Patent ID: 7914380

Claim:
A game system comprising a server device and a plurality of game devices and capable of executing a virtual knockout competition including a plurality of rounds, the server device comprising: a matchmaker for returning a competition wait-instruction to a new entry game device upon receiving from the new entry game device an entry request requesting a matchup when there is no preceding entry game device in a competition waiting state, and for returning an opponent indication to the new entry game device upon receiving from the new entry game device an entry request when there is a preceding entry game device in the competition waiting state since the server device has already received another entry request from the preceding entry game device, the opponent indication indicating an opponent of the new entry game device irrespective of the round of the knockout competition in which each of the new entry game device and the preceding entry game device is, each of the game devices comprising: a display for displaying images; an establisher for establishing as an opponent another game device indicated in the opponent indication and for sending a matchup request to the other game device if information returned from the server device is the opponent indication, the establisher waiting for a matchup request from another game device and establishing as an opponent another game device having sent a matchup request upon receiving the matchup request if information returned from the server device is the competition wait-instruction; a result generator for generating first game result information indicating a game result at the game device, and for sending the first game result information to the opponent; a win-or-loss determiner for determining, upon receiving a second game result information indicating the opponent from the opponent, whether the game device or the opponent has won on the basis of comparing the first game result information with the second game result information; a game progress manager for managing the round of the knockout competition in which the game device is, for progressing the game device to the next round on the basis of the determination by the win-or-loss determiner, and for causing the display to show an image corresponding to the round; and an entry requester for sending an entry request to the server device when participating in each round of the knockout competition, wherein the new entry game device is in one round and the preceding entry game device is in another round that is different from said one round, and wherein each of the game devices independently manages a number of rounds of the knockout competition.