to the party of the 1P character is performed. Furthermore, as a result of the joining of the 1P character and the 2P character, the display form of the screen is changed. Specifically, the display form is changed from the divided screen to a single screen.  FIG. 17  shows an example of a game screen in a state where the 1P character and the 2P character are joined together. In  FIG. 17 , the game screen is displayed using one display area (the entire screen in this example). In the following description, a game screen in the state where the 1P character and the 2P character are joined together is referred to as “joining screen”. In addition, a screen in a state where the 1P character and the 2P character act in different parties is referred to as “division screen”. Moreover, an operation mode in the joining screen is referred to as “joining mode”, and an operation mode in the “division screen” is referred to as “other party mode”. 
     In the joining screen shown in  FIG. 17 , the 1P character and the 1P cursor corresponding to the 1P character are displayed, and the 2P character and the 2P cursor corresponding to the 2P character are also displayed. In addition, regarding the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and the operation character information image  205 , in the case of the above division screen, one to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and one operation character information image  205  are displayed in each display area, but, in the joining screen, only one to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and one operation character information image  205  are displayed. The to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  is shared by the first player and the second player (the layout of the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  will be described separately later). Moreover, in the operation character information image  205 , images indicating the player characters  201  within the party are displayed so as to be substantially vertically aligned. Letters “1P” are displayed at the right side of the image of the 1P character, and letters “2P” are displayed at the right side of the image of the 2P character, so that it is easy to recognize the player character operated by each player. 
     Here, a movement range of and possible operations on a rear character in the case where the operation target is the rear character will be described.  FIG. 18  is a diagram showing a concept of the movement range of the rear character. In a circular range  211  centered at the 1P character (leader), the 2P character (rear) is freely movable on the basis of an operation by the second player. The range  211  is, for example, a range where the companion character  202  reaches when thrown by the leader character. When the 2P character (rear) moves away to such a distance that the 2P character comes out of the range  211 , movement control is performed such that the 2P character (rear) automatically follows 1P character (leader), regardless of presence/absence of an operation for moving the 2P character, and the 2P character (rear) is controlled such that the distance to the 1P character (leader) is automatically maintained. In other words, there is the range  211  moving with the 1P character (leader), and movement control is performed on the 2P character (rear) such that the 2P character (rear) cannot come out of the range  211 . 
     Regarding movement of the 2P character (rear), the above limitation is provided. However, regarding a motion of “throwing”, the second player can freely perform such a motion. In other words, while the 2P character is a rear character, the second player can leave movement of the 2P player to the first player and concentrate on “throwing”. 
     Next, operations, etc., for division and breakup of the party will be described. In the joining mode, the party can be divided or broken up by performing an operation described below. Here, the case where the 1P character is a leader character and the 2P character is a rear character is taken as an example. First, in the joining mode, when the first player performs a “breakup operation”, the party can be broken up. In this case, the 1P character and the 2P character are separated to be in different parties (when there is a rear character that is not the 2P character, this rear character remains in the party of the 1P character). In addition, each party includes no companion characters  202  present therein. In addition, accordingly, the operation mode is switched to the “other party mode”, and the screen is also changed to the above “division screen”. 
     Meanwhile, in the joining mode, when the second player performs the “breakup operation”, only the 2P character is removed from the party and caused to form a new party, whereby the party can be divided. In this case as well, the operation mode is switched to the “other party mode”, and the screen is also changed to the above “division screen”. Regarding the party structure, the party of the 1P character has a party structure in which only the 2P character is eliminated from the state so far. The party of the 2P character includes no companion characters  202  present therein. 
     Moreover, in the joining mode, also by the 1P character (leader) “throwing” the 2P character (rear), only the 2P character can be removed from the party and caused to form a new party. That is, an operation for throwing the 2P character (rear) can also be considered as one kind of breakup operation. For example, in the state of a joining screen shown in  FIG. 19 , the 1P character (leader) throws the 2P character (rear) to a location near a tree object  213  as shown in  FIG. 20 . In this case, the 2P character (rear) is removed from the party of the 1P character and set as a leader of a new party. Then, similar to the above, the operation mode is switched to the “other party mode”, and the screen is also changed to the “division screen” as shown in  FIG. 21 . In addition, the party of the 2P character includes no companion characters  202  present therein. 
     Furthermore, in addition to the above, when an operation described below is performed, the screen is switched from the joining screen to the division screen. For example, in a state of a joining screen shown in  FIG. 22 , the 1P character throws the player character  201 C, which is not the 2P character (rear), to a location near the tree object  213  as shown in  FIG. 23 . In this case, the player character  201 C is set as a leader of another party. However, a player that is in charge of operations is not assigned to the player character  201 C, and thus the player character  201 C waits near the tree object  213  as shown in  FIG. 24 . 
     Thereafter, the party including the 1P character (leader) and the 2P character (rear) moves to another place as shown in  FIG. 25 . In this state, the first player performs an operation for switching the operation target as described above, and switches the operation target of the first player to the waiting player character  201 C. In this case, as shown in  FIG. 26 , the screen is switched to the division screen, and the player character  201 C is displayed as the 1P character in the 1P display area. In addition, the 2P character that has been a rear character so far is newly set as a leader character in the 2P display area. Moreover, the player character  201 A that has been a leader character so far is set as a rear character. Then, the second player takes over the party structure and can operate the party. 
     In the game, as described above, the operation target can be switched, or the party can be joined or divided. When the party joining/division operation is performed as described above, switching between the joining screen and the division screen is seamlessly performed (that is, it is not necessary to perform operations for setting display or switching of the screen). In particular, in a game in which the frequency of occurrence of joining/division of a party as described above is high during play by two players, the convenience of each player can be enhanced by performing seamless screen switching in accordance with the state of the party of each player. 
     Here, an example of a screen representation performed when switching to the joining screen or the division screen will be described. In the exemplary embodiment, when the screen is switched from the joining screen to the division screen, for example, a representation in which the 2P display area enters the screen from the right side toward the left side so as to push the 1P display area, is performed. Accordingly, the width of the 1P display area gradually decreases and finally becomes half the original width. In addition, also during the representation, various parameters such as the position and the angle of view of the virtual camera are adjusted as appropriate such that the display position of the 1P character is maintained substantially at the center position of the 1P display area, and control of the virtual camera is also performed. The same applies to the virtual camera at the 2P character side. It should be noted that this representation is merely an example, and any representation may be performed as the screen representation when the screen is switched between the joining screen and the division screen. 
     [Cursor Control] 
     Next, control of the cursor  203  in the game will be described. In the game, the cursor  203  is basically located at a position shifted from the position of the player character  201  that is an operation target, by a predetermined amount in a direction along the direction (movement direction) of the player character  201 . Hereinafter, this position is referred to as “cursor basic position”. The cursor basic position is changed in accordance with an operation for moving the player character  201 . The cursor  203  is seen to be constantly displayed at a forward position away from the operation target character by a predetermined distance when seen from the player&#39;s perspective. However, in the exemplary embodiment, the position of the cursor can be further finely adjusted on the basis of inputs to the above inertial sensors. 
       FIGS. 27 and 28  show an example of fine adjustment of the cursor position using the above inertial sensors. First, in a state shown in  FIG. 27 , the first player does not provide an input to a direction key or the like, and changes the orientation of the vertically held left controller  3  such that, for example, an end portion of the left controller  3  is slightly raised. In this case, for example, as shown in  FIG. 28 , the position of the 1P cursor can be slightly moved in the virtual game space toward the far side direction as seen from the 1P character. In addition, although not shown, for example, when the orientation of the left controller  3  is changed such that the left controller  3  is tilted rightward, the 1P cursor can be moved rightward. Similarly, by changing the orientation of the left controller  3  such that the left controller  3  is tilted leftward, the 1P cursor can be moved leftward. As described above, by changing the orientation of the left controller  3 , the player can further move the position of the cursor  203  from the cursor basic position. As a result of fine adjustment of the cursor position, if the cursor position is a position that the companion character  202  cannot reach when the companion character  202  is thrown, the display color of the cursor is changed in order to indicate this. 
     Meanwhile, in the game, the cursor can be caused to lock on a predetermined object. For example, when the cursor  203  is present near a predetermined enemy character, a lock-on state in which the cursor  203  is displayed corresponding to the position of the enemy character can be obtained by the player performing a predetermined “lock-on operation”.  FIG. 29  shows an example of a screen in a state where an enemy character is being locked on.  FIG. 29  shows an example of the case of the “joining screen” and shows a state where the 1P character is locking on an enemy character  220 . As an example, in a state where the 1P cursor is located near the feet of the enemy character  220 , a state where the 1P character locks on the enemy character  220  (hereinafter, referred to as lock-on state) can be obtained by the first player pressing, for example, the ZR-button  61 , as the “lock-on operation”. It should be noted that the position at which the cursor is initially displayed when the lock-on operation is performed is defined in advance for each object. Hereinafter, this position is referred to as “lock-on reference position”. In addition, an object that is locked on is referred to as “lock-on target”. 
     In addition, in the lock-on state, the display form of the cursor  203  is also slightly changed, for example, in order for the player to easily understand that the current state is the lock-on state. In  FIG. 29 , the display form of the 1P cursor is changed to an appearance like an aiming point. Hereinafter, the cursor, in the lock-on state, having a display form changed as described above is referred to as “lock-on cursor”. In addition, when the enemy character  220  that is a lock-on target moves, the lock-on cursor moves following the movement of the enemy character  220 . That is, the relative positional relationship between the lock-on cursor and the object that is a lock-on target does not change.  FIG. 30  shows an example in which the lock-on cursor moves following the lock-on target.  FIG. 30  shows an example in which, in a state where the lock-on cursor is aligned with a position near the right shoulder of the enemy character  220  that is set as the lock-on reference position, the enemy character  220  moves leftward. In this movement, the display position of the lock-on cursor moves leftward while the lock-on cursor is being maintained at the position near the right shoulder of the enemy character  220 . 
     When the distance between the 1P character and the locked-on enemy character  220  is increased to a certain distance or longer, the lock-on state is automatically cancelled, and the display form of the 1P cursor returns to the original form. In addition, the position at which the 1P cursor is located becomes a position obtained by adding an amount of the above fine adjustment to the cursor basic position. Moreover, when a plurality of objects that can be locked on are present within a predetermined distance from the 1P character, the lock-on target is switched each time the above lock-on operation is performed. 
     The lock-on cursor moves following movement of the lock-on target as described above. The position of the lock-on cursor can also be finely adjusted from the lock-on reference position using the above inertial sensors.  FIGS. 31 and 32  show an example of fine adjustment of the position of the lock-on cursor in the lock-on state. First, in  FIG. 31 , the lock-on cursor is located at a position of a right-side portion of the face of the enemy character  220  that is a lock-on reference position. The player can move (the center of) the lock-on cursor within a lock-on adjustable range  221  by changing the orientation of the controller. The lock-on adjustable range  221  is an area that substantially surrounds the enemy character  220 . This area is an area defined in advance for each object that can be locked on. For easy understanding of the description, in  FIG. 31 , the lock-on adjustable range  221  is shown by a dotted line, but this dotted line is not displayed in the actual game screen. In the lock-on state, no matter how much the player tilts the left controller  3 , (the center of) the lock-on cursor does not come out of the range  221 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 32 , even when the player tilts the direction of the end portion of the left controller  3  leftward to an angle indicated by an arrow  222 , the lock-on cursor does not move leftward beyond the lock-on adjustable range  221 . Similarly, even when the player tilts the end of the left controller  3  rightward to an angle indicated by an arrow  223 , the lock-on cursor does not move rightward beyond the lock-on adjustable range  221 . 
     Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, a movement speed of the cursor based on the above orientation change is made different between the case where the current state is the lock-on state and the case where the current state is not the lock-on state. Specifically, control in which the movement speed of the cursor at the same degree of tilt is lower is also performed such that finer adjustment is enabled in the case of the lock-on state. For example, the case where the orientation of the left controller  3  is changed rightward by 20 degrees is assumed. In this case, control, in which, when the current state is not the lock-on state, for example, the cursor is moved within the virtual space by a distance of 20, and when the current state is the lock-on state, the cursor is moved only by a distance of 5 (control in which the movement speed is reduced to 25%), is performed. Accordingly, in the lock-on state or the like in which it is assumed that the necessity of aiming at the enemy character  220  is increased, the operability can be enhanced. For example, it becomes easy to aim at a location that is preset as a “weak portion” when attacking the enemy character  220 . 
     Meanwhile, in the exemplary embodiment, when performing fine adjustment as described above, a process of setting a reference orientation for the controller as appropriate is also performed. For example, when the lock-on operation is performed, the orientation of the controller at the time when this operation is performed is set as a reference orientation and is associated with the above lock-on reference position. Thus, the player can finely adjust the position of the cursor (lock-on cursor) by changing the orientation of the controller on the basis of the orientation of the controller at the time when the lock-on operation is performed. Accordingly, an intuitive fine adjustment operation having less uncomfortable feeling is enabled. 
     As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, regarding control of movement of the cursor, the cursor position can be further changed by changing the orientation of the controller while the cursor is basically located at the above cursor reference position. Accordingly, for movement of the cursor, intuitive and flexible operability can be provided. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, play is enabled even when the controller is either “horizontally held” or “vertically held” as described above. In this case, particularly, when playing while “horizontally holding” the controller, intuitive easy-to-understand operability can be provided for fine adjustment of the cursor in the far side direction. 
     [To-be-Thrown Object Selection UI] 
     As described above, in the game, when the companion characters  202  are “thrown” to an enemy character and the like, the companion characters  202  can be caused to take various actions. In addition, as described above, several types of companion characters  202  are prepared as the companion characters  202 . Thus, the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  for selecting which type of companion character or which rear character is to be thrown is provided for the player. 
     Meanwhile, the game can be played using the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  as one set serving as one controller, and can also be played using the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  individually as separate controllers. When the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are used as separate controllers as described above, the number of usable physical buttons and operation sections such as a stick are reduced as compared to those in the case where the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are used as one set. In view of such a difference in number of operation sections, in the exemplary embodiment, a different “to-be-thrown object selection UI” is presented to each player in accordance with the type of the controller to be used by each player. 
     An example of display of the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  will be described with, as an example, the case where play by two players is performed while the first player is using a left controller  3  and a right controller  4  as one set and the second player is using only a left controller  3 . During play, the first player vertically holds the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 , and the second player horizontally holds the left controller  3 .  FIG. 33  shows an example of the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  displayed in the above 1P display area in such a case. In addition,  FIG. 34  shows an example of the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  displayed in the above 2P display area in such a case. In the following description, the to-be-thrown object selection UI shown in  FIG. 33  is referred to as “a selection UI having a first layout”, and the to-be-thrown object selection UI shown in  FIG. 34  is referred to as “selection UI having a second layout”. 
     First,  FIG. 33  will be described. In the selection UI having the first layout shown in  FIG. 33 , three frames, that is, a current frame  231 , a previous-turn frame  232 , and a next-turn frame  233 , are displayed. Regarding the arrangement of these frames, the current frame  231  is located at the center, the previous-turn frame  232  is located at the left side of the current frame  231 , and the next-turn frame  233  is located at the right side of the current frame  231 . In addition, the current frame  231  is displayed such that the size thereof is larger than those of the other two frames. The previous-turn frame  232  and the next-turn frame  233  are displayed in the same size. When the player performs a “throwing” operation, the rear character or the companion character  202  of the same type as a companion character displayed in the current frame  231  is thrown. 
     Next, an operation in the selection UI having the first layout will be described. In this case, the player can switch the content within the current frame  231  using the above first L-button  38  and the above first R-button  60 . For example, in  FIG. 33  described above, the case where a companion character A is displayed in the current frame  231 , a companion character B is displayed in the previous-turn frame  232 , a companion character C is displayed in the next-turn frame  233 , and the player presses the first L-button  38 , is assumed. In this case, the entire display of the selection UI having the first layout moves leftward. Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 35 , the current frame  231  moves to the position of the previous-turn frame  232  while the size thereof is being reduced, and the next-turn frame  233  moves to the position of the current frame  231  while the size thereof is being increased. In addition, a state where a new frame in which a rear character is displayed such that the new frame moves around from behind the next-turn frame  233  and the new frame moves to the position of the next-turn frame  233 , is shown. Moreover, the previous-turn frame  232  moves around to behind this frame and disappears from the screen. As a result, as shown in  FIG. 36 , the companion character A is displayed in the previous-turn frame  232 , the companion character C is displayed in the current frame  231 , and the rear character is displayed in the next-turn frame  233 . 
     When the player presses the first R-button  60  in the state shown in  FIG. 33  described above, movement in the direction opposite to that of the above movement is performed. That is, the entire display of the selection UI having the first layout moves rightward. As a result, for example, the rear character is displayed in the previous-turn frame  232 , the companion character B is displayed in the current frame  231 , and the companion character A is displayed in the next-turn frame  233 . When the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are used as one set as described above, two buttons, that is, the first L-button  38  and the first R-button  60 , are assigned for operations for selecting an object to be thrown. The selection UI having the first layout that is a layout adapted for such operations is also used as the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204 . 
     Next, the selection UI having the second layout shown in  FIG. 34  described above will be described. In the selection UI having the second layout shown in  FIG. 34 , three frames, that is, a current frame  234 , a next-turn frame  235 , and an after-next-turn frame  236 , are displayed. Regarding the arrangement of these frames, the current frame  234  is located at the leftmost position, the next-turn frame  235  is located to the right of the current frame  234 , and the after-next-turn frame  236  is located to the right of the next-turn frame  235 . In addition, the current frame  234  is displayed such that the size thereof is larger than those of the other two frames. Moreover, the next-turn frame  235  is displayed such that the size thereof is larger than that of the after-next-turn frame  236 . 
     Next, an operation in the selection UI having the second layout will be described. In this case, the player can switch the content within the current frame  234  using only the above second L-button  43 . Specifically, when the player presses the second L-button  43  in the state in  FIG. 34 , the entire display of the selection UI having the second layout moves leftward as shown in  FIG. 37 . Specifically, the next-turn frame  235  moves to the position of the current frame  234 , and the after-next-turn frame  236  moves to the position of the next-turn frame  235 . In addition, a state where a new frame appears such that the new frame moves around from behind the after-next-turn frame  236  and this frame moves to the position of the after-next-turn frame  236 , is displayed. That is, unlike the above selection UI having the first layout, this operation is a switching operation only in one direction. When the second player plays using only the left controller  3  as described above, only one button, the second L-button  43 , is assigned for an operation for selecting an object to be thrown, in view of the number of operation sections being small. The selection UI having the second layout that is a layout suitable for an operation only with the one button is also used as the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204 . 
     Here, the case where play by two players is performed while the first player is using the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  as one set and the second player is using only the left controller  3  as described above, and the above joining screen is displayed, will be described. As described above, in the joining screen, the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  is shared by the first player and the second player. In this case, a to-be-thrown object selection UI having a layout suitable for the controller having a smaller number of operation sections is used. In the above example, the selection UI having the second layout is used. Then, the first player performs a selection operation using only the first L-button  38 , and the second player performs a selection operation using only the second L-button  43 . In another embodiment, also in the joining screen, the to-be-thrown object selection Uls  204  suitable for the controllers of the respective players may be displayed. 
     As described above, the to-be-thrown object selection UI corresponding to each player is made different depending on the controller used by each player. Accordingly, the operability of the selection operation is enhanced in accordance with the number of operation sections of each controller, and the content displayed in the to-be-thrown object selection UI can also be suitable for each controller. 
     [Details of Game Process of Exemplary Embodiment] 
     Next, the game process in the exemplary embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 38 to 52 . 
     [Data to be Used] 
     First, various data to be used in the game process will be described.  FIG. 38  is a memory map showing an example of various data stored in the DRAM  85  of the main body apparatus  2 . In the DRAM  85  of the main body apparatus  2 , a game program  301 , 1P operation data  302 , 2P operation data  306 , 1P character information  307 , 2P character information  308 , 1P controller type information  309 , 2P controller type information  310 , player character data  311 , companion character master data  312 , companion character data  313 , other character data  314 , first party data  315 , second party data  316 , third party data  317 , an operation mode  318 , 1P section UI data  319 , 2P selection UI data  320 , a 1P switching menu display flag  321 , a 2P switching menu display flag  322 , mode change instruction data  323 , screen switching state data  324 , etc., are stored. 
     The game program  301  is a program for performing the game process according to the exemplary embodiment. 
     The 1P operation data  302  is data acquired from the controller operated by the first player and is data indicating the content of an operation by the first player. In addition, similarly, the 2P operation data  306  is data acquired from the controller operated by the second player and is data indicating the content of an operation by the second player. The 1P operation data  302  includes digital button data  303 , analog stick data  304 , and inertial sensor data  305 . Moreover, the 2P operation data  306  also includes similar data. The digital button data  303  is data indicating pressed states of various buttons of the controller. The analog stick data  304  is data indicating the content of an operation on the analog stick of the controller. The inertial sensor data  305  is data indicating detection results of the inertial sensors such as the above-described acceleration sensors and the above-described angular velocity sensors. Specifically, acceleration data and angular velocity data are included. 
     The 1P character information  307  is information about the above 1P character. Specifically, the 1P character information  307  includes information for indicating which of the above three player characters  201  is the current operation target of the first player. More specifically, a player character ID (described later) for the player character  201  that is the operation target is set. In addition, the 1P character information  307  includes information indicating whether the 1P character is “locking on” any object, and also includes information indicating the locked-on object, when the 1P character is locking on any object. Moreover, the 2P character information  308  is information about the 2P character, and includes information similar to the 1P character information  307 . 
     The 1P controller type information  309  and the 2P controller type information  310  are each data for indicating the type and use form of the controller used by each player for playing the game, and mapping information of the operation sections. The mapping information of the operation sections is information that defines assignment of each operation section for various operations in the game in accordance with such a controller type and use form. As the information indicating the type and use form of the controller, for example, information indicating that only the left controller  3  is used (number of used controllers=1), information indicating that two controllers, the left controller  3  and the right controller  4 , are used as one set (number of used controllers=2), or the like is stored. In addition, the mapping information is, for example, information indicating that, when only the left controller  3  is used, the A-button  53  is assigned for a “throwing” operation, and when the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are used, the button  34  is assigned for a “throwing” operation. 
     The player character data  311  is data about the three player characters  201 A,  201 B, and  201 C. The player character data  311  includes player character IDs for uniquely identifying these player characters, image data of the appearance of these player characters, modeling data, etc. 
     The companion character master data  312  is data that defines basic information of the above companion characters  202 . In addition, the companion character data  313  is data for management and the like of the individual companion characters  202  that actually appear in the virtual game space.  FIG. 39  is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the companion character master data  312 . The companion character master data  312  is data in a table format having items such as a type ID  331 , appearance data  332 , and action definition data  333 . The type ID  331  is an ID indicating the “type” of each companion character  202 . The appearance data  332  is image data and modeling data of the type of companion character  202 . The action definition data  333  is data that defines the content of action that can be taken by the type of companion character  202 . For example, the action definition data  333  is data about by what motion and method the companion character  202  attacks when “attacking”. In addition, various parameters for the type of companion character  202 , for example, basic values of parameters such as a HP (hit point) and attacking power, are also defined. Each of the companion characters  202  that appear in the virtual game space is created on the basis of the companion character master data  312 , a unique ID is assigned to each companion character  202 , and the companion characters  202  are managed through the companion character data  313  described next. 
       FIG. 40  is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the companion character data  313 . The companion character data  313  is data in a table format having items such as a companion character ID  341 , a type ID  342 , participation party information  343 , current position data  344 , and current state data  345 . The companion character ID  341  is an ID for uniquely identifying each companion character  202  that appears in the virtual game space. The type ID  342  is an ID indicating the type of the companion character  202  and corresponds to the type ID  331  of the above companion character master data  312 . The participation party information  343  is information for indicating whether the companion character  202  is participating in any party or is in a “free” state where the companion character  202  is not participating in any party. In addition, when the companion character  202  is participating in any party, the participation party information  343  is also information indicating which party the companion character  202  is participating in. The current position data  344  is data indicating the current position of the companion character  202  within the virtual game space. The current state data  345  is data for indicating, for example, which action the companion character  202  is currently making. For example, information indicating that the companion character  202  is attacking an enemy character, information indicating that the companion character  202  is moving following a leader character, or the like is set as appropriate in accordance with the situation of the game. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 38 , the other character data  314  is data about various characters other than the above player characters  201  and the above companion characters  202 . For example, the other character data  314  is data that defines the appearance and motion of each enemy character. In addition, in particular, for an object that can be an object to be locked on as described above, information that defines the above-described “lock-on reference position” and “lock-on adjustable range” is also included. 
     The first party data  315 , the second party data  316 , and the third party data  317  are data indicating the structures of the above-described parties. In the game, the three player characters  201  are present, and thus the number of parties that can coexist at the same time is at most three. Thus, three party data are prepared.  FIG. 41  shows an example of the data structure of the first party data  315 . The first party data  315  includes leader character information  351 , first rear character information  352 , second rear character information  353 , and companion character information  354 . The leader character information  351  is information indicating which player character  201  the leader character of the party is. The first rear character information  352  and the second rear character information  353  are each information indicating presence/absence of a rear character in the party. In addition, when rear characters are present, the first rear character information  352  and the second rear character information  353  are each information indicating which player character  201  the rear character is. For example, when only one rear character is present in the party, the player character ID of the rear character is set in the first rear character information  352 , and information indicating that a rear character is “not present” is set in the second rear character information  353 . The companion character information  354  is information about each companion character  202  that is participating in the party. Specifically, the companion character ID  341  is included. 
     The second party data  316  and the third party data  317  also have the same structure, and thus the description thereof is omitted. In the following description, the first party data  315 , the second party data  316 , and the third party data  317  are occasionally collectively referred to simply as “party data”. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 38 , the operation mode  318  is data for indicating whether the current state is a state where the 1P character and the 2P character are joined together (the above joining mode) or a state where the 1P character and the 2P character are acting in different parties (the above other party mode). Specifically, information indicating that the current mode is the joining mode, or information that the current mode is the other party mode, is set. 
     The 1P section UI data  319  and the 2P selection UI data  320  are data about the to-be-thrown object selection UIs described above with reference to  FIGS. 33 to 37 . The 1P section UI data  319  is mainly data for the first player, and the 2P selection UI data  320  is data for the second player. When the to-be-thrown object selection UI is shared by the first player and the second player in the joining screen as described above, the 1P section UI data  319  is shared.  FIG. 42  shows an example of the data structure of the 1P section UI data  319 . The data structure of the 2P selection UI data  320  is the same. In  FIG. 42 , the 1P section UI data  319  includes a layout type  361 , current frame data  362 , and candidate data  363 . The layout type  361  is information for indicating whether to use the above-described selection UI having the first layout or the above-described selection UI having the second layout. Information for specifying either UI is set in accordance with the use form of the controller to be used by each player. The current frame data  362  is data indicating the content of the current frame  231  in the selection UI having the first layout or the content of the current frame  234  in the selection UI having the second layout. The candidate data  363  is data for indicating the contents of the previous-turn frame  232  and the next-turn frame  233  in the selection UI having the first layout or the contents of the next-turn frame  235  and the after-next-turn frame  236  in the selection UI having the second layout. In addition, the current frame data  362  is also data having a role as a pointer designating any one of data sets included in the candidate data  363  described next. The candidate data  363  is data indicating selection candidates in the UI, and data indicating each type of companion character  202  in the party and data indicating rear characters are stored as sequential data in a predetermined order. The number of data sets included in the candidate data  363  increases or decreases in accordance with the types of the companion characters  202  that are participating in the party and the number of rear characters.  FIG. 42  shows an example of the candidate data  363  in the case where it is assumed that three types of companion characters and two rear characters are present in the party. In this case, in the candidate data  363 , five data sets of a first candidate  364   a  to fifth candidate  364   e  are stored. For example, a data set indicating a first type of companion character is stored as the first candidate  364   a , a data set indicating a second type of companion character is stored as the second candidate  364   b , a data set indicating a third type of companion character is stored as the third candidate  364   c , a data set indicating a first rear character is stored as the fourth candidate  364   d , and a data set indicating a second rear character is stored as the fifth candidate  364   e.    
     The 1P switching menu display flag  321  is a flag for indicating whether to display the character switching menu  207  based on an operation by the first player on the screen. In addition, the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is a flag for indicating whether to display the character switching menu  207  based on an operation by the second player on the screen. When each flag is set to be ON, the flag indicates that the character switching menu  207  is to be displayed on the screen. 
     The mode change instruction data  323  is data to be used for control of switching the above operation mode (in other words, control of switching between the joining screen and the division screen) in processes described later, and information indicating whether to set the operation mode to the other party mode or the joining mode is set. In this example, an “other party mode change instruction” is set in the case of setting the operation mode to the other party mode, and a “joining mode change instruction” is set in the case of setting the operation mode to the joining mode. 
     The screen switching state data  324  is data for indicating whether the current state is a state of switching from the above “joining screen” to the above “division screen” or a state of switching the above “division screen” to the above “joining screen”. In the exemplary embodiment, each of the above screen switching is performed through several frames, and this data is used for setting of various parameters of the virtual camera and the like during switching. In this example, when the screen switching state data  324  indicates a state of switching from the “division screen” to the “joining screen”, information of “during switching to joining screen” is set. In addition, when the screen switching state data  324  indicates a state of switching from the “joining screen” to the “division screen”, information of “during switching to division screen” is set. Moreover, when the screen switching state data  324  indicates a state that is not any of the above state, nothing is set in this data. 
     [Details of Process to be Performed by Processor  81 ] 
     Next, the details of the game process according to the exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to flowcharts in  FIGS. 43 to 56 . In the following, joining and separation of parties as described above and screen control accompanying them, cursor movement control, and control for the to-be-thrown object selection UI will be mainly described, and the description of other game processes is omitted. 
       FIG. 43  is a flowchart showing the details of the game process. Here, a situation in which play by two players as described above is started from a state during play by a single player (that is, the second player joins in the middle of the game) is assumed. That is, a situation in which, during play by a single player, the first player opens the above-described option menu is assumed. 
     First, in step S 1 , a process of receiving an instruction to start play by two players is performed. That is, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302 , the processor  81  detects that an instruction operation for starting play by two players has been performed from the above option menu. 
     Next, in step S 2 , the processor  81  performs a controller setting process. This process is a process for identifying a controller to be used by each player in play by two players. Specifically, the processor  81  displays the controller setting screen shown in  FIG. 11  described above. Then, the processor  81  determines the type and use form of the controller to be used by each player, on the basis of a signal sent from the controller. For example, whether the type of the controller is, for example, the left controller  3 , the right controller  4 , or a game controller other than the controllers  3  and  4  is determined. In addition, whether the use form is a form in which the left controller  3  and the right controller  4  are used as one set, or a form in which the left controller  3  or the right controller  4  is used alone, is determined. Then, on the basis of the determination result, the processor  81  sets information indicating the controller to be used by the first player, in the 1P controller type information  309 . In addition, the processor  81  sets information indicating the controller to be used by the second player, in the 2P controller type information  310 . The above mapping information of the operation sections corresponding to the respective controllers is also set in the 1P controller type information  309  and the 2P controller type information  310 . In subsequent processes, when determining an operation content on the basis of operation data, the processor  81  refers to the mapping information corresponding to the respective controllers, and determines the operation content. When the use form and the like of the controller to be used by each player are recognized, a process for determining an operation target of the second player is also performed. Then, a process of setting the player character ID of the operation target of the second player in the 2P character information  308  is also performed. It should be noted that, since the case where play by a single player has already been performed is taken as an example, the 1P character information  307  has already been set. In addition, when play by two players is performed from the beginning without anyone joining in the middle of the game, a process for determining an operation target of the first player may also be performed at this timing. 
     Next, in step S 3 , the processor  81  performs a process of determining a to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  suitable for each player. Specifically, on the basis of the above 1P controller type information  309 , the processor  81  determines a layout of the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  to be displayed in the 1P display area. Then, the processor  81  sets information indicating the determined layout, in the layout type  361  of the 1P section UI data  319 . In addition, on the basis of the above 2P controller type information  310 , the processor  81  determines a to-be-thrown object selection UI to be displayed in the 2P display area and sets information of the to-be-thrown object selection UI in the layout type  361  of the 2P selection UI data  320 . 
     Next, in step S 4 , the processor  81  performs a process of switching to the “division screen”, regarding screen display. Specifically, first, the processor  81  determines any one of the player characters  201  that are not the operation target of the first player, as an operation target of the second player. Which player character  201  is set as the operation target may be determined by any method. For example, the player character  201  having a smaller player character ID may be automatically selected, or a screen for selecting an operation target may be displayed and a selection may be made by the second player. After the operation target of the second player, that is, the 2P character, is determined, the processor  81  sets appropriate parameters to each of the virtual camera corresponding to the 1P character and the virtual camera corresponding to the 2P character, such that a division screen as shown in  FIG. 15  is displayed. In addition, the processor  81  calculates a position at which the 2P cursor is to be placed, on the basis of the position of the 2P character. Then, the processor  81  places the 2P cursor at the calculated position. Moreover, the processor  81  sets information indicating that the current operation mode is the other party mode, in the operation mode  318 . 
     Next, in step S 5 , the processor  81  performs a process of rendering a game image. Specifically, the processor  81  generates an image obtained by capturing, with the virtual camera corresponding to the 1P character, a virtual game space in which the operation character information image  205  and the appropriate to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  are located, and the process  81  renders the image in the 1P display area. In addition, similarly, the processor  81  generates an image obtained by capturing the virtual game space with the virtual camera corresponding to the 2P character, and renders the image in the 2P display area. Then, the processor  81  performs a process of displaying the game image on the stationary monitor. 
     Next, in step S 6 , the processor  81  acquires the 1P operation data  302  and the 2P operation data  306 . Subsequently, in step S 7 , the processor  81  performs various processes based on the operation contents of the respective players indicated by the acquired operation data. Next, in step S 8 , the processor  81  takes images of the virtual game space in which a result of the processes in step S 7  is reflected, with the virtual cameras, and performs a process for rendering the images as a game image. Thereafter, the processor  81  returns to step S 6  described above, and the process is repeated. 
     [Various Processes Based on Operation Contents] 
     Next, the processes, based on the operation contents, that are performed in step S 7  described above will be described.  FIG. 44  is a flowchart showing the details of the processes based on the operation contents. In  FIG. 44 , first, in step S 11 , the processor  81  performs a movement process. In this process, a process for moving each player character  201  is performed on the basis of the content of a movement operation performed by each player. An example of the movement operation is a direction input operation using the analog stick  32  when the controller is “vertically held”. In addition, an example of the movement operation is also a direction input operation using the analog stick  32  when the controller is “horizontally held”. The orientation of the controller is rotated by 90 degrees between when the controller is “vertically held” and when the controller is “horizontally held”, and thus, in the game process, in accordance with this, assignment of a direction input signal and a movement direction is changed as appropriate. For example, when an input is provided by tilting the analog stick  32  toward the first L-button  38  in  FIG. 4  described above, this input is handled as an input in the “upward direction” when the controller is “vertically held”, but is handled as an input in the “leftward direction” when the controller is “horizontally held”. 
     [Movement Process] 
       FIG. 45  is a flowchart showing the details of the above movement process. In  FIG. 45 , first, in step S 21 , the processor  81  performs a process of moving the 1P character, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302 . Subsequently, in step S 22 , the processor  81  performs a process of moving the 2P character, on the basis of the 2P operation data  306 . Regarding movement control in steps S 21  and S 22 , when the operation mode  318  is the “joining mode”, control is performed as appropriate such that the 2P character moves within the rear character movement range  211  described above with reference to  FIG. 18 . This is the end of the movement process. 
     [Lock-on Process] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , next, in step S 12 , the processor  81  performs a lock-on process. The process is mainly a process performed when the player performs a lock-on operation. Examples of the lock-on operation are, for example, to press the ZR-button  61  when the controller is “vertically held”, and to press the second R-button  44  when the controller is “horizontally held”. 
       FIGS. 46 and 47  are flowcharts showing the details of the above lock-on process. In  FIG. 46 , first, in step S 31 , the processor  81  determines whether either player has performed the lock-on operation, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302  and the 2P operation data  306 . As a result of the determination, when the lock-on operation has not been performed (NO in step S 31 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 41  described later. On the other hand, when the lock-on operation has been performed (YES in step S 31 ), the processor  81  proceeds to step S 33 . 
     Next, in step S 33 , the processor  81  refers to the 1P character information  307  or the 2P character information  308  in accordance with the player who has performed the lock-on operation, and determines whether the current state is the above lock-on state where the player character  201  operated by the specified player is locking on a predetermined object. As a result of the determination, when the current state is not the lock-on state (NO in step S 33 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 34  whether any object that is a candidate to be locked on (hereinafter, referred to as a lock-on candidate) is present near the cursor (the 1P cursor or the 2P cursor) for the specified player. As a result, when no lock-on candidate is present (NO in step S 34 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 47  described later. On the other hand, when any lock-on candidate is present (YES in step S 34 ), the processor  81  sets the lock-on candidate as a lock-on target in step S 35 . It should be noted that, when a plurality of lock-on candidates are present, the lock-on candidate closest to the cursor is selected. In addition, the processor  81  sets information indicating that the current state is the lock-on state, for the specified player. That is, the processor  81  sets information indicating that the current state is the lock-on state, in either the 1P character information  307  or the 2P character information  308  in accordance with the specified player. 
     Next, in step S 36 , the processor  81  changes the appearance of the cursor to the appearance of the above “lock-on cursor”. Furthermore, the processor  81  places the lock-on cursor at the above lock-on reference position that is preset for each lock-on target described above. 
     Next, in step S 37 , the processor  81  sets the above-described lock-on adjustable range  221  for the lock-on target. In the exemplary embodiment, in the other character data  314 , the size and the like of the lock-on adjustable range  221  are defined in advance for each character that can be a lock-on target. Thus, the processor  81  refers to the other character data  314  and sets the lock-on adjustable range  221  corresponding to the lock-on target. Thereafter, the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 47  described later. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 33 , when the current state is the lock-on state (YES in step S 33 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 38  whether any other lock-on candidate is present within a predetermined distance from the current lock-on target. As a result, when any other lock-on candidate is present (YES in step S 38 ), the processor  81  performs a process of switching the lock-on target in step S 39 . That is, the processor  81  performs a process of setting the other lock-on candidate as a new lock-on target. When a plurality of other lock-on candidates are present, the lock-on candidate closest to the current lock-on target may be selected, for example. Alternatively, lock-on candidates that are present within a circular range having a predetermined size and centered at the current lock-on target are sequenced in order of the lock-on candidates closer to the current lock-on target, and the current lock-on target may be switched according to this order each time the lock-on operation is performed. After switching of the lock-on target is performed, the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 36  described above. 
     On the other hand, when no other lock-on candidate is present (NO in step S 38 ), the processor  81  performs a process of cancelling the lock-on state in step S 40 . That is, the processor  81  sets information indicating that the current state is not the lock-on state, in the 1P character information  307  or the 2P character information  308 . In addition, the appearance of the cursor is also returned from the appearance of the lock-on cursor to the cursor appearance at the time of normal movement. Furthermore, regarding the position of the cursor, the cursor is placed at a position that is determined on the basis of the position and the direction of the 1P character or the 2P character as described above. Thereafter, the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 47  described later. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 31 , when the lock-on operation has not been performed, the processor  81  refers to the 1P character information  307  and determines whether the 1P character is in the lock-on state, in step S 41  in  FIG. 47 . As a result of the determination, when the 1P character is not in the lock-on state (NO in step S 41 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 44  described later. On the other hand, when the 1P character is in the lock-on state (YES in step S 41 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 42  whether the distance between the 1P character and the lock-on target is equal to or larger than a predetermined distance. As a result, when the distance is equal to or larger than the predetermined distance (YES in step S 42 ), the processor  81  performs a process for cancelling the lock-on state of the 1P character in step S 43 . Specifically, the processor  81  sets information that the 1P character is not in the lock-on state, in the 1P character information  307 . In addition, the processor  81  also performs a process of deleting the lock-on cursor, calculating a position at which the 1P cursor is to be placed, similar to the above, and moving the 1P cursor to the position. On the other hand, when the distance is not equal to or larger than the predetermined distance (NO in step S 42 ), the processor  81  does not perform the process in step S 43  described above and advances the processing to the next step S 44 . That is, the lock-on state of the 1P character is maintained. 
     Next, in step S 44 , the processor  81  refers to the 2P character information  308  and determines whether the 2P character is in the lock-on state. As a result of the determination, when the 2P character is not in the lock-on state (NO in step S 44 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 47  described later. On the other hand, when the 2P character is in the lock-on state (YES in step S 44 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 44  whether the distance between the 2P character and the lock-on target is equal to or larger than a predetermined distance. As a result, when the distance is equal to or larger than the predetermined distance (YES in step S 45 ), the processor  81  performs a process for cancelling the lock-on state of the 2P character in step S 46 , similar to the above case of the 1P character. Specifically, the processor  81  sets information indicating the 2P character is not in the lock-on state, in the 2P character information  308 . In addition, the processor  81  also performs a process of deleting the lock-on cursor, calculating a position at which the 2P cursor is to be placed, and moving the 2P cursor to the position. On the other hand, when the distance is not equal to or larger than the predetermined distance (NO in step S 45 ), the process in step S 46  described above is not performed, and the lock-on state of the 2P character is maintained. 
     Next, in step S 47 , the processor  81  determines whether the above-described lock-on cursor is displayed. That is, the processor  81  determines whether either player character is in a state of locking on a predetermined object. As a result of the determination, when the lock-on cursor is displayed (YES in step S 47 ), the processor  81  performs a process of moving, as appropriate, the lock-on cursor so as to correspond to the position of the lock-on target, in step S 48 . That is, the processor  81  performs a process of moving the lock-on cursor following the lock-on target. On the other hand, when the lock-on cursor is not present (NO in step S 47 ), the process in step S 48  is skipped, and the processor  81  proceeds to the next process step. 
     Next, in step S 49 , the processor  81  performs a process of resetting the “reference orientation” of the controller in relation to the above-described fine adjustment of the cursor position using the inertial sensors. Specifically, the processor  81  initializes the movement amount of the lock-on cursor from the lock-on reference position and resets the current orientation of the controller on which the lock-on operation has been performed, as the “reference orientation”. That is, the above “reference orientation” is reset when the lock-on operation is performed. This is the end of the lock-on process. 
     [Cursor Control Process] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , subsequent to the lock-on process, the processor  81  performs a cursor control process in step S 13 . In this process, a process of determining a position of the cursor on the basis of the position of the player character and a process for further finely adjusting the position using the inertial sensors are performed. 
       FIG. 48  is a flowchart showing the details of the above cursor control process. First, in step S 51 , the processor  81  calculates a position at which the 1P cursor is to be placed, on the basis of the position and the direction (movement direction) of the 1P character after the movement. Then, the processor  81  moves the 1P cursor to the calculated position. This position is a position shifted from the position of the 1P character after the movement by a predetermined amount along the direction of the 1P character. In addition, this position is also a position that is a “reference position” in a later-described process of fine adjustment of the cursor position. 
     Next, in step S 52 , similar to the case of the 1P character, the processor  81  calculates a position at which the 2P cursor is to be placed, on the basis of the position and the direction (movement direction) of the 2P character after the movement. This position is also a position that is a “reference position” in the later-described process of fine adjustment of the cursor position. Then, the processor  81  moves the 2P cursor to the calculated position. 
     Next, a process regarding fine adjustment of the cursor position using the above inertial sensors is performed. Specifically, first, in step S 53 , the processor  81  acquires the inertial sensor data  305  from the 1P operation data  302 . Next, in step S 54 , the processor  81  refers to the 1P character information  307  and determines whether the 1P character is in the lock-on state. As a result, when the 1P character is not in the lock-on state (NO in step S 54 ), the processor  81  sets a first movement speed, as a speed when moving the 1P cursor on the basis of the inertial sensors, in step S 55 . On the other hand, when the 1P character is in the lock-on state (YES in step S 54 ), the processor  81  sets a second movement speed, as a speed when moving the 1P cursor on the basis of the inertial sensors, in step S 56 . The first movement speed is a movement speed when the 1P character is not in the lock-on state, and the second movement speed is a movement speed when the 1P character is in the lock-on state. As described above, a lower movement speed is set as a movement speed of the cursor at the same degree of tilt such that finer adjustment is enabled when the 1P character is in the lock-on state. For example, the second movement speed is set as a speed that is 25% of the first movement speed. 
     It should be noted that, in another embodiment, a content similar to the above may be calculated and set, for example, as a movement amount or a movement distance, not as a movement speed. 
     Next, in step S 57 , the processor  81  performs a process of moving the position of the 1P cursor, on the basis of the inertial sensor data  305  and the above set first movement speed or second movement speed. In the exemplary embodiment, first, the processor  81  calculates the current orientation of the controller from the angular velocity data included in the inertial sensor data  305 . Furthermore, the processor  81  calculates the difference between the current orientation of the controller and a predetermined reference orientation that is set at a predetermined timing. That is, the processor  81  calculates an amount of change from the reference orientation. Then, the processor  81  moves the 1P cursor from the above-described “reference position” on the basis of the above set movement speed and the calculated difference. In another embodiment, the processor  81  may perform control in which an angular velocity at each frame is calculated without using the reference orientation and the 1P cursor is moved on the basis of the angular velocity. In this case, for example, the processor  81  may perform control in which the 1P cursor is moved from the position of the 1P cursor at the previous frame on the basis of the angular velocity at each frame. 
     When the 1P character is in the lock-on state, movement control is performed such that the position of the 1P cursor does not come out of the above-described lock-on adjustable range  221  (see  FIG. 31  described above) (the lock-on adjustable range  221  is set in a lock-on process described later). In addition, when the 1P character is not in the lock-on state, a process of changing the color of the 1P cursor is also performed in accordance with whether the position of the 1P cursor is a position that the companion character  202  reaches when the companion character  202  is thrown, as a result of movement based on the above fine adjustment. 
     When the process in step S 57  has ended, a process similar to the above-described cursor movement control based on the inertial sensors is subsequently performed for the 2P cursor. First, in step S 58 , the processor  81  acquires the inertial sensor data  305  from the 2P operation data  306 . Next, in step S 59 , the processor  81  refers to the 2P character information  308  and determines whether the 2P character is in the lock-on state. As a result, when the 2P character is in the lock-on state (YES in step S 59 ), the above second movement speed is set in step S 61 , and, when the 2P character is not in the lock-on state (NO in step S 59 ), the above first movement speed is set in step S 60 . Then, in step S 62 , similar to the case of the 1P cursor, the processor  81  performs a process of moving the position of the 2P cursor, on the basis of the inertial sensor data  305  and the above set movement speed (movement control regarding the lock-on adjustable range  221  and change of the cursor color are performed similar to those in the case of the 1P cursor). This is the end of the cursor control process. 
     [Operation Target Switching Process] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , subsequent to the cursor control process, an operation target switching process is performed in step S 14 . In this process, a process for controlling switching of the operation target using the above character switching menu  207  is performed. 
       FIG. 49  is a flowchart showing the details of the operation target switching process. First, in step S 71 , the processor  81  determines whether the 1P switching menu display flag  321  is set to be ON. That is, the processor  81  determines whether the character switching menu  207  based on an operation by the first player is currently displayed. As a result of the determination, when the 1P switching menu display flag  321  is not ON (NO in step S 71 ), the character switching menu  207  is not displayed. In this case, in step S 75 , the processor  81  determines whether an operation for displaying the character switching menu  207  has been performed, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302 . As a result, when the operation has been performed (YES in step S 75 ), the processor  81  sets the 1P switching menu display flag  321  to be ON in step S 76 . On the other hand, when the operation has not been performed (NO in step S 75 ), the above process in step S 76  is skipped, and the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 77  described later. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 71 , when the 1P switching menu display flag  321  is set to be ON (YES in step S 71 ), the character switching menu  207  based on an operation by the first player is currently displayed, and the current state is a state during operation on the character switching menu  207 . In this case, in step S 72 , the processor  81  determines whether an operation target switching instruction operation by the first player has been completed, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302 . As a result of the determination, when the operation target switching instruction operation has not been completed (NO in step S 72 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 77  described later. On the other hand, when the operation target switching instruction operation has been completed (YES in step S 72 ), the processor  81  changes the operation target character of the first player on the basis of the 1P operation data  302  in step S 73 . Specifically, a process of updating the player character ID indicating the current operation target in the 1P character information  307  as appropriate is performed on the basis of the operation content. Thereafter, in step S 74 , the processor  81  sets the 1P switching menu display flag  321  to be OFF. That is, a process for deleting the character switching menu  207  for the first player from the screen is performed. 
     Next, in steps S 77  to S 82 , processes similar to those in steps S 71  to S 76  described above are performed for the second player. First, in step S 77 , the processor  81  determines whether the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is set to be ON. As a result, when the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is not ON (NO in step S 77 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 81  whether an operation for displaying the above character switching menu  207  has been performed, on the basis of the 2P operation data  306 . As a result, when the operation has been performed (YES in step S 81 ), the processor  81  sets the 2P switching menu display flag  322  to be ON in step S 82 . On the other hand, when the operation has not been performed (NO in step S 81 ), the process in step S 82  is skipped, and the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 83  described later. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 77 , when the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is set to be ON (YES in step S 77 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 78  whether an operation target switching instruction operation by the second player has been completed, on the basis of the 2P operation data  306 . As a result of the determination, when the operation target switching instruction operation has not been completed (NO in step S 78 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 83  described later. On the other hand, when the operation target switching instruction operation has been completed (YES in step S 78 ), the processor  81  changes the operation target character of the second player on the basis of the 2P operation data  306  in step S 79 . Specifically, a process of updating the player character ID indicating the current operation target in the 2P character information  308  as appropriate is performed on the basis of the operation content. Thereafter, in step S 80 , the processor  81  sets the 2P switching menu display flag  322  to be OFF. 
     Next, in step S 83 , whether switching of the operation target of either player has occurred as a result of the above processes in steps S 71  to S 82  is determined. That is, whether an operation target switching operation has been completed by either player is determined. As a result of the determination, when switching of the operation target of any player has not occurred (NO in step S 83 ), the processor  81  ends the operation target switching process. On the other hand, when switching of the operation target of any player has occurred (YES in step S 83 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 84  whether the operation mode  318  is the “joining mode”. As a result of the determination, when the operation mode  318  is the “joining mode” (YES in step S 84 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 85  whether the operation target after the switching is the player character  201  that belongs to a party different from the party to which the previous operation target belongs. That is, the processor  81  determines whether switching of the operation target has been performed, when another player character  201  that is not the operation target is present in another party in a state where the 1P character and the 2P character are joined together. As a result of the determination, when the switching of the operation target is switching to the player character  201  in the other party (YES in step S 85 ), the processor  81  sets the “other party mode change instruction” in the mode change instruction data  323 , in step S 86 , in order to switch the operation mode from the joining mode to the other party mode. On the other hand, as a result of the above determination, when the switching of the operation target is not switching to the player character  201  in the other party (NO in step S 85 ), the process in step S 86  is not performed, and the processor  81  advances the processing to the next step. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 84 , when the operation mode  318  is not the “joining mode” (NO in step S 84 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 87  whether the operation target after the switching is the rear character in another party. That is, the processor  81  determines whether, for example, the second player has performed an operation for switching the 2P character to the rear character of the party of the 1P character in a state where the second player plays in another party (division screen). As a result of the determination, when the switching of the operation target is switching to the rear character (YES in step S 87 ), the processor  81  sets the “joining mode change instruction” in the mode change instruction data  323 , in step S 88 , in order to switch the operation mode from the other party mode to the joining mode. On the other hand, when the switching of the operation target is not switching to the rear character (NO in step S 87 ), the process in step S 88  is not performed, and the processor  81  advances the processing to the next step. 
     Next, in step S 89 , as a process related to a fine adjustment operation using the above-described inertial sensors, the processor  81  performs a process of initializing the movement amount of the cursor from the reference position and setting the current orientation of the controller on which the above switching operation has been performed, as the “reference orientation”. This process is a process for resetting the orientation of the controller at timing when an operation other than a movement operation is performed, thereby enhancing the operability of the above cursor fine adjustment operation. This is the end of the operation target switching process. 
     [Throwing Process] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , subsequent to the operation target switching process, the processor  81  performs a throwing process in step S 15 . In this process, a process regarding an operation for “throwing” the companion character  202  or the like and an operation for selecting an object to be thrown is performed. Here, the operation for “throwing” is, for example, to press the A-button  53  when the controller is “vertically held” as described above, and to press the button  34  when the controller is “horizontally held” as described above. In addition, the operation for selecting an object to be thrown is different depending on the displayed to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  as described above, and is, in principle, to press either the first L-button  38  or the first R-button  60  when the controller is “vertically held”, and to press the second L-button  43  when the controller is “horizontally held”. It should be noted that, when the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  having a layout suitable for the controller having a smaller number of operation sections is shared in the joining screen, only the first L-button  38  is assigned for a selection operation even when the controller is “vertically held”. In the following description, various objects to be thrown through a throwing operation are referred to as “to-be-thrown objects”. 
       FIG. 51  is a flowchart showing the details of the above throwing process. First, in step S 101 , the processor  81  determines whether an operation for selecting a to-be-thrown object has been performed by either player, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302  and the 2P operation data  306 . As a result, when the operation for selecting a to-be-thrown object has been performed (YES in step S 101 ), the processor  81  changes the content of the current frame data  362  of the 1P section UI data  319  or the 2P selection UI data  320  on the basis of the content of the operation in step S 102 . In addition, the processor  81  also updates the content of the candidate data  363  as appropriate accordingly. On the other hand, when the operation for selecting a to-be-thrown object has not been performed (NO in step S 101 ), the above process in step S 102  is skipped, and the processor  81  advances the processing to the next step. 
     Next, in step S 103 , the processor  81  determines whether a “throwing” operation has been performed by either player, on the basis of the 1P operation data  302  and the 2P operation data  306 . As a result, when the “throwing” operation has not been performed (NO in step S 103 ), the processor  81  ends the throwing process. On the other hand, when the “throwing” operation has been performed (YES in step S 103 ), the processor  81  specifies the currently selected to-be-thrown object for the player who has performed the “throwing” operation, in step S 104 . For example, when the operation mode is the other party mode, a companion character or a rear character that is set in the current frame of the to-be-thrown object selection UI for the player who has performed the operation becomes a “to-be-thrown object”. In addition, when the operation mode is the joining mode, only one to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  is displayed and shared by the first player and the second player. Thus, depending on a selection operation by either player, a companion character or a rear character that is set in the current frame  231  (in the case of the selection UI having the first layout) or the current frame  234  (in the case of the selection UI having the second layout) becomes a “to-be-thrown object”. 
     Next, in step S 105 , the processor  81  determines whether the “to-be-thrown object” is the above rear character. When the “to-be-thrown object” is the rear character (YES in step S 105 ), the processor  81  causes the 1P character or the 2P character, for which the “throwing” operation has been performed, to make a motion of throwing the rear character in step S 106 . Furthermore, the processor  81  moves the rear character to the position of the cursor (1P cursor or 2P cursor) corresponding to the player character for which the “throwing” operation has been performed (such that a parabola is drawn, for example). 
     Next, in step S 107 , the processor  81  updates the content of the party data as appropriate such that the thrown rear character becomes a leader of another party. 
     Next, in step S 108 , the processor  81  determines whether the thrown rear character is the operation target of either player. As a result, when the thrown rear character is the operation target (YES in step S 108 ), it is considered that the current situation is a situation in which division of the party occurs by “throwing” the rear character in a state where the 1P character and the 2P character are present in the same party. Thus, in this case, in order to switch the operation mode from the joining mode to the other party mode, the processor  81  sets the “other party mode change instruction” in the mode change instruction data  323  in step S 109 . On the other hand, when the thrown rear character is not the operation target (NO in step S 108 ), the process in step S 109  is skipped. It should be noted that a process of causing the thrown rear character in this case to wait at the location to which the rear character has been thrown is performed. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 105 , when the “to-be-thrown object” is not the rear character (NO in step S 105 ), the processor  81  throws a companion character  202 . In this case, in step S 110 , the processor  81  causes the 1P character or the 2P character, for which the “throwing operation has been performed, to make a motion of throwing the companion character that is set as the “to-be-thrown object” toward the position of the cursor (1P cursor or 2P cursor) for the 1P character or the 2P character. Here, a plurality of companion characters  202  may be present within the party. In this case, the processor  81  selects any one of the companion characters  202  of the same type as the companion character indicated as the “to-be-thrown object”, within the party, and causes the 1P character or the 2P character to make a throwing motion. The method for the selection may be any method, and an example thereof is to select the closest companion character  202 . Then, the processor  81  starts moving the companion character  202 , which is the to-be-thrown object, to the position of the 1P cursor or the 2P cursor. 
     It should be noted that, thereafter, the processor  81  causes the thrown companion character  202  to make a predetermined action at the location to which the companion character  202  has moved, on the basis of the type ID  331  and the action definition data  333  of the companion character master data  312 . For example, the predetermined action is to attack an enemy character. In addition, a process of updating the contents of the current position data  344  and the current state data  345  as appropriate on the basis of the content of the action is also performed. This is the end of the throwing process. 
     [Mode Setting Process] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , subsequent to the throwing process, the processor  81  performs a mode setting process in step S 16 . In this process, a process for changing the operation mode is performed.  FIG. 52  is a diagram showing the details of the mode setting process. First, in step S 121 , the processor  81  refers to the operation mode  318  and determines whether the current operation mode is the “joining mode”. As a result of the determination, when the current operation mode is not the “joining mode”, that is, is the “other party mode” (NO in step S 121 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 122  whether the above-described “joining operation” has been performed, or the “joining mode change instruction” is set in the mode change instruction data  323 . As a result of the determination, when the joining operation has not been performed and the “joining mode change instruction” is not set (NO in step S 122 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 127  described later. On the other hand, when the “joining operation” has been performed or when the “joining mode change instruction” is set (YES in step S 122 ), the processor  81  performs a joining process in step S 123 . 
       FIG. 53  is a flowchart showing the details of the above joining process. First, in step S 131 , the processor  81  determines whether the joining operation has been performed. That is, the processor  81  determines whether the joining process has been performed on the basis of the joining operation or the “joining mode change instruction”. As a result of the determination, when the joining operation has been performed (YES in step S 131 ), the processor  81  performs, in step S 132 , a process of referring to the 1P operation data  302  and the 2P operation data  306  and determining either the 1P character or the 2P character as a leader character on the basis of the operation content. Furthermore, in step S 133 , the processor  81  performs a process of setting the character that has not been determined as the leader character, as a rear character. For example, when the 2P character moves toward and thus comes into contact with the 1P character that is not moving (that is, when the 2P character comes into contact with the 1P character such that the 2P character collides with the 1P character), the 1P character is determined as a leader character. That is, the processor  81  performs a process in which the 2P character is added to the party of the 1P character. Specifically, the processor  81  performs a process of setting the player character ID of the 1P character in the leader character information of the party data corresponding to the party to which the determined leader character belongs (here, the first party data  315 ) and setting the player character ID of the 2P character in the first rear character information  352 . That is, the processor  81  performs a process of resetting the party in which the joining operation is reflected, in steps S 132  and S 133 . 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 131 , when the joining operation has not been performed, that is, when the joining process has been performed on the basis of the “joining mode change instruction” (NO step S 131 ), this case is a case where the operation mode is switched from the other party mode to the joining mode as a result of the above-described switching of the operation character. In this case, a leader character and a rear character have already been set, thus the above processes in steps S 132  and S 133  are skipped, and the processor  81  proceeds to the next process step. 
     Next, in step S 134 , the processor  81  sets information indicating “during switching to joining screen”, in the screen switching state data  324 . This is the end of the joining process. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 52 , next, the processor  81  sets the “joining mode” in the operation mode  318  in step S 124 . Thereafter, the mode setting process is ended. 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 121 , when the current operation mode is the “joining mode” (YES in step S 121 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 125  whether the above-described “breakup operation” has been performed or the “other party mode change instruction” is set in the mode change instruction data  323 . As a result of the determination, when the breakup operation has not been performed and the “other party mode change instruction” is not set (NO in step S 125 ), the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 124  described above. On the other hand, when the “breakup operation” has been performed or when the “other party mode change instruction” is set (YES in step S 125 ), the processor  81  performs a dividing process in step S 126 . 
       FIG. 54  is a flowchart showing the details of the above dividing process. First, in step S 141 , the processor  81  determines whether the above breakup operation has been performed. That is, the processor  81  determines whether the dividing process is being performed on the basis of the breakup operation or the “other party mode change instruction”. Here, an example of the breakup operation is an operation of pressing the B-button  54  consecutively three times within a predetermined time when the controller is “vertically held”, and a process of tilting the analog stick  32  downward consecutively three times within a predetermined time when the controller is “horizontally held”. As a result of the determination, when the breakup operation has been performed (YES in step S 141 ), the processor  81  determines in step S 142  whether the breakup operation has been performed by the player who is operating the rear character. As a result of the determination, when the breakup operation is not a breakup operation by the player who is operating the rear character (NO in step S 142 ), it means that the player who is operating the leader character has performed the breakup operation. In this case, in step S 143 , the processor  81  performs a process of breaking up the party for which the breakup operation has been performed. For example, the case where the leader character is the 1P character and the first player has performed the breakup operation is considered. In this case, a process of clearing the content of the companion character information  354  is performed on the party data of the operation target of the first player. In addition, when the 2P character (rear) is present in the same party, a process of removing the 2P character (rear) from the party data corresponding to the party that is the operation target of the first player and setting the 2P character as a leader character in party data of another party, is also performed. Moreover, when a rear character that is not the 2P character is present in the party, a process of resetting this rear character as the first rear character information  352  is also performed. It should be noted that, when the 2P character is not present in the same party, only a process of clearing the content of the companion character information  354  is performed. In addition to the above, various processes for breaking up the party are also performed as appropriate. Thereafter, the processor  81  advances the processing to step S 145  described later. 
     On the other hand, when the breakup operation is a breakup operation by the player who is operating the rear character (YES in step S 142 ), the processor  81  performs, in step S 144 , a process for setting the rear character that is the operation target of the player who has performed the breakup operation, as a leader of another party. For example, when the first party data  315  corresponds to the party of the operation target of the first player, a process of setting the content of the first rear character information  352  of the first party data  315  as the leader character information  351  of the second party data  316  is performed. In addition, when another rear character is present in the party, a process of resetting the rear character as the first rear character information  352  is also performed. Moreover, when another rear character is not present in the party, a process of clearing the content of the first rear character information  352  of the first party data  315  is performed. 
     Next, in step S 145 , the processor  81  sets information indicating “during switching to division screen”, in the screen switching state data  324 . This is the end of the dividing process. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 52 , next, the processor  81  sets the “other party mode” in the operation mode  318  in step S 127 . This is the end of the mode setting process. 
     [Processes for Other Objects] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , subsequent to the mode setting process, in step S 17 , the processor  81  performs processes regarding various objects other than the player characters  201 . For example, control of movement of an enemy character, etc., are performed. 
     [Virtual Camera Setting Process] 
     Next, in step S 18 , the processor  81  performs a virtual camera setting process. In this process, a process of setting various parameters of the virtual cameras for taking images of the virtual game space is performed.  FIG. 55  is a flowchart showing the details of the virtual camera setting process. In  FIG. 55 , first, in step S 161 , the processor  81  refers to the screen switching state data  324  and determines whether “during switching to joining screen” is set. As a result of the determination, when it is “during switching to joining screen” (YES in step S 161 ), it is considered that the current state is a state of switching from the “division screen” to the “joining screen” through several frames. In this case, in step S 162 , the processor  81  sets various parameters of the virtual cameras for switching from the “division screen” to the “joining screen”. For example, when switching from the “division screen” to the “joining screen”, a representation in which the width of the 1P display area is gradually increased and the 2P display area is decreased such that the 2P display area is pushed out of the screen, is performed through several frames. In this case, for example, setting or the like in which, while the gazing point of the virtual camera for 1P is kept set at the 1P character, the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 1P is gradually widened, is performed. Moreover, setting or the like in which the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 2P is narrowed is also performed. In addition to the above, various parameters such as a position of each virtual camera are set as appropriate. 
     Next, in step S 163 , the processor  81  determines whether the switching from the “division screen” to the “joining screen” has been completed. As a result of the determination, when the switching has been completed (YES in step S 163 ), the processor  81  clears the screen switching state data  324  in step S 167 . Thereafter, the processor  81  proceeds to step S 168 . On the other hand, when the switching has not been completed (NO in step S 163 ), the processor  81  does not perform the process in step S 167  and proceeds to step S 168 . 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 161 , when “during switching to joining screen” is not set (NO in step S 161 ), the processor  81  subsequently determines in step S 164  whether “during switching to division screen” is set. As a result of the determination, when “during switching to division screen” is set (YES in step S 16 ), it is considered that the current state is a state of switching from the “joining screen” to the “division screen” through several frames. In this case, in step S 165 , the processor  81  sets various parameters of the virtual cameras for switching from the “joining screen” to the “division screen”. For example, when switching from the “joining screen” to the “division screen”, a representation in which the 2P display area enters the screen from the right side toward the left side so as to push the 1P display area, is performed. In this case, for example, setting or the like in which the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 1P is gradually narrowed such that the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 1P finally has a size in which the display area occupies the left half of the screen, is performed. In addition, for the virtual camera for 2P, setting or the like in which the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 2P is gradually increased such that the display area finally has a size in which the display area occupies the right half of the screen, is also performed. 
     Next, in step S 166 , the processor  81  determines whether the switching from the “joining screen” to the “division screen” has been completed. As a result of the determination, when the switching has been completed (YES in step S 166 ), the processor  81  clears the screen switching state data  324  in step S 167  described above. Thereafter, the processor  81  ends the virtual camera setting process. On the other hand, when the switching has not been completed (NO in step S 166 ), the processor  81  does not perform the process in step S 167  and proceeds to step S 168 . 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 164 , when it is also not during switching to the division screen (NO in step S 164 ), it is considered that the current state is a state of either the above “joining screen” or “division screen” after the end of switching. In this case, in step S 169 , the processor  81  performs setting of the virtual cameras in accordance with the operation mode  318  at that time. That is, the processor  81  performs setting of the virtual cameras suitable for the screen in accordance with whether the screen is the “joining screen” or the “division screen”. For example, in the case of the “joining screen”, the size of the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 1P is set such that the entire screen is used, and, in the case of the “division screen”, the size of the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 1P and the size of the display area corresponding to the virtual camera for 2P are each set such that the display area has a size that is half of that at the time of “joining screen”. 
     Next, in step S 168 , the processor  81  performs a process of setting various parameters of the virtual cameras as appropriate. For example, the processor  81  sets a position, an orientation, an angle of view, and the like of the virtual camera, corresponding to each player character  201 , at each frame such that the virtual camera moves following movement of the player character  201 . In addition, when the player has performed an operation for rotating the virtual camera or an operation for zooming in/out the virtual camera, a process of setting an imaging direction or an angle of view of the virtual camera as appropriate in accordance with the operation content is also performed. Thereafter, the virtual camera setting process is ended. 
     [UI Placement Process] 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , when the virtual camera setting process has ended, the processor  81  subsequently performs a UI placement process in step S 19 . In this process, a process of placing objects corresponding to the above-described to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and the above-described operation character information image  205  at appropriate positions in the virtual game space, etc., are performed such that the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and the operation character information image  205  are displayed in a game image. The appropriate positions are such positions in the virtual game space that the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  and the operation character information image  205  are displayed at the positions shown in  FIG. 8 or 15  described above or the like when the game image is displayed on the screen. In addition, as necessary, a process of placing objects corresponding to the character switching menu  207  in the virtual game space is also performed similar to the above. 
       FIG. 56  is a flowchart showing the details of the UI placement process. First, in step S 181 , the processor  81  refers to the operation mode  318  and determines whether the current operation mode is the “joining mode”. As a result, when the current operation mode is the “joining mode” (YES in step S 181 ), the processor  81  places the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  for the “joining mode” within the virtual game space in step S 182 . As described above, in the case of the “joining mode”, the to-be-thrown object selection UI  204  suitable for the controller having a smaller number of operation sections is used. Thus, in this process, either the above “selection UI having the first layout” or the above “selection UI having the second layout” is selected in accordance with the type of the controller being used, and objects corresponding to the UI are placed at appropriate positions within the virtual game space. In addition, contents to be displayed in the UI are set as appropriate on the basis of the contents of the current frame data  362  and the candidate data  363 . 
     On the other hand, as a result of the above determination in step S 181 , when the current operation mode is not the “joining mode”, that is, when the current operation mode is the “other party mode” (NO in step S 181 ), the processor  81  places the to-be-thrown object selection UIs  204  for the “other party mode” within the virtual game space in step S 183 . In this case, since the screen is the “division screen”, the to-be-thrown object selection UIs  204  having layouts suitable for the controllers used by the respective players are placed at appropriate positions within the virtual game space. 
     Next, in step S 184 , the processor  81  determines whether the 1P switching menu display flag  321  is ON. When the 1P switching menu display flag  321  is ON (YES in step S 184 ), the processor  81  places the character switching menu  207  for an operation by the first player at an appropriate position within the virtual space in step S 185 . On the other hand, when 1P switching menu display flag  321  is OFF (NO in step S 184 ), if the character switching menu  207  for an operation by the first player has been located within the virtual game space, the processor  81  performs a process of deleting the character switching menu  207  in step S 186 . If the character switching menu  207  has not been located, nothing is particularly performed. 
     Next, in step S 187 , the processor  81  determines whether the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is ON. When the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is ON (YES in step S 187 ), the processor  81  places the character switching menu  207  for an operation by the second player at an appropriate position within the virtual space in step S 188 . In addition, contents to be displayed in the character switching menu  207  are also set as appropriate on the basis of the contents of the current frame data  362  and the candidate data  363 . On the other hand, when the 2P switching menu display flag  322  is OFF (NO in step S 187 ), if the character switching menu  207  for an operation by the second player has been located within the virtual game space, the processor  81  performs a process of deleting the character switching menu  207  in step S 189 . In addition, similar to step S 186 , nothing is particularly performed if the character switching menu  207  has not been located. This is the end of the UI placement process. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 44 , when the UI placement process has ended, the processes based on the operation contents end. 
     This is the end of the detailed description of the game process according to the exemplary embodiment. 
     As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, control of seamlessly switching between the joining screen and the division screen is performed in accordance with whether the 1P character and the 2P character are present in the same party or different parties. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an easily viewable screen display in accordance with the situation of the game. For example, when the 1P character and the 2P character are present in the same party, the 1P character and the 2P character are controlled such that the distance between both characters is not so large (that is, movement of the rear character is limited on the basis of the position of the leader character), and thus are more easily viewed when being displayed in a single screen. In addition, when the 1P character and the 2P character are present in different parties, since completely separate operations can be performed for the 1P character and the 2P character, the division screen is more easily viewable. Accordingly, an appropriate and easily viewable game screen can be provided in accordance with the party participation state of each player. 
     In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, regarding the above 1P cursor and 2P cursor (including the case of the lock-on cursor), the reference positions of the cursors are set on the basis of the positions and the directions of the 1P character and the 2P character. The cursor position can be changed further from the reference position on the basis of inputs by the inertial sensors. Accordingly, the cursor position can be controlled only by a simple operation that is a movement direction input for the player character  201 , and the position can be further finely adjusted, for example, by changing the orientation of the controller, whereby the operability can be improved. Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, a movement speed of the cursor when finely adjusting the cursor position on the basis of the inertial sensors is made different between the case where the current state is the lock-on state and the case where the current state is not the lock-on state. Accordingly, fine adjustment of the cursor position is allowed to be more easily performed, by making a movement amount of the cursor with respect to the same orientation change smaller, for example, in the lock-on state in which the necessity of aiming at an enemy character is high, and thus the operability can be further improved. 
     Moreover, in the exemplary embodiment, the first player and the second player can use controllers having different numbers of operation sections, and the multiple to-be-thrown object selection UIs are selectively used in accordance with the difference between the numbers of operation sections of the controllers. Accordingly, a selection operation suitable for the number of operation sections of the controller is easily performed, and the UI to be used for the selection operation can be a UI suitable for the controller, so that the convenience of the player can be enhanced. 
     [Modifications] 
     In the above example, play by two players has been taken as an example, and the case where two display areas are used in the division screen has been described as an example. In another embodiment, play may be performed by three or more players, and the number of display areas at the time of division may be a number corresponding to the number of players. For example, in the case of play by four players using four player characters, the number of display areas may be at most four. Then, in accordance with change of party structure, player characters that belong to the same party may be collectively displayed in the same display area. For example, when player characters A, B, C, and D are present, if the respective player characters are present in different parties, four display areas may be used in the division screen. For example, display areas arranged in two columns and two rows may be used. In addition, when the player characters A and B are present in a first party and the player characters C and D are present in a second party, the division screen may have two screens at the right and left sides, one of the display areas may be displayed as a joining screen for the first party, and the other of the display areas may be displayed as a joining screen for the second party. Moreover, also when the player characters A, B, and C form a first party and only the player character D forms a second party, the division screen may have two display areas at the right and left sides, one of the display areas may be displayed as a joining screen for the first party, and the other of the display areas may be displayed as a joining screen for the second party. Furthermore, when all the four player characters are present in the same party, a joining screen may be displayed only as a single screen. Furthermore, when three parties are present, for example, three divisional display areas may be used in the division screen, or only three display areas among four divisional display areas arranged in two columns and two rows as described above may be used. 
     In the above embodiment, the example in which a “throwing” motion is made when moving the companion character  202  or the like has been described. The motion to be made when moving the companion character or the like is not limited to the “throwing” motion, but may be another motion. That is, any motion may be used as long as it is a motion that moves the companion character  202  or the like to a position away from the position of the player character  201  to some extent, within a predetermined time (for example, within approximately several seconds). For example, the companion character  202  or the like may be instantaneously moved to the position of the cursor, or may be moved to the cursor position such that the companion character  202  or the like is “rolled”, for example, like a bowling ball. 
     In the above example, the case where the number of characters that can be operated by players is three has been taken as an example. In another embodiment, four or more player characters may be used. In addition, in another embodiment, only two player characters may be used. In this case, when an operation for switching the above operation target has been performed, a process of exchanging the operation target characters of the first player and the second player with each other may be performed. 
     In the above embodiment, the case where a series of processes according to the game process are performed in a single apparatus has been described. In another embodiment, the series of processes may be performed in an information processing system that includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses. For example, in an information processing system that includes a terminal side apparatus and a server side apparatus capable of communicating with the terminal side apparatus via a network, a part of the series of processes may be performed by the server side apparatus. Alternatively, in an information processing system that includes a terminal side apparatus and a server side apparatus capable of communicating with the terminal side apparatus via a network, a main process of the series of the processes may be performed by the server side apparatus, and a part of the series of the processes may be performed by the terminal side apparatus. Still alternatively, in the information processing system, a server side system may include a plurality of information processing apparatuses, and a process to be performed in the server side system may be divided and performed by the plurality of information processing apparatuses.