Patent ID: 7654902

Claim:
A user-name switching method in which a video game terminal connected to a video game server switches a user-name when receiving a video game service provided by said video game server while using one of a plurality of user-names stored in said video game server for each user and while using a video game character associated with said user-name, said user-name switching method comprising: switching the video game character currently in use to another video game character according to a user instruction; comparing a user-name associated with the other video game character with the user-name currently being used to receive said video game service, at least two video game characters being associated with the currently used user-name; switching the user-name, which is held by said video game terminal and is currently used, to the user-name associated with said other video game character when said user-name associated with the other video game character is different from the user-name currently in use; maintaining the currently used user-name when the user-name associated with the other video game character is the same as the currently used user-name; and transmitting information, indicating the user-name associated with said other video game character, to said video game server when said other user-name is different from the user-name currently in use.