Method for merging live sports game data with internet based computer games

The present non-provisional application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/978,760 filed on Oct. 10, 2007.

No new matter has been added to substitute specification.

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The herein described invention pertains to computer simulations used for entertainment purposes. As of today, there are numerous commercial computer games simulating real life, or imaginary, events in virtual environments. Such computer programs can simulate the actions of imaginary actors generated by the computer system itself, while interactively combining these with the inputs of the computer users. Moreover, multiplayer environments exist where numerous computer users can interact within the virtual environment. All these virtual environments suffer from the inherent limitations of the simulations themselves. No matter how advanced and sophisticated they are, simulated actions lack a tangible sense of reality. Virtually driving a vehicle in a simulator does not equate with the experience of driving a vehicle in real life. The present invention aims at improving the simulated virtual experience by merging it with live, real life data.

Physical data from sporting events, such as car races, is collected through various means (GPS, optical tracking, inertial navigation systems, radio tags etc.). This data set describing the dynamic of the sporting event is fed into game servers, which virtually recreate the sporting game and allows computer users to play against the real game in a virtual environment. For example, one could virtually drive a race car in a “realistic” game, recreated from detailed data collected from a real NASCAR race.

Live physical data from sports games is collected and fed real-time to Internet game servers. The users playing computer games on these servers can interact virtually with the sporting event data, and thus play computer games against the real-life sporting events.

By “physical data of a sporting event” we mean data representing the speed, location and direction of movement of all players involved in the sporting event. Such data can be collected through various technical means: global positioning systems (GPS), radio triangulation, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags etc. This data is fed live into the computer games, to build a virtual representation, a virtual replica, of the real-life sporting event. The computer game players can try to compete in the virtual world against the real-life players.

In a car race, all cars are equipped with GPS. Their speed, position on the race track, and direction of movement is fed live into the game servers. Computer game users can connect to these servers, and race virtually against the real race cars.

This system provides a novel way for sports fans to interact with real-life sporting events. Even though this interaction happens “one way” (the actions of the computer game players cannot influence the real-life sporting event) it is a much more enriching experience than merely being a passive spectator. Instead of just watching a live TV broadcast, the spectators can become actively involved participants in a “live gaming broadcast”.