VIDEO GAMES INCLUDING REAL-LIFE ATTRIBUTES AND/OR FANSTASY SETTINGS

1 . A video game program product in the form of instructions stored on a storage medium for use in conjunction with a video game console, comprising:

sports video game instructions, sports video game character parameters, and image data configured to provide a sports video game associated with a real-life collegiate or professional sport in conjunction with the video game console;

fantasy login instructions configured to cause the video game console to perform the following:

receive login information from a fantasy team owner via a controller in communication with the video game console;

transmit the login information to a server over a network that includes the Internet to verify the login information is associated with a particular fantasy sport league to which the fantasy team owner is a member; and

receive confirmation information from the server that the login information is associated with the particular fantasy sport league; and

fantasy draft instructions configured to cause the video game console to perform the following:

provide a video game console platform for the fantasy team owner to attend the fantasy draft over the network that includes the Internet, wherein attending the fantasy draft includes selecting available real-life athletes from a list of available real-life athletes in the fantasy draft as members of a fantasy team roster and receiving information describing fantasy draft selections by other fantasy team owners attending the fantasy draft;

transmit selection information to the server over the network that includes the Internet, the selection information identifying fantasy draft selections of available real-life athletes by the fantasy team owner; and

receive selection information from the server over the network that includes the Internet identifying fantasy draft selections made by other fantasy team owners attending the fantasy draft to update the list of available real-life athletes in the fantasy draft.

2 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the sports video game is a football sports video game, the sports video game instructions being configured to receive video game control input from a video game controller operated by the fantasy team owner, wherein the video game control input includes control of video game characters and selection of football plays, wherein control of the video game characters includes control of a quarterback video game character, control of a running back video game character, and control of a football receiver video game character.

3 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , further comprising virtual character imagery representing a corresponding real-life athlete in the fantasy draft, wherein the fantasy draft instructions are further configured to cause the virtual character to be displayed in conjunction with the fantasy draft.

4 . A video game program product according to claim 3 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions are further configured to cause statistics associated with a particular real-life athlete to be displayed by the video game console along with the virtual character imagery representing the particular real-life athlete prior to selection by the fantasy team owner so that the fantasy team owner can assess whether to select the particular real-life athlete as a member of the fantasy team owner's fantasy team.

5 . A video game program product according to claim 3 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions are configured to cause a virtual athlete representing a real-life athlete to approach a virtual podium or virtual stage and hold up a virtual jersey associated with the fantasy team owner's fantasy team.

6 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein:

a fantasy team roster selected in the fantasy draft includes a list of active status fantasy team members and a list of inactive status fantasy team members;

a video game team includes a list of active video game characters and non-active video game characters consistent with the fantasy team roster;

the video game program product further comprising:

fantasy league instructions enabling a user to change the status of a particular fantasy team member or a particular video game character from active to inactive or from inactive to active using the video game console; and

fantasy league instructions configured to synchronize the changed status stored at the server with the changed status of the particular fantasy team member made at the video game console.

7 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the video game program product is compliant with a Sony Playstation II, Sony Playstation III, Microsoft X-Box, Microsoft X-Box 360, or Nintendo Wii video game console.

8 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the video game program product is compliant with a Sony Playstation III video game console, the Sony Playstation III video game console including:

a cell broadband engine CPU;

a RSX GPU;

256 MB XDR main RAM 256 GDDR3 VRAM;

a 2.5″ serial ATA 60 GB HDD;

USB connections;

an Ethernet connection;

an IEEE 802.11b/g WiFi connection;

a Bluetooth connection; and

a wireless Bluetooth controller connection supporting up to 7 controllers.

9 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , further comprising instructions enabling, upon completion of the fantasy draft, the fantasy team owner to compete against other fantasy team owners of the same online fantasy sports league using video game teams of video game characters associated with the same real-life athletes as the members of the fantasy team owners' fantasy rosters.

10 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions enable the fantasy team owner to set up a draft queue using the video game console, the draft queue includes a list of real-life athletes that is used to make a selection from the list of available real-life athletes in the draft if the fantasy draft owner does not select an available real-life athlete during an allotted time.

11 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions include chat instructions enabling a user to send text, image, and/or audio chat information to other fantasy team owners during the draft using the video game console.

12 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions are further configured to cause the video game console to download a fantasy draft setting, the fantasy draft setting defining a manner in which the fantasy draft is conducted by the video game console.

13 . A video game program product according to claim 12 , wherein the fantasy draft setting includes a maximum number of players per fantasy team and a maximum number of fantasy team members of a particular sport position, wherein the fantasy draft setting is received from the server.

14 . A video game program product according to claim 12 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions are further configured to transmit a fantasy draft setting to the server for the server to modify the fantasy draft settings of an associated fantasy league stored at the server.

15 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions further include instructions configured to determine a draft order based on a result of video game competition between at least two fantasy team owners.

16 . A video game program product according to claim 1 , wherein the fantasy draft instructions further include instructions configured to cause the video game console to download suggestion information describing one or more of the available real-life unselected athletes in the fantasy draft identified by the server as suggestions for selection.

17 . A method for hosting a fantasy draft conducted over a network that includes the Internet, where at least a first fantasy team owner attends the fantasy draft and selects members of the first fantasy team owner's fantasy team roster using a video game console in communication with the network that includes the Internet, comprising:

receiving login information over the network that includes the Internet from the video game console, the login information being associated with the first fantasy team owner and a particular fantasy sport league of which the first fantasy team owner is a member;

verifying the login information received; and

after verification of the login information:

transmitting information over the network including the Internet to the video game console describing available real-life athletes in the fantasy draft;

receiving selection information from the video game console describing a selection of a real-life athlete by the first fantasy team owner;

updating stored information with the selection information describing the selection of the real life athlete by the first fantasy team owner, wherein the stored information is updated to indicate that the selected real-life athlete is no longer available in the fantasy draft; and

transmitting selection information to a second fantasy team owner describing the selection by the first fantasy team owner.

18 . A method according to claim 17 , further comprising:

transmitting imagery associated with a virtual representation of a particular real-life athlete to the video game console;

transmitting fantasy draft information describing real-life performance statistics associated with the particular real-life athlete to the video game console for presentation to the fantasy team owner along with the virtual representation of the particular real-life athlete prior to the fantasy team owner making a selection in the fantasy draft using the video game console.

19 . A method according to claim 17 , further comprising:

analyzing available real-life athletes in the fantasy draft as the fantasy draft is being conducted, the analysis including a consideration of a historical performance of the available real-life athletes, a scoring format of the fantasy league, and/or a bye week for the available real-life athletes;

based on a result of the analysis, identifying one or more available real-life athletes in the fantasy draft for suggested selection; and

transmitting information describing the one or more available real-life athletes identified to the fantasy team owner using the video game console as suggestions for selection in the fantasy draft.

20 . A method of simultaneously displaying a live real-life sports event and live fantasy competition on a television, comprising:

simultaneously displaying on a television:

a live real-life football sports event;

a live football fantasy sport competition between two fantasy football teams of a fantasy football league, wherein:

the football fantasy sport competition is at least partially based on a statistic generated by one or more real-life athletes competing in the live real-life football sport event; and

a video game console causes the live football fantasy sport competition to be displayed on the television.