Patent ID: 7782306

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a game controller, the method comprising steps of: forming a game controller portion comprising at least one user interaction mechanism, the game controller portion comprising a unified main body having protruding members that form a pair of grips, the pair of grips extending from the main body in a generally common direction, the pair of grips for being employed by a user to grasp the game controller portion during use and defining an open space directly therebetween, the game controller portion further comprising an electrical connector in the main body thereof generally adjacent the space defined by the pair of grips, the electrical connector being a memory unit slot configured to accept a memory unit to provide additional and portable memory storage for game play; encasing a rewritable memory device within a housing of the game controller; forming a character input portion; connecting the character input portion to the game controller portion so that the character input portion can be removed from the game controller portion, the character input portion when coupled to the game controller portion entirely residing between the pair of grips and within the open space defined by the pair of grips, and being electrically coupled to the memory unit slot of the game controller portion, the character input portion as coupled to the game controller portion physically abutting the pair of grips and the main body of the game controller portion in a generally continuous manner without substantial gaps between the character input portion and the game controller portion, the physically abutted pair of grips and main body of the game controller portion assisting in securing the coupled character input portion to the game controller portion; inputting a configuration code into the rewritable memory; and programming a key mapping configuration that corresponds with the configuration code into the rewritable memory device, wherein the key mapping configuration determines which character is input when a character input key is activated.