Still further, in the description given above, the programs are supplied to the portable game machine
10 from the game cartridge
48 serving as an information storage medium, and may also be distributed to homes and the like via the communication network.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an overall structure of a program distribution system using the communication network. A program distribution method according to the present invention will be described with reference to
FIG. 16. As illustrated in the figure, a program distribution system
100 includes a game database
102, a server
104, a communication network
106, and a portable game machine
108. A program distribution device
110 is constructed of the game database
102 and the server
104 among those components. The communication network
106 is built up by including, e.g., the Internet and a cable TV network. In this system, the game database (information storage medium)
102 is stored with programs having the same storage contents as those of the game cartridge
48. Then, a prospective consumer makes a game distribution request by use of the portable game machine
108, whereby the request is transferred to the server
104 via the communication network
106. Then, the server
104 reads the programs from the game database
102 in response to the game distribution request, and transmits the programs to the portable game machine
108 (the game distribution requester) Herein, the game is distributed in response to the game distribution request. However, the server
104 may transmit the game one-sidedly. Further, all of the required programs may not necessarily be distributed at one time (entire distribution) in order to actualize the game, and necessary program modules may also be distributed (partial distribution) corresponding to a stage of the game. Thus, the game is distributed via the communication network
106, whereby the prospective consumer can easily obtain the programs.