Updating virtual trading card characteristics

Abstract

Systems and methods to update virtual trading card characteristics are described. In some embodiments, a method initiates a game played with multiple virtual trading cards, each of which represents a real-world character. Initial characteristics of each virtual trading card are determined based on historical performance data associated with the real-world character. Current performance data is accessed for each real-world character. The characteristics of each virtual trading card are updated based on the current performance data for the represented real-world character. The game is played based on the updated characteristics for the multiple virtual trading cards.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 hosting a game marketplace on a processing system, the game marketplace providing a plurality of virtual trading cards for purchase by players of a computer-implemented game, the plurality of virtual trading cards being usable to play the computer-implemented game, each virtual trading card representing a real-world character;   accessing performance data associated with each of the real-world characters from a database;   in an automated operation using one or more computer processors configured to perform the automated operation, establishing performance characteristics for each virtual trading card of the plurality of virtual trading cards, the performance characteristics based on the performance data associated with the real-world character; and   assigning a value to each virtual trading card of the plurality of trading cards based on the corresponding performance characteristics of the virtual trading card.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 updating one or more characteristics of each trading card based on subsequent performance data associated with the real-world character; and   assigning an updated value to each virtual trading card based on the updated characteristics.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein accessing subsequent performance data for each of the real-world characters is performed at predetermined time intervals. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein updating the one or more characteristics of each virtual trading card changes a corresponding player's performance in the game. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 updating one or more characteristics of each trading card based on virtual game play data, the virtual game play data including information about outcomes of previous games played with the each virtual trading card; and   assigning an updated value to each virtual trading card based on the updated characteristics.   
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the updating of the one or more performance characteristics of each virtual trading card based on the game play data for each of the virtual trading cards causes the performance characteristics of at least a portion of the plurality of virtual trading cards to be diminished. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the updating the characteristics of each virtual trading card based on virtual game play data occurs at the conclusion of each game. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein each virtual trading card represents a virtual character in the game that is controlled by a user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the performance data is official sports competition data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the value assigned to each card corresponds to a monetary value related to the purchase of the card from the game marketplace. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising:
 a memory to store data associated with a plurality of virtual trading cards; and   one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to:
 host a game marketplace on a processing system, the game marketplace providing a plurality of virtual trading cards for purchase by players of a computer-implemented game, the plurality of virtual trading cards being usable to play the computer-implemented game, each virtual trading card representing a real-world character; 
 access performance data associated with each of the real-world characters from a database; 
 establish performance characteristics for each virtual trading card of the plurality of virtual trading cards, the performance characteristics based on the performance data associated with the real-world character; and 
 assign a value to each virtual trading card of the plurality of trading cards based on the corresponding performance characteristics of the virtual trading card. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the system includes a computer system configured to support access by a plurality of user computer systems through a network. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 update one or more performance characteristics of each trading card based on subsequent performance data associated with the real-world character; and   assign an updated value to each virtual trading card based on the updated characteristics.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein updating the one or more performance characteristics is performed simultaneous with publishing of corresponding official performance data 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 update one or more characteristics of each trading card based on virtual game play data, the virtual game play data including information about outcomes of previous games played with the each virtual trading card; and   assign an updated value to each virtual trading card based on the updated characteristics.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to update the one or more performance characteristics at predetermined time intervals. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the value assigned to each card corresponds to a monetary value related to the purchase of the card from the game marketplace. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
 hosting a game marketplace on a processing system, the game marketplace providing a plurality of virtual trading cards for purchase by players of a computer-implemented game, the plurality of virtual trading cards being usable to play the computer-implemented game, each virtual trading card representing a real-world character;   establishing performance characteristics for each virtual trading card of the plurality of virtual trading cards, the performance characteristics based on performance data associated with the real-world character; and   assigning a value to each virtual trading card of the plurality of trading cards based on the corresponding performance characteristics of the virtual trading card.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 19 ,
 updating the performance characteristics of each virtual trading card; and   assigning an updated value to each virtual trading card based on the updated characteristics.   
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 20 , wherein the updating of the performance characteristics is based on a combination of data from real-world and virtual game outcomes.