IP Library Granted Patent US 9,345,974
Granted Patent B1
US 9,345,974 · App. 13/562,055 · Granted May 24, 2016

Customizing offers for sales of combinations of virtual items

View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,345,974
App. No.
13/562,055
Granted
May 24, 2016
Kind
B1
Abstract

A method of customizing offers for sales of combinations of virtual items at discounted prices is disclosed. A combination of virtual items of a computer-implemented game is selected such that the sum of the values of each of the combination of virtual items has a proportion to an amount of currency in an account of a user of the computer-implemented game, the selecting being performed by a processor. An offer for a sale of the combination of the virtual items at a discounted price is generated for the user of the computer-implemented game. The offer for the sale of the combination of virtual items at the discounted price is presented to the user.

Claims (35)

1. A method of, at a game networking system, rewarding a user of the game networking system for performing an action with respect to the game networking system, the rewarding including generating an offer for a sale of a combination of virtual items at a discounted price for presentation in a user interface of a client device system of the user, the game networking system being separate from the client device system, the method comprising:

selecting the combination of virtual items from a set of virtual items represented by game state data maintained in a data store at the game networking system, the selecting based on the sum of the values of the virtual items in the combination of virtual items having a proportion to an amount of currency in an account of a user of the computer-implemented game;

generating an offer for a sale of the combination of the virtual items at a discounted price to the user of the computer-implemented game, the discounted price being less than the sum of the values of the virtual items in the combination of virtual items;

communicating the offer for the sale for presentation to the user in the user interface; and

providing the combination of the virtual items to the user based on a detection of an acceptance of the offer by the user, the providing including updating the game state data, the selecting, generating, communicating, and providing being performed by at least one processor of the game networking system.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a number of items to include in the combination of virtual items based on an analysis of an acceptance rate by users of past offers for sales of combinations of virtual items.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining an amount to charge the user to receive the presenting of the offer, the determining based on an analysis of profits received from users agreeing to pay the amount to receive presentations of past offers, and wherein the presenting of the offer is based on the user agreeing to pay the amount.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presenting of the offer is integrated into a user interface of a game having a style that matches preferences of the user, the preferences of the user determined from a monitoring of activities of the player with respect to a game networking system.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presenting of the offer is based on the amount of currency in the account of the user transgressing a threshold.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the discounted price is selected based on a level of an activity of the user with respect to a game networking system.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presenting of the offer is provided in a user interface that is overlaid unobtrusively over an additional user interface, the additional user interface corresponding to a game that the user is currently playing on a game networking system.

8. A system comprising:

one or more modules implemented by one or more computer processors of a game networking system, the one or more modules configured to, at least:

select a combination of virtual items from a set of virtual items maintained as game state data in a data store at the game networking server system, the selecting based on the sum of the values of each of the combination of virtual items having a proportion to an amount of currency in an account of a user of the computer-implemented game;

generate an offer for a sale of the combination of the virtual items at a discounted price to the user of the computer-implemented game, the discounted price being less than the sum of the values of each of the combination of virtual items;

communicate the offer for the sale for presentation to the user in the user interface; and

providing the combination of the virtual items to the user based on a detection of an acceptance of the offer by the user, the providing including updating the state data.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one module is further configured to determine a number of items to include in the combination of virtual items based on an analysis of an acceptance rate by users of past offers for sales of combinations of virtual items.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least module is further configured to determine an amount to charge the user to receive the presenting of the offer, the selecting based on an analysis of profits received from users agreeing to pay the amount to receive presentations of past offers, and wherein the presenting of the offer is based on the user agreeing to pay the amount.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one module is further configured to integrate the offer into a user interface of a game having a style that matches preferences of the user, the preferences of the user determined from a monitoring of activities of the player with respect to a game networking system.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one module is further configured to present the offer is based on the amount of currency in the account of the user transgressing a threshold.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one module is further configured to select the discounted price based on a level of an activity of the user with respect to a game networking system.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one module is further configured to overlay a user interface advertising the offer in an unobtrusive manner over an additional user interface, the additional user interface corresponding to a game that the user is currently playing on a game networking system, the unobtrusive manner confirmed based on feedback received from users of a game networking system.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embodying a set of instructions in modules that, when provided as part of a game networking system hosting a computer-implemented game, causes at least one computer processor of the game networking system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

selecting a combination of virtual items from a set of virtual items maintained as game state data in a data store at the game networking server system, the selecting based on the sum of the values of each of the combination of virtual items having a proportion to an amount of currency in an account of a user of the computer-implemented game;

generating an offer for a sale of the combination of the virtual items at a discounted price to the user of the computer-implemented game, the discounted price being less than the sum of the values of each of the combination of virtual items;

communicate the offer for the sale for presentation to the user in the user interface; and

providing the combination of the virtual items to the user based on a detection of an acceptance of the offer by the user, the providing including updating the game state data.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the selecting includes determining a number of items to include in the combination of virtual items based on an analysis of an acceptance rate by users of past offers for sales of combinations of virtual items.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising determining an amount to charge the user to receive the presenting of the offer, the selecting based on an analysis of profits received from users agreeing to pay the amount to receive a presenting of past offers, and wherein the presenting of the offer is based on the user agreeing to pay the amount.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the presenting of the offer is integrated into a user interface of a game having a style that matches preferences of the user, the preferences of the user determined from a monitoring of activities of the player with respect to a game networking system.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the presenting of the offer is based on the amount of currency in the account of the user transgressing a threshold.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the discounted price is selected based on a level of an activity of the user with respect to a game networking system.

21. The system of claim 8 , wherein the selecting of the combination of virtual items is based on a determination of a likelihood of the purchase of the combination of virtual items by the player at the discounted price.

22. The system of claim 8 , wherein the determination of likelihood of the purchase of the combination of virtual items is based on purchase histories of friends of the player.

Assignments (5)
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded May 23, 2022
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: ZYNGA INC.
Reel/Frame 060163/0437 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Dec 14, 2020
From: ZYNGA INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 054719/0490 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Dec 11, 2020
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS LENDER
To: ZYNGA INC.
Reel/Frame 054701/0393 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Dec 21, 2018
From: ZYNGA INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS LENDER
Reel/Frame 049147/0546 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 26, 2012
From: SANTINI, FABIO; LAI, PETER
To: ZYNGA, INC.
Reel/Frame 029246/0647 →