Video games including real-life attributes and/or fantasy team settings

Abstract

A video gaming system and related network interfaces with an online fantasy sports game. The video game play is enhanced using various features of a fantasy sports game. Similarly, the fantasy sports game can be enhanced using various features of the video game play. In one aspect of the invention the video game system acquires a team roster of the fantasy sport game and the team roster is used to define the sports video game team. The sports video game also acquires sports video game parameters that are associated with real-life attributes of video game team members that are associated with the real-life team members. The video game play changes frequently over a sports season due to the changing video game parameters and fantasy sports settings being used to define video game play.

1 . A method for updating a sports video game with video game parameters representing real-life environmental attributes, comprising:
 receiving a real-life environmental attribute;   converting the real-life environmental attribute to a video game environmental parameter; and   transmitting the video game environmental parameter to a video game machine via a network including the Internet such that the video game environmental parameter is incorporated into the sports video game such that the sports video game more closely resembles the real-life environment attribute in the video game.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein;
 the real-life environmental attribute includes an environmental attribute at a particular real-life location; and   wherein the video game environmental parameter is associated with a virtual location in the sports video game representing the particular real-life location.   
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 2 , wherein the environmental attribute includes a real-life weather attribute at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 3 , wherein:
 the weather attribute is converted into a video game weather parameter; and   a particular virtual location in the sports video game representing the particular real-life location is modified using the video game weather parameter so that virtual weather at the particular virtual location more closely represents real-life weather at the particular real-life location.   
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the weather is sunny or cloudy at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the weather is raining at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the weather is snowing at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the weather hot or cold at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to the temperature at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the location is slippery at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the weather is wet, and/or dry at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         12 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the ground is hard or soft at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         13 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to whether the weather is windy at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the weather attribute relates to a direction of the wind at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         15 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the weather attribute relates to a wind speed at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         16 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute relates to a humidity at the particular real-life location. 
     
     
         17 . A method according to  claim 5 , wherein the weather attribute affects one or more video game character performance parameters. 
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 17 , wherein the video game is a golf video game and the weather attribute affects virtual weather golf course conditions such that the virtual golf course conditions more closely represent the real-life golf conditions at the corresponding real-life golf course which the video game golf course represents. 
     
     
         19 . A method according to  claim 17 , wherein the video game character performance parameter includes speed of a virtual video game character, agility of a virtual video game character, stopping of a virtual video game character, turning of a virtual video game character, wearing out equipment, catching of a virtual video game character, turning of a virtual video game character, catching of a virtual video game character, throwing of a virtual video game character, missing of a virtual video game character, tackling of a virtual video game character, jumping of a virtual video game character, passing of a virtual video game character, checking of a virtual video game character, driving of a virtual video game character, sliding of a virtual video game character, and/or mechanical performance of a video game device. 
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 17 , wherein the one or more video game character performance parameters are particular to a particular real-life athlete and the a video game character performance parameter with a particular video game character is modified differently for the particular video game character as compared to a video game character associated with a different real-life athlete. 
     
     
         21 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the video game environmental parameter includes weather imagery depicting the real-life weather attribute in the video game. 
     
     
         22 . A video game program product including a RAM or ROM memory device having stored thereon executable video game machine instructions configured to perform the method of  claim 1  when executed by a video game machine.