Abstract:
A video game system that includes a console and hand-held controllers with LCD screens. Each game operates in a simulated world populated with animated characters and static objects which are displayed on a TV screen, and are also displayed on the LCD screens of the hand-held controllers. While one part of the simulated world is displayed on the TV screen, different parts of the simulated world may appear on the LCD screens in a natural pictorial setting. Alternatively, some of the pictures displayed on LCD screens and TV screens may represent the same part of the simulated world at different times, or the same part at the same time. Pictures displayed on an LCD screen may appear concurrently or later on the TV screen. Objects and characters can be selected, moved, constructed, changed, or deleted by a player without revealing to other players these objects of interest or their disposition. This video game system will provide a new game experience in which hand-held controllers do more than just control a console game, and also do more than just a standalone hand-held game.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This is a divisional of the parent application Ser. No. 09/853,487, filed May 10, 2001. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to electronic video game systems and more particularly to electronic video game systems that have hand-held control units with liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens. 
   BACKGROUND-DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART 
   Video game console systems, hand-held control units, and hand-held electronic games having liquid crystal display (LCD) screens are well known and are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,073. It is also known to distribute video games on plastic discs on which encrypted information has been written for verifying authenticity. It is also known to use touch-sensitive screens and pads, in addition to or in place of a mouse, for entering information into hand-held computers. It is also known to use analog joysticks to manipulate movement of player controlled characters in simulated 3-dimensional space (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,433) on a TV-screen. 
   In a video game in which two or more human players control their respective player-controlled characters on a TV-screen using hand-held controllers with LCD screens (see my U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,259), a problem arises as to how each human player can signal to the game console (the game system&#39;s main computer) what the player wants his/her character to do, other than using push buttons to control simple actions such as running, jumping, hitting, shooting, etc. In a multi-player game, some of the selected and rejected actions for a player&#39;s character should not be seen on the TV screen by other players. A human player can indicate his/her wants by making a selection on a hand-held menu of words, but this is not very natural. 
   Patent application GB 2,353,928A discloses a game system having a console connected to multiple hand-held game machines with LCD&#39;s that display maps including squares to indicate player-controlled characters, circles to indicate monsters, and diamonds to indicate items. Although this patent maintains that these maps are pictures, the patent does not provide any examples of pictures of animated characters with hands, arms, legs, faces, and clothing for display on hand-held control units. 
   Therefore, a need has arisen for hand-held controllers that display more natural visual formation such as pictures, especially pictures of characters, that enable players to control their TV-screen characters more naturally than with prior-art controllers. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An embodiment of this invention is a video game system that includes a console unit and hand-held control units. The console unit generates animated pictures for display on a television (TV) screen. Each hand-held control unit includes an LCD screen that displays pictures, maps, words, and numbers. The pictures may be still pictures and/or animated pictures. During parts of the game, each control unit may directly control animated characters that are displayed on the TV screen, and at other times the LCD screens can display pictures of scenes and animated characters that are different from the scenes and characters displayed on the TV screen. Each control unit may operate for awhile as a personal game unit while remaining in coordination with the console game unit that may be generating pictures of the same scene or a different scene for display on the TV screen. Pictures displayed on a control unit LCD screen may appear concurrently or later on a TV screen. 
   Simulated objects and characters are displayed on the LCD screen in a natural pictorial setting and can be selected, moved, constructed, changed, or deleted by a player without revealing to other players these objects of interest or their disposition. In the preferred embodiment, hand-held control units have touchscreens so that players can point to objects and characters on the LCD screen without always using cursors or push button. The video game system in general will provide a unified game experience in which hand-held controllers do more than just control a console game, but also do more than just a stand-alone hand-held game. 
   Each game operates in a simulated world populated with animated characters and static objects which are displayed on the screen of the TV set, and are also displayed on the LCD screens of hand-held controllers. While one part of the simulated world is displayed on the TV screen, different parts of the simulated world may appear on the LCD screens of player&#39;s hand-held control units. Alternatively, some of the pictures displayed on LCD screens and TV screens may represent the same part of the simulated world at different times, or different parts at the same time. 
   In a war game for example, while a first player is controlling a soldier fighting a skirmish in one part of the simulated world that appears on the first player&#39;s LCD screen, a second player may be controlling a different character building a fortification in a different part of the simulated world and this building scene appears on the second player&#39;s LCD screen, while a third part of the simulated world appears on the TV screen, in this example. Alternatively, the skirmish may appear on the TV screen while the second player&#39;s attention is focused on the building scene displayed on his/her control unit. Later the TV screen may display the fortification that was secretly built by the second player&#39;s character, perhaps to the surprise of the first player. 
   ADVANTAGES 
   By displaying pictures on an LCD screen for each player, alternative dispositions of objects and characters in the game are presented to players in a natural setting, unlike menus of words or symbols representing characters. This reduces clutter on the TV screen which might otherwise reveal to other players unfinished work or hidden alternatives. Natural pictures on an LCD screen will provide quicker and more accurate recognition and selection of locations, directions, orientation, and actions of game characters before they appear on the TV screen. 
   OBJECTIVES 
   An object of this invention is to make role-playing video games more fin for players by providing alternative choices for each player in personalized natural pictures on control units so that the main TV picture does not reveal players&#39; confidential alternatives or selections. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary game playing session in which two human game players hold game control units having LCD screens on which are displayed miniature copies or likenesses of large pictures displayed on the screen of a television set. 
       FIG. 2  shows an exemplary game playing session in which two human game players hold game control units having LCD screens on which are displayed respectively a miniature copy or likeness of the large TV picture and a miniature preview picture of a later scene. 
       FIG. 3  is an external isometric view of an exemplary hand-held control unit including an LCD screen and touch-sensitive pad. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the  FIG. 3  control unit. 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of a hand-held control unit illustrating manual selection of numbers by using a cross-switch and a push-button. 
       FIG. 6  is an isometric view of a hand-held control unit with a touch-sensitive LCD screen illustrating manual selection of numbers. 
       FIG. 7  is an isometric view of a hand-held control unit with a touch-sensitive LCD screen illustrating manually controlled movement of a selected picture object. 
       FIG. 8  is an isometric view of an exemplary video game system using two of the  FIG. 3  control units. 
       FIG. 9  is an isometric view of a prior-art video game system from  FIG. 9  in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,259. 
       FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a hand-held control unit with a touch-sensitive LCD screen illustrating manual selection of character emotions. 
       FIG. 11  is a touch-sensitive LCD screen with cartesian coordinates superimposed to illustrate selection and movement of simulated objects in two dimensions on an LCD picture. 
       FIG. 12  is a map on an LCD screen to illustrate manual selection of a line segment defined by a pair of 2-dimensional locations on the map. 
       FIG. 13  is a map on an LCD screen to illustrate a line of soldiers in a war game. 
       FIG. 14  is a map on an LCD screen to illustrate creation of a simulated barrier on a bridge in a war game. 
       FIG. 15  is a touch-sensitive LCD screen illustrating manual selection of an action to be performed by a game character from four alternative actions. 
       FIG. 15   a  is a series of LCD pictures for manual selection of an action to be performed by a game character from more than two alternative actions. 
       FIG. 16  is a block diagram of an exemplary video game system having two hand-held control units. 
       FIG. 17  is a block diagram of the  FIG. 16  video game system with details of an exemplary security processor chip. 
       FIG. 18  is a block diagram of a disk manufacturer&#39;s process of encrypting data and writing it onto an optical disk. 
       FIG. 19  is a record format indicating various data fields in a location data record. 
       FIG. 20  is a memory map of various programs stored in a hand-held control unit. 
       FIG. 21  is a flow chart of program processes in a hand-held control unit. 
       FIG. 22  is a TV screen displaying a picture of a video game scene to illustrate the detail that may occur in such a picture. 
       FIGS. 23   a ,  23   b , and  23   c  are an LCD screen displaying a likeness of the picture in  FIG. 22  but greatly reduced in size. 
       FIG. 24  is a simplified block diagram of the system showing how data flows between the console and a hand-held control unit. 
       FIG. 25  is a flow chart of program processes in a hand-held control unit. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 8  shows an exemplary embodiment of a video game system  118  on which the video games of the present invention may be played. Video game system console  42  generates a video signal on cable  41  connected to TV set  11 , for display on TV screen  56  or on a video monitor (not shown) or similar common display seen by other players. Console  42  is also connected to one or more hand-held control units  28  and  29  or other user input devices by cables  45  or a wireless equivalent (not shown in  FIG. 8 ) such as infrared, ultrasonic, RF waves, or other data communicating forms of energy. Console  42  is detailed in  FIG. 16  which shows an optical disk reader  83  for reading optical disks  43  in which tracks  82  of digital information, including game programs and data, are pressed and molded by a disk manufacturer. 
   The improved control units  28  and  29  shown in FIG.  8  and  FIG. 3  (control unit  29  is the same design as unit  28 ) include features not included in control units  44  and  47  shown in other drawings. This is done for clarity in the drawings and does not imply that any one control unit design is more or less suitable for the present invention, except where additional hardware features of control units  28  and  29 , such as touch pad  24  and touch screen  23 , are required for use in video games that make use of those hardware features. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary game playing session in which two human game players  10  and  12  hold game control units  44  and  47  having LCD screens on which are displayed pictures, verbal expressions, and/or other visual images. Whenever a human player  10  presses push-button (button-switch)  14 , his hand-held control unit  44  generates on his LCD screen a miniature copy  33  of the large picture displayed on TV screen  56 , generated either from data already stored in control unit  44 , or from data transmitted from console  42  ( FIG. 16 ) in response to a signal initiated by manually pressing button  14 . Miniature picture  33  may be a freeze-frame, or animated in sync with the TV picture at various display rates, or animated in slow or accelerated motion. 
   After miniature picture  33  is displayed on the LCD screen of control unit  44 , one or more areas  25  of the LCD screen may blink or change color or brightness or otherwise highlight or indicate areas of possible interest to player  10 . Player  10  may select a simulated object or area in picture  33  for further study by using cross-switch  15  to position a cursor, highlight, or other visual indicator to an LCD screen location corresponding to the indicated area  25 . Player  10  then selects the object or indicated location by pressing selection push-button  57 , which may cause the indicated area  25  to be enlarged on the LCD screen as picture  34  so that an object  31  that was previously invisible or too small to see on the LCD screen is made visible. Player  10  may then repeat the process by selecting object  31  which may be a written clue (with words that appear on control unit  44 ) or a weapon to keep for future action, or other selectable objects. When objects are highlighted or enlarged on unit  44 , they typically are not highlighted or enlarged on TV screen  56  so that other human players such as player  12  will not see which objects have been selected on unit  44 . 
   Alternatively, player  10 , who does not normally control the dinosaur, may select the dinosaur&#39;s foot  58  that is blinking or otherwise indicated on the LCD screen of control unit  44 . When player  10  positions a cursor or other location indicator on foot  58  and presses selection button  57 , the action sequence of digitally generated pictures being displayed on TV screen  56  may, for example, cut to an alternative,action sequence showing the dinosaur stumbling and falling accompanied by sounds of the dinosaur hitting the ground and screaming in pain and anger, thereby allowing character  17  to escape from the dinosaur. 
   During the time that player  10  is pressing cross-switch  15  and buttons  14  and  57 , the action sequence showing the dinosaur chasing character  17  will continue and may reach a different branch point in the branching structure of action sequences that makes player  10 &#39;s selections moot. For example, player  12  may be making alternative choices that display different objects of interest on her control unit  47  and she may select different branches in the branching structure of action sequences that display alternative actions of character  17  or the dinosaur, or alternative scenes and characters. 
   Role-playing video games that make use of this invention will typically promote both cooperation and competition between game players. The exemplary game may promote cooperation between players  10  and  12  in trying to stop the dinosaur from attacking character  17 , but the game may also create competition between players  10  and  12 , both of whom may want to be first to rescue character  17 . 
   In many embodiments, miniature picture  33  is a freeze frame so that human player  10  may select an object  25  on the LCD screen before the object moves off screen. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary game playing session in which human player  10  has selected the miniature picture option described above with reference to FIG.  1  and has positioned cursor  49  onto the hand  36  of his player controlled character. The cursor appears only on miniature picture  33  and not on TV screen  56 . Player  10  has selected on his control unit  44  a hand-control mode in which he can control 3-dimensional movement of the hand of his player-controlled character. In the preferred control unit design shown in  FIG. 3 , hand-held control unit  28  includes at least one analog joystick  20  or  21  by which player  10  in  FIG. 2  may control 3-dimensional movement of his player-controlled character&#39;s right hand  36  or other selected body part. Details of a 2-shaft analog joystick to control motions of a player controlled character in 3-dimensions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,896. 
   In the exemplary game illustrated in  FIG. 2 , player  10  has used cross-switch  15  to position his player character&#39;s right hand  36  to grasp steel pipe  35  for use as a prybar to open the door of a wrecked car shown in miniature picture  33  on the LCD screen of control unit  44 . When player  10  selects this option, his control unit  44  sends a data record ( FIG. 19 ) to console  42  ( FIG. 8 ) requesting a hand-grasping action sequence, and console  42  responds by generating a video frame sequence combining rendered polygons of moving hand  36  superimposed on the wrecked car background. Console  42  also generates a video signal for the generated frame sequence for display on TV screen  56  so that the other player  12  may see the hand-grasping action. 
   Simultaneously, control unit  44  generates an equivalent sequence of miniature animated pictures of moving hand  36  superimposed on the same wrecked car background on the LCD screen of control unit  44 . After the sequence of miniature animated pictures  33  and the frame sequence of video pictures shown on TV screen  56  begin, both sequences continue and remain substantially in sync, although perhaps at a different display rate, until player  10  selects other images for viewing on his control unit  44 , or another player  12  alters the moving picture sequence on TV screen  56 . The moving pictures on TV screen  56  of hand  36  grasping pipe  35  are visible to other human player  12  with no indication on TV screen  56  that any cursor control was used to cause the hand-grasping action sequence. 
   Human player  12  has selected (as will be explained below with reference to  FIG. 15 ) an action from a picture menu ( FIG. 15  or  15   a ) of alternative actions displayed on her control unit  47 . This selected action enables player  12  to position her cursor  59  ( FIG. 2 ) on the right hand  37  of her player-controlled character to add her character&#39;s simulated pulling force to pipe  35 . When player  12  selects an action from a picture menu, her control unit  47  displays a miniature preview picture  34  on the LCD of her control unit  47  showing what will happen if she implements her selected action. 
   To accomplish this, her control unit  47  generates and displays an action sequence showing two hands  59  and  36  successfully pulling on pipe  35 . This preview sequence can be generated in simplified, low-resolution, fast-motion form, to give player  12  a quick preview of the selected (but not yet implemented) action sequence that will appear on TV screen  56  if she implements it. 
   In the exemplary  FIG. 2  game, if player  12  implements the selected action by pressing on an appropriate push-button, her control unit  47  sends a selection data record ( FIG. 19 ) to console  42  ( FIG. 8 ) which generates the frame sequence being displayed on TV screen  56  and will, for example, generate a modified frame sequence showing her player-controlled character&#39;s right hand  37  grasping pipe  35  beside the other character&#39;s right hand  36  followed by a picture sequence showing both player-controlled characters prying open the wrecked car door and rescuing a non-player character (not shown) in the wrecked car. 
   Likewise in  FIG. 1 , player  10  may rerun prior scene  34  on LCD  22  so that he may make use of clue  31  or pickup tools he neglected earlier. Button-switches  14  may provide rewind, normal speed, and fast forward control of pictures displayed on LCD  22  for manual selection of objects and clues from prior scenes. 
     FIG. 3  shows an improved hand-held control unit  28  which overcomes some of the difficulties a player might have selecting actions and objects on an LCD screen using only cross-switch  15  and push-buttons  14  and  57  on the hand-held control units  44  and  47  illustrated in FIG.  1  and FIG.  2 . The exemplary  FIG. 3  control unit includes cross-switch  15 , two analog joysticks  20  and  21 , push-buttons  57 ,  14  and other buttons, speaker  27 , external memory cartridge  16 , touch-sensitive pad  24 , and LCD  22  covered with transparent touchscreen  23  (shown in FIG.  4 ). 
   Touchpad  24  and touchscreen  23  are sensitive to finger pressure and can measure the approximate location of a finger on X-Y coordinates as described below with reference to FIG.  11 . Transparent touchscreen technology is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,313. In  FIG. 3  herein, both touchpad  24  and touchscreen  23  are specified for control unit  28  so that a player can use fingers of both hands to maneuver virtual objects in 3-dimensional space on LCD screen  22 . A player can select an object on touchscreen  23  with one finger, and while holding his finger steadily on the object, use another finger on touchpad  24  to rotate the object into the desired position. Touchpad  24  and touchscreen  23  can also act as push-buttons by accepting a finger tap, for example, of a few hundred milliseconds as a selection indicator. 
     FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the  FIG. 3  control unit  28  which connects to console  42  through connector  40  and cable  45  or wireless equivalent. Control unit  28  which is only schematically represented in  FIG. 4  includes touchscreen  23 , touchpad  24 , and controller processor  51  for determining finger locations on touchscreen  23  and touchpad  24 . Processor  51  outputs X and Y coordinates to processor  50  which generates all pictures and text that appear on LCD  22  via LCD driver  119 , and generates data records ( FIG. 19 ) that processor  50  sends to console  42 . Processor  50  also interprets all data records received from console  42  including records containing data from which processor generates pictures for display on LCD  22 . Memory security processor  52  controls all data passing between processor  50  and external memory cartridge  16  to verify authenticity of cartridge  16 . Memory cartridge security processors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,257. Memory cartridge  16  is typically used when control unit  28  is used as a stand-alone hand-held game system. 
   When electric power to control unit  28  is turned on, boot ROM  76  provides an initial program of instructions, including some programs listed in FIG.  20 . Additional programs are loaded into RAM  53  and are supplied by console  42  which reads these control unit programs from disk  43 . See further discussion of these programs below with reference to  FIGS. 19 ,  20 , and  21 . 
   Control unit  28  may include various other features such as an operating system in ROM  76 , a ROM and battery-maintained RAM in external memory cartridge  16 , a data bus, an address bus, input/output processor, image processing unit, communication control unit, power source, circuit board, and other customary components. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a slow method of entering numbers, without using a keyboard, by pressing cross-switch  15  repeatedly to move highlight cursor  48  horizontally and vertically on LCD screen  22  until a desired digit is highlighted. Pressing button  57  enters the selected digit. After all digits have been entered, button  57  is pressed again to enter the multi-digit number. This method is often too slow for games that require entering numbers, such as map coordinates for war games. Using analog joystick  20  is typically faster but less accurate, because pressing the joystick a little too far causes the highlight cursor to overshoot the desired digit. 
     FIG. 6  illustrates a faster method of entering digits using touchscreen  23  overlaying LCD  22 . After selecting a series of digits by touching the digits, button  57  is pressed only once to enter the multi-digit number. For games that are downloaded from the Internet after payment by credit card, the touchscreen method illustrated in  FIG. 6 , for entering credit card numbers, is the preferred method, because entry of such numbers can be easily kept hidden from other people when entered on a hand-held control unit. Connector  40  for communications between control unit  47  and game console  42  may be connected to wires in cable  45 , or an RF transceiver, or a transceiver using infrared photodiodes  38 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates use of touchscreen  23  to replace the cursor control described above with reference to FIG.  2 . Instead of using cross-switch  15  in  FIG. 2  to position cursor  49  on hand  36  or cursor  59  on hand  37 , the preferred method in  FIG. 7  is for human player  12  to touch her finger to touchscreen  23  overlying the LCD image of hand  37  and slide her finger across touchscreen  23  to a new location over pipe  35  to cause corresponding movement of hand  37  grasping pipe  35 . Touchscreen  23  signals the finger location to controller  51  (FIG.  4 ), which converts the location to physical X,Y coordinates, which processor  50  uses to calculate a new LCD location for displaying hand  37 . Thus simulated hand  37  will follow the player&#39;s moving finger on the touchscreen without any need for a cursor. The image of hand  37  substitutes for a cursor. When the location of hand  37  is within preprogrammed coordinates for pipe  35 , processor  50  ( FIG. 4 ) recomputes the pixels representing hand  37  in successive frames, so that the hand appears to grasp and move pipe  35  displayed on the LCD. See further discussion below with reference to FIG.  11 . 
   Processor  50  also sends a series of data records to console  42  selecting a branch in the branching structure of alternative sequences of hand movements, showing hand  37  moving to the location of pipe  35 , rotating to a new angle facing pipe  35 , and grasping pipe  35 , the image of which is separately generated with the corresponding size and orientation. Microprocessor  86  ( FIG. 16 ) or graphics coprocessor (not shown) in console  42  then generates the corresponding sequence of rendered polygons for hand  37  and pipe  35  for including in the video frame sequence. With this  FIG. 7  method, players can use their hand-held controllers to indicate movement of objects to new locations in 3-dimensions and indicate actions to be performed which are then typically generated as composite video by generator  117  ( FIG. 16 ) and appear on TV screen  56  for both players  10  and  12  to see. 
     FIG. 8  shows an exemplary video game system  118  in general which includes two of the improved control units  28  and  29  as described above with reference to FIG.  3 . 
   Prior-art hardware shown in  FIG. 9  (from my U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,259) is included herein for comparison with FIG.  8 . LCD screens,  22  are illustrated in  FIG. 8  showing pictures, in contrast with  FIG. 9  LCD screens  13  which show menus of verbal expressions. For clarity, other differences in hardware, software, and methods are not all shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     FIG. 10  shows a control unit  47  with touchscreen  23  and a picture menu of emotional faces. By touching one face  32 , human player  12  can select the desired emotion or mood of a player-controlled character. 
     FIG. 11  illustrates manual use of touchscreen  23  with X,Y coordinates for indicating a two-dimensional location on the underlying LCD screen  22  (FIG.  4 ).  FIG. 11  shows hand  37  shaped as a fist and located at coordinates (X 1  Y 1 ). When human player  12  places her finger over the image of hand  37  on touchscreen  23  and moves her finger on touchscreen  23  in the direction of the arrow to location (X 2  Y 2 )—the hand image on LCD  22  follows her finger as described above with reference to FIG.  7 . Pipe  35  intersects coordinates (X 2  Y 2 ) and hence when hand  37  intersects pipe  35  at coordinates (X 2  Y 2 ) the program being executed in microprocessor  50  in control unit  47  interprets this collision as a command to show hand  37  grasping whatever object is at coordinates (X 2  Y 2 )—in this example pipe  35 . The polygons which form the image of hand  37  on LCD  22  are then modified by microprocessor  50  ( FIG. 4 ) to show hand  37  grasping pipe  35  on LCD  22 . If player  12  implements this action, microprocessor  50  sends data to console  42  where microprocessor  86  ( FIG. 16 ) modifies corresponding polygons which form the image of hand  37  in the generated video images displayed on TV  11  (FIG.  16 ). Hence, when touchscreen  23  is used to move an object in the picture on LCD  22  from one LCD location to another location, the resulting action appears on both the LCD  22  and TV screen  56 . 
   The X,Y coordinates in  FIG. 11  may be denominated in pixels or millimeters and refer to the visible area of LCD screen  22  and corresponding area of touchscreen  23 . Since the picture on LCD  22  is a two-dimensional picture, there is no Z coordinate, although Z may represent a non-spatial variable such as finger pressure. The X,Y coordinates on LCD screen  22  should not be confused with simulated coordinates X,Y,Z in a simulated 3-dimensional world populated with animated characters, a world in which Z represents height. 
     FIG. 12  illustrates another use of cursor control in a war game where a first human player uses touchpad  24  ( FIG. 3 ) to control cursor  49  on hand-held control unit  28  (FIG.  3 ). He first uses touchpad  24  to position cursor  49  at a map location indicated by the + sign. Then he presses button  14  ( FIG. 3 ) to define the starting point of a line of defense. Then using touchpad  24  to position cursor  49  as shown in  FIG. 12 , he presses button  14  again to define the end point of the defense line. Control unit  28  then displays a line of dots  30  in  FIG. 13  representing a line of soldiers. The first player can also indicate building a barrier across bridge  39  ( FIG. 13 ) using cursor  49  (FIG.  13 ). Since these tactical moves are displayed only on the first player&#39;s control unit, the line of soldiers and the bridge barrier are secret from a second player or players who may falsely assume that the soldiers are deployed elsewhere and bridge  39  is open. If the first player displays the map later, the same line of soldiers  30  and barrier on bridge  39  will continue to appear on the LCD screen of the first player&#39;s control unit, but will not be displayed on corresponding maps displayed on control units held by other players. 
     FIG. 14  illustrates a map with a limited display area  74  that can be scrolled in various directions by using cross-switch  15  to display a different area of the map such as display area  75  which may show greater detail than  FIG. 13  on the same size LCD  22 . Moving a finger on touchpad  24  or touchscreen  23  may be used in lieu of cross-switch  15  to relocate the display area on a map. 
   Thus control units with touchpads  24  and LCD screens  22  as illustrated in  FIG. 3  are very useful to control a video war game where the battles are displayed on TV screen  56  ( FIG. 2 ) for all players to see, but where tactical moves are planned and executed in secret on hand-held control units. Performing the same functions with cross-switch  15  on control unit  44  as in  FIG. 2  would typically be less natural, more difficult, and slow. 
     FIG. 15  illustrates a menu of alternative actions which appears on LCD screen  22  awaiting selection by human player  12 . LCD screen  22  is overlaid by touchscreen  23  ( FIG. 4 ) so that the next action for character  18  to perform among these four alternative actions is selected by player  12  touching the touchscreen  23 . Character  18  in each of the four action pictures may be the same character, a player controlled character who is controlled by player  12 . When player  12  touches one of the four touchscreen areas corresponding to the four pictures in  FIG. 15 , control unit  28  ( FIG. 8 ) or  47  ( FIG. 1 ) generates data indicating which of the four corresponding locations is selected. Console  42  ( FIG. 8 ) then begins one of the four possible action sequences selectable at the current branch point, i.e. one of the four preprogrammed actions. For control units that have LCD  22  but not touchscreen  23 , the procedure described above with reference to  FIG. 5  using a cross-switch may be used instead of a touchscreen. 
     FIG. 15   a  illustrates a menu of alternative actions which appear on LCD screen  22  as a series of pictures, each picture representing one alternative action for the character to perform. In this example there is no touchscreen  23  overlaying LCD  22  and human player  12  cycles through the series of pictures until the desired action appears on the screen  22 . 
     FIG. 16  is a block diagram of the major components of the exemplary video game system indicated generally at  19  and also shown in  FIG. 8  (FIG.  8  and  FIG. 16  show different hand-held control units). Game console  42  includes a housing indicated by the dashed line in FIG.  16  and shown in isometric view in FIG.  8 . Disk  43  is shown outside this housing for clarity, but may be played within the housing. Inside this housing is a small computer consisting of microprocessor  86 , RAM  90  for storing video game programs and data, boot ROM  91  for power up and reset and may include an operating system such as DOS, nonvolatile EPROM  89 , EEPROM, or battery-maintained SRAM for storing digital information that is different for each game console  42 , video signal generator  117  (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,433) for generating composite or separate audio and video suitable for input to TV set  11  or a video monitor (not shown), and peripheral interface chip  88  for sending and receiving digital data to and from hand-held control units  44  and  47  ( FIG. 1 ) and control units  28  and  29  (FIG.  8 ). 
   For clarity, specialized coprocessors for D/A conversion, audio, or for rendering texture-mapped polygons, terrain rendering, and related graphics processing are not shown. 
   Disk reader  83  reads digital information from plastic optical disks such as disk  43  in which the digital information is molded and burned. Disk reader  83  reads this digital information from two areas of disk  43 : from area  81  and from area  80 . In area  81  the digital information is represented as a long spiral track or tracks  82  of microscopic pits that are molded into each disk by a disk manufacturer. Digital information in area  81  includes video game programs and data. Area  80 , known as the burst cutting area (BCA), typically consists of a circular series of variable-width bar codes that are burned, melted, or heated by a medium power laser beam into each disk after they are molded by the manufacturer. This heating process permanently alters reflectivity of bar-shaped areas of a reflective layer in the disk. The word “burned” will be used herein to encompass the various methods for placing a substantially unique bar code (for each game product) onto each disk, even though the reflective layer is usually not burned through but merely darkened. More than a hundred patents have been issued for optical disks, BCA, and related technology, such U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,785. 
   In the BCA bar code, each variable width bar represents one bit. The maximum number of bits in the BCA is limited to 1,504 bits (188 bytes) under the current standard. Eighty BCA bits are sufficient for authentication because in the exemplary embodiment, the BCA bits are a block-encrypted cipher of a serial number and another number used for verifying authenticity. 
   Much of the digital information read from disk  43  by disk reader  83  is controlled by security processor chip  84  so that chip  84  can block processing of video game data from unauthorized disks. An exemplary security chip  84  is further detailed in FIG.  17 . 
     FIG. 17  shows the video game system of  FIG. 16 , but with more details on security chip  84  and processing of BCA data. Security chip  84  is a microcontroller with an on-chip microprocessor (not shown) for executing instructions from an on-chip ROM (not shown) to perform functions shown in FIG.  17 . 
   If all authenticating data were in the BCA bar code burned into each disk, then software pirates could easily defeat authentication by copying BCA&#39;s from authentic disks to non-authentic disks. It is therefore preferable for disk reader  83  to distinguish at least two physically different types of authenticating data which are shown in  FIG. 17  as burned bar codes  80  and molded lead-in control data track  148 . In this example, disk reader  83  accepts data from track  148  only if it a molded track with the standard optical properties of molded pits, i.e. not burned or a writable CD. There are numerous ways of making bar codes  80  and molded track  148  physically different. A simple way to make them different is to mold control data  148  into the disk during the same manufacturing step that molded area  81 . Mere separation of the burned  80  data from the molded  148  data on different optical tracks or writing some of the data onto a magnetic track would provide little security. 
   In this example, disk reader  83  distinguishes molded data from burned data in the BCA and this is indicated in  FIG. 17  by separate lines through disk reader  83 , one line from molded control data track  148 , a second line from molded program and data tracks  82 , and a third line from burned bar codes  80 . 
   In this example, data from molded control data track  148  includes an encrypted hash value  144  computed from game programs and/or data on tracks  82  during manufacturing (discussed below with reference to FIG.  18 ). This encrypted hash value  144  is encrypted by the game vendor using a non-symmetrical “public key” cryptographic system as a digital signature. RSA, ECC, or other public-key cryptosystems may be used and are typically controlled by a private and public key of about 1,020 bits and typically produce an encrypted ciphertext of more than 1,020 bits. This ciphertext (encrypted hash value  144 ) is molded into control track  148 . MD5, SHA-1 or similar hashing methods may be used to compute the hash value which may consist of 128-bit, 160-bit, or other size binary numbers before being encrypted. Decryption process  107  uses the same cryptographic method to decrypt value  144  under control of “public key”  95  to produce the original hash value  145 . In this example there is no need for public key  95  to be revealed to the public. 
   Data from burned BCA bar codes  80  includes encrypted control record  94 . In this example, encrypted control record  94  consists of at least 88 bits and preferably 128 bits and is encrypted by the game vendor using a symmetric block encryption method such as the Data Encryption Standard (DES), AES, or equivalent, so that changing any one bit of plaintext affects all bits of ciphertext, without providing clues that would lead to discovery of the bit values of the secret key K 2  through chosen plaintext attack or chosen ciphertext attack. Secret key K 2  is securely stored in security processor chip  84 , preferably in EPROM  98 , or EEPROM that is physically protected against chip peeling and scanning electron microscopy. Key K 2  is not externally readable from chip  84 . DES is described in detail in the Federal Register 40FR12134, Mar. 17, 1975. Simplified variations of DES may be used for block decryption process ( 99  in  FIG. 17 ) and the corresponding block encryption process ( 147  in FIG.  18 ). 
   Block decryption process  99  decrypts encrypted control record  94  under control of secret key K 2  ( 98 ) to produce a block of decrypted data including serial number  101  and secret key K 1  (reference number  100 ). One-way hashing process  108  calculates a hash value from key  100  hashed together with all or selected portions of the programs and/or data read from tracks  82  into RAM  96 . 
   Processor instructions  106 , stored and executed in security chip  84 , compare decrypted hash value  145  to calculated hash value  112 . If the two numbers are equal, security chip  84  permits further reading of programs and data from disk tracks  82  into RAM  96  for execution by microprocessor  86 . If hash values  112  and  145  are different, then process  26  will block further reading of disk  43 , perhaps by endless looping. 
   Block decryption process  99  uses the same secret key  98  for decryption  99  ( FIG. 17 ) as for encryption  147  (FIG.  18 ). Typically this key  98  is at least 64 bits and preferably 80 bits. In the preferred embodiment, there is not one master key on chip  84 , because if it were compromised, perhaps by an employee or contractor of the game vendor, security chip  84  would become useless. Instead, in the preferred embodiment, each security chip includes a table of keys (not shown) so that secret key  98  can be changed in mid production of any game title by changing to a different key in the table. If the key bits in EPROM  98  are intermingled with unused random bits, anybody who accesses the bits will not know which bits are key bits without also reading the on-chip ROM program that knows which bits are key and which are decoys. If key EPROM  98  is mask programmed, that would reduce security of the keys. 
   Whenever process  99  decrypts encrypted control record  94 , one of the decrypted data fields is serial number  101 . Therefore in the preferred embodiment, chip  84  includes a process for comparing serial number  101  against table (not shown) of known invalid serial numbers, i.e. serial numbers that have been found on illegally copied game disks. If serial number  101  is invalid, then process  26  will block further reading of disk  43 . 
   Security chip  84  is designed to authenticate game disks such as disk  43 , but not to protect the programs and data on the disk from reverse engineering. In this embodiment, it is assumed that game programs and data on tracks  82  are not encrypted. However, in the preferred embodiment, at least a portion of the programs/data on tracks  82  should be encrypted to deter pirates from bypassing security chip  84 . Improvements may be added to security chip  84  to decrypt encrypted programs and/or data and other methods of improving security. The details of security chip  84  are given here only as examples and numerous other designs may be used. 
     FIG. 18  shows a disk manufacturer&#39;s process for writing data onto disk  43 . Programs and data  96  are molded as tracks  82  into disk  43  by disk molding process  149 . During the same molding process, encrypted hash value  144  is also molded into disk  43  in lead-in control track  148 . Encrypted hash value  144  is previously computed by the game vendor as follows: Key K 1  (reference number  100 ) is generated as a random number. One-way hashing process  108  then calculates a hash value  145  from key  100  hashed together with all or selected portions of the programs and/or data in RAM  96 . MD5, SHA-1 or similar hashing methods may be used to compute hash value  145  which may consist of 128-bit, 160-bit, or other size binary numbers. Any attempt to alter even one bit of the hashed programs and/or data will result in a different hash value  145 . 
   This hash value  145  is then encrypted under control of private key  166  using the same non-symmetrical “public key” cryptographic process discussed above with reference to FIG.  17 . The results of encryption process  167  is encrypted hash value  144  which is then molded into control track  148 . RSA, ECC, DH, or other public-key cryptosystems may be used for encryption process  167 . 
   Serial number  101  and key K 1  (reference  100 ) are encrypted together (as a block) by block encryption process  147  under control of secret key  98  (key K 2 ) to produce encrypted control record  94 . Encrypted control record  94  is then burned into BCA bar codes  80  in disk  43  by BCA burner  150 , using a different serial number  101  for each disk  43 . This makes the BCA bar code substantially unique for each of the disks. 
     FIG. 19  shows a record format of exemplary data records use for communication between processor  50  in control unit  28  and microprocessor  86  in console  42  by way of cable  45  or equivalent. Each record  78  consists of several data fields including a control unit identification number so that console  42  will know which control unit generated record  78 , a picture serial number so that console  42  will know which video frame is being referred to, and a size factor number so that console  42  will know the degree of enlargement so it can relate LCD screen locations to simulated objects in the picture. Each record  78  has an operation code which specifies the type of data and what type of processing is to be performed. 
   Examples of operation codes include:
     00 initial power up   01 identify location and size factor of displayed picture   02 move object located at (X 1  Y 1 ) to location (X 2  Y 2 )   03 first person approach to object located at (X 1  Y 1 )   04 build object id 3  between locations (X 1  Y 1 ) and (X 2  Y 2 )   05 change object located at (X 1  Y 1 ) with object id 3     06 destroy objects between (X 1  Y 1 ) and (X 2  Y 2 )   07 show hand grasping object at (X 1  Y 1 )   08 show object at (X 1  Y 1 ) entering object at (X 2  Y 2 )   09 enlarge object located at (X 1  Y 1 )   10 change camera angle to center on object at (X 1  Y 1 )   11 retreat from object at (X 1  Y 1 )   12 selection from action menu   13 cancel or undo previous action serial number nnn   

   Since the above X,Y coordinates typically refer to physical locations (in pixels or millimeters) on LCD  22  and not always to spatial coordinates X,Y,Z in the simulated world of the animated characters, there is no Z spatial coordinate in the  FIG. 19  record format. However, if control unit processor  50  ( FIG. 4 ) can convert physical LCD location coordinates into simulated spatial coordinates and send this data to console  42 , then the location data in  FIG. 19  would change accordingly. If processor  50  can determine the character action corresponding to a LCD location and send this action data to console  42 , the  FIG. 19  record would include numbers specifying selected actions. 
     FIG. 20  is a memory map of various programs and data in RAM  53  in control unit  28  (FIG.  4 ). Many of the functions performed by these programs are combined in the flowchart in FIG.  21 . 
     FIG. 21  is an exemplary flow chart illustrating a sequence of functions performed by some of the programs temporarily stored in RAM  53  in control unit  28 .  FIG. 21  begins with program process  60  which executes out of ROM  76  and converts any initial manual inputs into numbers in memory to be sent to console  42 . For example, a player may hold down button  14  as he or she turns on electric power to control unit  28  to activate previously stored game status data. Then in program process  61  (operating out of ROM  76 ) processor  50  sends a power-up data record (operation code 00) to console  42  which requests that console  42  send initial programs (read from disk  43 ) to control unit  28  for storage in RAM  53 . When those programs are stored, processor  50  continues with program  62  which processes picture data records received from console  42 . 
   Process  63  then generates a picture for display on LCD  22  that is a miniature likeness of the TV frame currently displayed on TV screen  56 . Process  64  then displays the miniature likeness picture on LCD  22 . The control unit program then enters a program loop which checks (decision boxes  65 ,  66 ,  67 ) for any manual input from a cross-switch, joystick, touchscreen, touchpad, or button switches to determine which kind of location data to send to console  42  (boxes  68 ,  69 ,  70 ). Control unit processor  50  then sends a location data record (or other type of record) to console  42 . The interrupt feature of processor  50  may be used to insure that loops shown in  FIG. 21  do not interfere with other functions performed by processor  50 . 
   Processor  50  in control unit  28  may generate many of the picture sequences with infrequent guidance from console  42 , especially during time intervals when the pictures displayed on LCD  22  are not being displayed on TV screen  56 . For example in a war game (referring to  FIGS. 12 ,  13 , and  14 ), strategic and tactical planning may be controlled by each player on separate hand-held control units  44  and  47 . Because these private pictures and/or words are not shared with other players by way of TV screen  56 , there is no need for frequent sending of data records back and forth between control units and console  42  during these private phases of the interactive game. During this private phase, each control unit acts independently of console  42 , executing programs for planning, deployment of soldiers, movement of supplies, building of bridges, destroying enemy barriers, reconnaissance, displaying reports from spies etc, while the TV screen shows generic scenes and information already known to both sides, such as maps of recent battles, or animated characters controlled by other players. 
   During game phases where the TV pictures are related to the LCD pictures, there will be much sending and receiving of data records between control units and console  42 . During these shared phases, console  42  programs in RAM  90  ( FIG. 16 ) determine what is to be displayed on each control unit  28 ,  44 , etc. and generate picture or program data records which microprocessor  86  sends to one or the other control units. When a control unit receives a data record from console  42 , decision box  73  transfers control to process  62  which processes the received picture data record. If data records from console  42  contains program instructions, process  62  in this example will load the downloaded program into RAM  53  for execution in the control unit processor  50 . 
     FIGS. 22 and 23  illustrate the relationship between video pictures on TV screen  56  and a miniature likeness being displayed on LCD screen  22 . In  FIG. 22  a large detailed picture is being displayed on TV screen  56 . If this detailed picture is greatly reduced in size (perhaps by 90%) for display on a small LCD screen  22  on a hand-held control unit  28 , many of the details may be lost and the miniature picture may become unintelligible. 
     FIG. 23   a  illustrates this loss of detail. One way of avoiding this problem is for processor  50  to generate wider lines and other details as in  FIG. 23   b  from compressed data supplied by console  42 . The LCD picture  33  in  FIG. 23   b  is a miniature likeness for display on LCD  22  and does not have to be an exact copy of the TV screen picture reduced in size. Another method is illustrated in the  FIG. 23   c  picture which consists of about 250 short line segments that together form a simplified likeness of the picture on TV screen  56  and omits fine textures displayed on TV screen  56 . Further simplified pictures may be used on LCD  22 . 
     FIG. 24  shows an exemplary and simplified block diagram of system  19  showing how data flows between console  42  and a hand-held control unit  28 . When disk reader  83  reads game programs into RAM  90 , the programs in this example are of two kinds, console program(s)  151  with associated data, and controller program(s)  152  with associated data. Focusing on the programs, controller program  152  is transmitted to RAM  53  in hand-held control unit  28  and executed in microprocessor  50 . Console program  151  is stored in RAM  90  and executed by microprocessor  86  which generates animated picture data  146  representing one or more animated characters performing an action. This data stored in RAM  146  is converted to a video signal as described above with reference to FIG.  16 . This video signal is passed to TV  11  by way of cable  41  ( FIG. 16 ) and is displayed as animated pictures on TV screen  56 . Microprocessor  86  also generates data records which it sends (arrow  154 ) to control unit  28 . An example of a data record  78  is illustrated and discussed above with reference to FIG.  19 . Other record formats may be used by programs  151  and  152 . 
   Execution of console program  151  is controlled by data received (arrow  153 ) by console  42  from microprocessor  50  in control unit  28 . Microprocessor  50  receives (arrow  154 ) the data records received from console  42  and this data affects execution of program  152  in microprocessor  50  which also receives manually entered input signals from cross-switch  15  (only one of the  4  switches is shown), analog joystick  20 , touchscreen  23 , and/or other manual controls. These input signals result from a human player&#39;s decisions based on animated pictures that are displayed on LCD  22  from animated picture data  146  generated by microprocessor  50  executing program  152  in RAM  53 . The input signals also control execution by microprocessor  50  which sends corresponding data records (arrow  153 ) to console  42 . 
     FIG. 25  is an exemplary flow chart illustrating a sequence of functions performed by some of the programs temporarily stored in RAM  53  in control unit  28  to replay pictures previously displayed on LCD  22 . As with  FIG. 21  discussed above,  FIG. 25  begins with program process  60  which executes out of ROM  76  and converts any initial manual inputs into numbers in memory to be sent to console  42 . Then in program process  61  (executing out of ROM  76 ) processor  50  sends a power-up data record to console  42  (as discussed above with reference to FIG.  21 ). If decision box  73  determines that a new picture-data record has been received by control unit  28 , processor  50  continues with process  62  which processes picture data records received from console  42 . From this data, process  63  then generates a picture for display on LCD  22  that is a miniature likeness of the TV frame currently displayed on TV screen  56 . Program  159  provides blinking or highlights, if any are specified in the picture-data record, to accent objects (such as  31  on  FIG. 1 ) in the likeness picture. Program  64  then displays the likeness picture on LCD  22 . Processes  65 ,  66 , and  67  (discussed above with reference to  FIG. 21 ) then check for player manual input. 
   Decision box  156  determines if the player has manually selected a blinking or highlighted object. If such an object was not selected, the object is still selectable and the player may want to return to it later using the replay feature detailed here. Decision box  156  then passes control to process  155  which adds a new record to a replay table  165  of data in RAM  53  from which the full-screen picture containing the blinking or highlighted object can be regenerated on LCD  22 . A digital pointer (not shown) points to the last (latest) record in table  165 . If the object was selected (and therefore no longer blinking or highlighted), decision box  157  determines if the picture should still be saved in replay table  165  to preserve continuity of motion during later use of the replay feature. For example, data for regenerating one picture per second may be saved in replay table  165 . Processor  50  proceeds to decision box  72  in  FIG. 25  which loops back to decision box  73 . 
   If decision box  73  in  FIG. 25  determines that no picture-data records are pending, processor  50  proceeds to decision box  160  which checks button-switches and other manual inputs to determine if a player has requested the replay option. If yes, process  163  sets a pointer to the beginning (oldest record) of replay table  165  discussed above, and process  158  generates a miniature likeness from data in replay table  165 . If decision box  161  determines that the player selected the fast-forward option to return picture-by-picture to the latest likeness picture, process  164  adds 1 (one) to the table pointer which points to the next data record in replay table  165 . If decision box  161  determines that the player has not selected either the replay or fast-forward options, control passes to process  65  discussed above. 
   As used herein, the term “video screen” includes the display area of a television screen, computer monitor, video monitor, RGB monitor, CRT, and the like. The term “video” includes composite, non-composite, RGB, monochrome, color, analog, digital, and MPEG video, and the like. The term “molded” includes injection molded, pressed, stamped, and other disk manufacturing methods. 
   The term “likeness” includes pictures that have a similar character performing a similar action, even though there are noticeable differences in resolution, texture, and other details. The term “program” as used herein may consist of more than one loadable module and includes executable instructions and any data that is typically part of a program module or modules. 
   The term “LCD” (liquid crystal display) has been used herein as an illustrative example of any discrete display apparatus having discrete picture elements. 
   Although I have described my invention with a degree of particularity in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that my invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements, steps, and components included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
   REFERENCE NUMBERS IN DRAWINGS 
   
       
         10  human player 
         11  television (TV) set or video monitor 
         12  human player 
         13  LCD screen 
         14  push button 
         15  cross-switch 
         16  memory cartridge 
         17  picture of player-controlled character 
         18  picture of player-controlled character 
         19  video game system generally 
         20  joystick assembly 
         21  joystick assembly 
         22  LCD screen 
         23  touch screen 
         24  touch pad 
         25  small area of LCD screen 
         26  process of stop reading disk 
         27  speaker 
         28  hand-held control unit with handles 
         29  hand-held control unit with handles 
         30  representation of military barrier 
         31  clue object 
         32  picture of emotional face 
         33  picture on LCD screen 
         34  picture on LCD screen 
         35  picture of iron pipe 
         36  picture of player character&#39;s hand 
         37  picture of player character&#39;s hand 
         38  infrared communication unit 
         39  representation of a bridge 
         40  electrical connector 
         41  cable linking game console to TV 
         42  video game system console 
         43  optical disk 
         44  hand-held control unit 
         45  cable linking control unit to console 
         46  hand-held control unit 
         47  hand-held control unit 
         48  highlighted image 
         49  cursor 
         50  microprocessor 
         51  touchpad processor 
         52  memory security processor 
         53  random access memory (RAM) 
         54  game product number 
         55  process of checking authenticity of disk 
         56  TV screen 
         57  selection push-button 
         58  dinosaur&#39;s foot 
         59  cursor 
         60  program process 
         61  transmission of data 
         62  program process 
         63  program process 
         64  displaying an LCD picture 
         65  program decision 
         66  program decision 
         67  program decision 
         68  program process 
         69  program process 
         70  program process 
         71  transmission of data 
         72  program decision 
         73  program decision 
         74  map display area 
         75  map display area 
         76  read only memory (ROM) 
         77  memory map of programs 
         78  location data record 
       
         79 
       
         80  burst cutting area (BCA) of disk 
         81  program and data area of disk 
         82  tracks molded into disk 
         83  optical disk reader 
         84  security processor 
         85  speaker in TV set 
         86  microprocessor 
         87  electrical connector 
         88  peripheral interface processor 
         89  EPROM or EEPROM 
         90  RAM 
         91  boot ROM 
         92  address bus 
         93  data bus 
         94  encrypted control record 
         95  “public” key 
         96  unencrypted programs and/or data in RAM 
       
         97 
       
         98  secret key k 2   
         99  process of block decryption 
         100  decryption key k 1   
         101  disk serial number 
         102  process of validating disk serial number 
       
         103 
       
       
         104 
       
       
         105 
       
         106  process of authenticating programs/data 
         107  process of RSA decryption 
         108  process of calculating hash values 
       
         109 
       
       
         110 
       
       
         111 
       
         112  hash value 
       
         113 
       
       
         114 
       
       
         115 
       
       
         116 
       
         117  video signal generator 
         118  video game system generally 
         119  LCD driver circuit 
       
         120 
       
       
         140 
       
       
         141 
       
       
         142 
       
       
         143 
       
         144  RSA encrypted hash value 
         145  hash value 
         146  animated picture data 
         147  process of block encryption 
         148  lead-in control information 
         149  process of molding disk 
         150  process of burning BCA into disk 
         151  console program 
         152  controller program 
         153  data transmission 
         154  data transmission 
         155  program process 
         156  program decision 
         157  program decision 
         158  program process 
         159  program process 
         160  program decision 
         161  program decision 
         162  program decision 
         163  program process 
         164  program process 
         165  table of data in RAM 
         166  RSA private key 
         167  RSA encryption process