Patent ID: 7118482

Claim:
A video game system for playing a video game and for generating a video game display having animated graphics comprising: a plurality of game cards for use in a card game, each visually portraying a figure of a character and including recorded data, a video game information storage medium storing a video game program relating to game card character figures, a video game machine including a processing system for removably receiving therein the video game information storage medium to execute the video game program, each of said plurality of game cards recording for an associated character depicted, at least identification data of the associated character and characteristic data relating to a characteristic of the associated character and for causing a change to a video image involving an animated and displayed associated character dependent on the progress of said video game; wherein one of said video game information storage medium and said video game machine includes external information reading circuitry for reading the identification data and characteristic data of the characters recorded on said game cards; said processing system, when supplied with the identification data and characteristic data read by said external information reading circuitry from one or more of said game cards being operable to animate and display a video display visually portraying said associated character and for processing the video game program of the video game to cause the change to the video image involving said animated and displayed character by using said characteristic data; and at least a portion of a video game program to be added to the video game program stored by the video game information storage medium is obtained from at least one of the plurality of game cards.