Home television-game apparatus with time management unit

• US 5,993,319 A
• Filed: 11/22/1996
• Issued: 11/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Aoyama, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHAAF, JAMES CHARLES
• Application Number:
  US08/755,067
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/30, 463/43, 463/44, 463/24, 463/29, 364/410.1
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/48 Starting a game, e.g. activating a game device or waiting for other players to join a multiplayer session
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/493 Resuming a game, e.g. after pausing, malfunction or power failure
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/206 Game information storage, e.g. cartridges, CD ROM's, DVD's, smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/63 for controlling the execution of the game in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/636 involving process of starting or resuming a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/638 according to the timing of operation or a time limit
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality

Abstract

A home TV-game apparatus of this invention has a memory storing a game program, a CPU for processing the game program, and time management elements managing a time of the game in correspondence with real time. In the home TV-game apparatus, therefore, a virtual reality type game using real time, e.g., a roll playing game, is easy to play and easy to make since the clock control of the game program does not have to be considered, and the development cost of the virtual reality type game is not expensive.

Claims

1. A method of playing a home television-game on basis of real time, comprising the steps of:

inserting a ROM cartridge into a home television game unit, said ROM cartridge comprising a memory and a real time clock, respectively supplied with power from a battery, and a ROM storing a game program;

displaying a request message for a game player to enter a first time of said home television-game into said real time clock, thereby carrying out a time initializing process;

setting a sign code into said memory to store a state where said time initializing process is carried out, while starting said home television-game by loading said game program into said home television-game unit;

storing an interruption state of said home television-game into said memory, when said home television-game is interrupted;

outputting said sign code of said state from said memory to said home television-game unit, when said home television-game is started after interruption thereof;

displaying a request message for said game player to select or not select a restarting process where said interruption state of said home television-game is loaded from said memory to said home television-game unit;

restarting said home television-game on basis of a second time of said home television-game which is calculated on said first time thereof by said real time clock, when said restarting process is selected;

clearing said interruption state from said memory, when said restarting process is not selected, thereby carrying out said time initializing process; and

setting the sign code into said memory to store the state where said time initializing process is carried out, while starting said home television game by loading said game program into said home television game unit.