Method and system for enabling optional customer election of auxiliary content provided on detachable local storage media during access of primary content over a network and for collecting data concerning viewed auxiliary content

Method and system for allowing customers to freely select the content provided on the detachable local storage medium during the period of accessing the main content on the Internet and collect the auxiliary content that they see

The present invention relates to a system for participating in interactive entertainment, or for accessing non-interactive entertainment, using an online game console to connect to a content provider on a two-way network, especially for customers who support this system The maintenance and access to the content database is used to play valuable main content and auxiliary content, such as targeted advertisements.

In recent years, the improvement in the ability of public members to access valuable media and advertising content by connecting to a very low-cost high-speed two-way network has increased advertisers' search for this system to increase interest in products and services.

The trend of providing certain services, such as network access or access to specific media content, e-mail accounts, e-fax accounts, etc. on the network connection, allows users to register and provide detailed personally identifiable information to stay in Server database. In return for providing this customer information, the server provider provides the necessary access to the service, such as an email account, to the customer at a free or cheap price. As long as the customer must watch the attached advertisements, these advertisements can be based on his or her Identification information, browsing ability, etc. are sent to the customer. These advertisements can be attached to customer emails or appear in windows or frames created when accessing the server network. Through this system, advertising revenue items can be used to pay for the maintenance of network services or the cost of paying for network content, and everyone can get access to the services they need, by releasing certain personal information or being forced to watch specific Commercial advertising.

However, although they are commonly used as advertising media, these systems have disadvantages, and customers generally do not like being forced to watch commercial advertisements. In addition, many customers are unwilling to give up personal information, especially to advertisers, in exchange for free Internet services or free access on the Internet. Customers need to practice choosing whether and when they want to see supplementary content. At the same time, the way in which these auxiliary content are delivered to customers needs to be provided to advertisers with flexibility, so that advertisements can be presented in a non-invasive way that can arouse customer interest. Therefore, a more flexible system has been sought, in which advertisements can be provided to customers, who can still choose whether to watch these advertisements, and the access fees of Internet and content services can be adjusted according to whether customers choose to watch advertisements.

Interactive TV or video system that provides pay-per-view or on-demand video services, in which valuable content such as digital movies in MPEG format and optional advertisements can be downloaded for customers to watch, disclosed in the US patent of Blahut et al. No. 5,532,735 and Neel et al. US Patent No. 5,838,314. According to these methods, a separate database is established on the server side. The first database contains all valuable media content such as movies, the second database is composed of commercial advertising content, and the third database is identified by customers. Information composition. If the customer chooses not to watch the commercial content, the full fee is required. If the customer receives and watches the supplementary content, they can charge for the access to the valuable content for free or at a low cost. In this case, the advertiser pays for the valuable content. The fee items. Although these systems do not provide customers with the option of invalidating advertisements, customers can watch adjusted content for free. Although these systems require high investment from advertisers, advertisers must be responsible for establishing and maintaining a server-side advertisement database by themselves. Or through detailed cooperation with major content providers. Obviously, there will be a need for more flexibility and lower prices for advertisers.

Other methods are disclosed in Jernigan et al.'s U.S. Patent No. 5,233,423 and Rakavy et al.'s U.S. Patent No. 5,913,040, and advertisers can get their information through viewers.

According to Jernigan et al., embedded commercials can be provided in the memory device installed in the TV receiver. When the control function on the TV receiver is activated, the commercials will be displayed on a part of the screen via the graphic generator. . Although the local storage of advertisements on Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) is disclosed, this system imposes a heavy burden on advertisers, which must establish access via server networks and PROM devices in some way.

According to Rakavy et al., advertisements can be provided on computer networks or on local storage devices such as CD-ROMs, and displayed on local computers. The advertisements displayed on the local computer can be selected based on pre-made user characteristic information, for example, what type and type of advertisements a given user will choose to watch. However, according to this system, although the statistics of the advertisements viewed are recorded, uploaded to the advertisement server and provided to the advertisers, there is no adjustment based on the cost of whether the advertisements are viewed or not, so there is no incentive for customers to watch these advertisements. In addition, the main feature to be accessed by this system is only the Internet, so there is no predetermined link between the main content and the auxiliary advertising content. There is no suggestion that advertisements are provided in a partially detachable storage medium, which serves as a mechanism for users to access and provide predetermined content servers such as movies, interactive games, programs, etc.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a system and method in which advertisements can be delivered to customers via a detachable local storage medium such as DVD or CD-ROM. The storage medium is intended to be inserted into a game console and connected to a specific content via a two-way network. A provider, where the game console includes a control function for enabling auxiliary content such as advertisements to be viewed following the customer's choice, and the customer accesses valuable media content from the main content database maintained by the content provider.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method as described above, wherein at any time before downloading or during the playing of the main media data, the control function of the game console can make auxiliary content such as advertisements 'S viewing is invalid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method as described above, wherein a record is maintained of the number of times and period of time the customer has chosen to watch the auxiliary content together with the valuable media content, wherein the auxiliary content viewing record is subsequently uploaded to the content provider The server station maintained by the person, and can be used as the basis for advertisers to access advertising costs, and to update the customer database.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method as described above, wherein the customer database is maintained in a server station, and contains identification information of the user accessing the server station, wherein the identification information can be downloaded into The game console allows only auxiliary content to be loaded and viewed according to the user's identification profile.

Another object of the present invention is to provide key data, which can include a media or customer identification and authentication code, on a detachable local storage medium on the client side of the system, so that the key data can be used to authenticate the main media content. Access to a specific server station, and the main media content cannot be accessed unless the local storage media is inserted into the game console.

As a result of the above objectives of the present invention, an improvement to the conventional advertising method can be achieved. As advertising media, by using local storage media such as CD-ROM or DVD, advertisers do not need to spend the maintenance of a large advertising database on the server side of the system as in the prior art. Therefore, advertisers have great flexibility in preparing their own advertising content on very low-cost packaging media, while advertisers can combine their auxiliary content with specific valuable media content that can be downloaded from major content providers.

In addition, avoid the cost and time associated with downloading large amounts of auxiliary materials. Because the cost of packaging media such as CD-ROM or DVD is very low, advertisers have the advantage of being able to easily distribute these media as if they were inserted in magazines. In addition, due to their ability to maintain large-scale data, this separable packaged media has the ability to handle multi-color activities or long-playing auxiliary content, which is very suitable for advertisers.

The obvious advantage of the present invention lies in the ability of advertisers to combine their auxiliary content with specific highly popular and valuable main media content such as feature movies, interactive games, popular programs, etc., which are downloaded from the main content server . That is, only by signing a contract and following a predetermined format determined by the major media content providers, advertisers can easily create their own advertisements, including CD-ROMs or DVDs that are easily distributed to customers. Because they are combined with popular and valuable main media content, customers are highly attracted to use this CD-ROM or DVD media as an institution for access to and storage of main media content.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be clearly seen when referring to the drawings in which the preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by examples, together with the following description.

Figure 1 shows the configuration of the system that can display the main media content and the selective display of the auxiliary media content. The term "main media content" in this specification and in the scope of the patent application refers to the general term of downloadable content, which can contain any video linear stream data, such as MPEG2 format movies, linear audio stream data, such as MP3 data, binary Program data, or a combination of these data. On the other hand, beyond the definition of "main media content", it only provides services for accessing the Internet, such as browsing software or protocol processing, whose main function is only to establish a network connection.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system configuration is composed of a server-side system, including: a download service management server 10, a customer database 20, and a content database 30, which are interconnected by a local area network (LAN) 40. The aforementioned "main media content" is stored in the content database 30, which forms part of the server-side system. The customer database 20 stores a collection of data related to individual customers who access the download service via the two-way network 50. The information of each customer can include the customers name, address, age, gender, occupation, income, hobbies and interests, family member information, purchase history, characteristics of the content viewed or any other narrative information about the user, which can help A supplementary media set by the advertiser to the customer. In addition, this customer is not fixed, but can be updated based on the user access history of the main content data, for example, it can record and use information about which main content is accessed and/or a given category (such as the type of music , The type of movie, etc.) how many times the main content is accessed to update customer information, so that advertisers can more effectively track their advertisements to a given customer.

The download service management server 10 is a server system that is established to process download requests from users. The access to the server 10 is facilitated through a typical device of a router (not shown) on the LAN 40, which may include one of several servers, and directs the request to the download management server 10. When the server 10 receives the request from the user, the server executes the download of the main media content requested from the content database 30. Along with processing the request for downloading the main media content, the server 10 also retrieves the customer data of the requesting user from the customer database 20, and attaches the requested main content, and then passes the network through a known network protocol standard To be transferred, such as ftp (file transfer protocol).

The network 50 is usually a two-way digital communication network, which connects the terminal hardware of the user and the download service management server 10 provided on the server side of the system. With the current technology, CATV two-way network, ISDN or xDSL high-speed network are the existing structures that can establish the network connection required to implement the present invention.

The client side of the system configuration includes a modem or network adapter 60, an online game console 70, which uses a detachable storage medium, and a TV monitor or any other connected to the game console 70 Appropriate display mechanism 90.

The console 70 includes a system with a CPU, such as a personal computer for home use, a video game console (TV game console) as a video entertainment system, a video box, or a personal digital assistant such as a mobile phone.

If the game console 70 is a portable digital assistant 70a, such as a mobile phone with a liquid crystal display 71 and data transmission function via a network, it is better to use a semiconductor memory card 80a as a storage medium, because it is compared with CD-ROM or DVD , The semiconductor memory card 80a is exquisite. Alternatively, the personal digital assistant 70a can be connected to a CD-ROM or DVD as a game console 70. Within the knowledge of those skilled in the art, any suitable compact mass storage packaging medium can be used as the storage medium 80.

In particular, the modem/network adapter 60 is a typical device used to connect to the client's terminal hardware, in this case, the game console 70, which is used to connect to the network. For example, for a CATV network, a known wired modem device can be used, and for an ISDN network, a device known as a terminal adapter can be used.

The detachable storage medium 80 stores a collection of interactive or non-interactive auxiliary content, such as advertisements that can be composed of video images, activities, sounds, and so on. In a preferred embodiment, the detachable storage medium 80 includes CD-ROM or DVD. Each auxiliary content includes attached "trigger data", which is attached as an access flag to the auxiliary content, which will be further discussed as follows.

The online game console 70 is an online player that interacts with digital content. According to the conventional method, this game console 70 usually uses a detachable storage medium 80 as a content distribution medium in a non-network environment. In other words, under the general use according to the conventional method, the game console 70 can play media contained in the detachable storage medium 80, which is usually, for example, an interactive video game, even if the game console 70 is not connected To the network. In contrast, according to the present invention, the storage medium 80 is particularly used in a network environment to operate the downloaded main content retrieved via a network connection to provide linked user-customized auxiliary content.

The network game console 70 executes the network access software therein, which is to be loaded from the storage medium 80 or other internal storage medium (not shown), or it can be downloaded from the network and enters the internal operating RAM (also not shown) ) To do the following:

1. Communicate with the download service management server 10;

2. Send media or user identification data to the server to retrieve the downloadable main content from the content database 30, together with user information from the customer database 20;

3. Access the auxiliary content stored on the storage medium 80 according to the user information downloaded from the server;

4. Enable users to selectively play auxiliary content to watch only the main content downloaded from the server;

5. According to the user's choice, record the history of auxiliary content items downloaded and played from the storage medium 80; and

6. Send or upload the records of the viewed auxiliary content items to the download service management server 10.

In operation, the console 70 receives the downloaded main content together with attached user information. The downloaded main content can be locally stored in an internal storage medium such as a hardware HDD (not shown), or an externally attached reproducible Write a storage medium (not shown), which is attached to the game console 70 via a port connection. According to the above feature 4, the access software first checks whether the user has chosen to disable viewing of the auxiliary content. If the user does not disable the viewing of the auxiliary content, the console accesses and loads one or more interactive or non-interactive content, which conforms to the downloaded user information and/or the downloaded main content. In particular, a comparison is made between the "trigger data" that contains the header of each auxiliary content and the user information, and if the data included in the trigger data matches the user information, the auxiliary content item is loaded to the control panel Played in 70.

That is, the trigger data includes information corresponding to the above-mentioned user information (customer's name, address, age, gender, occupation, income, hobbies and interests, information of family members, purchase history, characteristics of viewing content, etc.).

In addition, given requirements for specific main content can also generate downloading and ranking of auxiliary content. The record of the auxiliary content items actually loaded and played on the console 70, together with the number and duration of the auxiliary content being played, or any other information obtained during the playing of the auxiliary content, can be stored in the data storage of the game console 70 In the area, and uploaded to the server at any suitable time, for example, after a given segment of the main content has been played, after a given segment of auxiliary content has been viewed or partially viewed, or offline processing from a network connection Period.

Viewed content records, especially the number and duration of viewing a given segment of auxiliary content, are used as the basis for the access fees of advertisers who have provided auxiliary content. In addition, the viewed content record also enables the customer information stored in the customer database 20 to be updated to include new information obtained during the viewing period or during the interaction between the customer and the auxiliary content. For example, in the case of interactive auxiliary content, the user may be asked different questions, or different questions may be monitored by other users' behavior, and then they form part of the viewing content record and are used to update the customer database 20 Information on the customer. In the case of non-interactive content, the information of the advertisement that has been viewed can be used to update customer information.

Figure 2 is a flow chart describing the sequential functions performed by the main content server during communication with the online game console. In addition, FIG. 3 points out a flow chart describing the functions performed by the online game console during communication with the main content server. Because the functions shown in Figures 2 and 3 occur in a mutual exchange mode, these functions can be described together.

In step 201 on the server side, the download service manager 10 receives a request to establish a communication link with the online game console 70. Similarly, in step 301 on the client or online game console side, a request is sent to establish communication with the download service management server 10. As a result of these coordinated actions, a network socket connection based on a known standard (for example, IP/TCP) for bidirectional transmission of data packaging is established between the management server 10 and the network game console 70.

In step 311, after the communication link has been established, the unique media ID indicating that the media 80 is installed in the game console 70 is sent to the download service management server 10. In the case of a first-time user, the media ID is related to the user, and is subsequently used as user identification. In step 211 on the server side, the management server 10 receives the media ID.

After receiving the unique media ID, in step 221 on the server side, the management server 10 retrieves the user information from the customer database 20 via the LAN 40. In the case where the user information related to the media ID (in the case of a new user) does not exist in the customer database 20, the user can be promoted to provide basic information to create the initial user information of the customer database 20 . This process will be described in more detail in FIG. 5.

At this point, in step 321 on the game console side, a request is sent to the download management server 10 to retrieve the downloadable main content from the content database 30. When the server retrieves the user request for downloadable content in step 231, the download management server 10 discovers and retrieves the requested content from the content database via the LAN 40 in step 241. At this point, in step 251, in step 251, the user information retrieved in step 221 is attached to the main content of the request retrieved in step 241, and the user information and the main content of the request are removed in step 261. Send to the online game console 70.

On the client side, in step 331, the game console 70 retrieves the requested main content together with the attached user information. According to the user information, in step 341, the game console 70 searches for and finds one or more auxiliary content items 415 (see FIG. 4) stored on the detachable storage medium 80, which correspond to the user information. In particular, among the different data included in the user information, it can also include the main content currently requested, and compare it with the trigger data 419 attached to each auxiliary content 415, and extract the auxiliary content for items that are found to match. Content 415. As will be explained in more detail with respect to FIG. 5, the user is given the option of playing the auxiliary content, but assuming that the playback is authorized, the auxiliary content item 415 is loaded and taken out to be played together with the main content.

In step 351, records of all auxiliary content items that have actually been viewed by the customer are stored in the internal memory (not shown) of the game console 70. This record may include the identification of the auxiliary content items that have been viewed in the past, and the duration of the auxiliary content that has been viewed in the past if it has not been played as a whole.

In step 361, the game console 70 sends the record created in step 361 to the download management server 10, which receives the playback record in step 271. The transmission of this record can be made in any different way, for example as a record at the end of the user's action, which is uploaded to the server during the offline process, or as various auxiliary content items viewed. As discussed above, the playback record stored in the customer database 20 in step 281 provides valuable feedback information to auxiliary content providers, such as advertisers, as to whether the auxiliary content is effective for a given target audience, and may also It is used as the basis for the access fees for the provision of supplementary content.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of data content 400 contained on a detachable storage medium 80 inserted in a game console 70. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the storage medium 80 stores data including auxiliary content (AUX. Content N) is composed of each with attached trigger data 419. The storage medium 80 further maintains a separate MEDIA ID part 407, which serves as the detachable storage medium itself (such as a text CD-ROM/DVD serial number), and it is also established for the use of the storage medium 80 in the game console 70 The user identification of the user, and an authorization code (AUTH. CODE) 409, which is used to authorize access to the download service manager 10. It is conceivable that the MEDIA ID and the authorization code can be the same, although it is better to have separate codes to facilitate server access and media/customer identification functions. In another way, the MEDIA ID part 407 may include a software program that generates a unique user identification related to the user's quick input of the initial user data, such as the user's name, address, and so on. It will be understood that once MEDIA ID407 is related to user information, MEDIA ID407 serves as user identification, so these terms can be used interactively.

USER ID 407 and AUTH. CODE 409 also act together as a consensus key, through which the content server 10 authorizes access to the given main content. In particular, when the MEDIA ID 407 is uploaded to the server 10, according to the MEDIA ID 407, the server 10 can determine that the main content among the many contents from the content database 30 is accessed by authorized users, based on user identification. If this media identification does not appear, or is deemed incorrect or out of date, the access to the content server 10 is suspended. Therefore, the correct storage medium 80 must appear in the game console, and a correct and unexpired media identification must be determined so that access to the server 10 is authorized. Another possibility is that the authorization code 409 provides access to a given server, which is used to download specific main content among the many content from the content database 30.

The storage medium 80 additionally contains a NET ACCESS indicator 411, so that the storage medium 80 can be used to interact with servers in a network environment. The NET ACCESS indicator 411 itself may include network access software, which enables the required network connection, or may only include a flag indicating that the network software in the game console 70 should be loaded and executed. In the latter case, the network software in the game console 70 may include a small program for establishing a minimum network connection so that more diverse network software can be downloaded from the server and controlled in the game Station 70 is executed.

FIG. 5 is a processing diagram describing the steps performed in the online game console 70 during and before the network connection with the main content server 10.

In step 501 when the game console is turned on, the standard boot sequence is started, and the internal BOIS, which enables the main communication between peripheral devices, etc., enables the system to be started for the user to operate.

When a detachable medium 80 such as a CD-ROM or DVD disc is inserted into the game console 70, the system scans the medium 80 in step 505 to determine whether the data content thereon is used for operation in a network environment. This is done by checking whether the NET ACESS indicator 411 as described above appears on the media.

Next, in step 509, if it is determined that the detachable media 80 does not include the NET ACESS indicator 411, that is, the media is a program for operating with a game console alone without a network connection, then the game is played in step 513 The console is operated in normal non-network mode. However, if the NET ACESS indicator is present, the two-way network connection is established in step 517, as discussed with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3. In this case, the authorization code 409 on the detachable medium 80 is used to enable the network connection.

In step 521, the cooperation content server 10 determines whether the customer is a first-time user. In particular, when receiving the MEDIA ID407, the content server 10 can determine whether this is the first time that the MEDIA ID407 is used to access the system 10. If so, it will issue a command to the game console 70 to promote the user as a starting point. The user information is shown in step 525. At this time, the server 10 can also create and store a time/data record table file related to MEDIA ID 407, which allows access to the server 10 and uses a detachable medium 80 that is only used for a limited time period.

In step 529, the main content requested by the customer is downloaded from the content server 10 into the online game console 70. As described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3, the desired main content has been attached to the user information, which is related to the user ID from the customer database 20. For determining that the main content is authorized and downloadable to a given user, before step 529, the user may be presented with a menu selection, which only displays the main content item, from all items contained in the content database 30 In the meantime, it authorizes users to download and watch, so as to facilitate the user's choice. Although the menu selection can be provided as a function of executing menu routing from the detachable storage medium 80, on the server side, the download management server 10 can control which main content can be downloaded according to the MEDIA ID. In other words, the user cannot request the main content item authorized by MEDIA ID407.

The routing proceeds to step 533, and for each auxiliary content item, it is used to compare the downloaded customer information and trigger data 419 (see FIG. 4) to determine which auxiliary content items will be loaded and sorted for playback.

In step 537, the system checks whether the user has selected to allow the playback of the auxiliary content contained in the detachable storage medium 80. The control buttons on the game console can provide the ability to freely choose and disable the playback of auxiliary content, and this ability is usually fixedly provided to the user during or before the playback of the required main content.

If the playing of the auxiliary content fails, only the main content is executed by the game console 70 for the user to watch in step 541. However, assuming that the customer allows the playback of auxiliary content, the route proceeds to step 545, where the applicable auxiliary content items 415 determined in step 533 are loaded and sorted for playback.

When loading the auxiliary content item, in step 549, the game console 70 makes a record in the internal storage area (not shown), a given auxiliary content item is ready for customers to watch, and when the auxiliary content is executed , An on-board timepiece (also not shown) can be started to track the time during which the auxiliary content item is being played. The control loop returns to step 537, as shown in FIG. 5, the system continues to vote whether the user has enabled or disabled the auxiliary content. Assuming that the user does not invalidate the auxiliary content during playback, it is assumed that the auxiliary content item is viewed. However, if the user invalidates the auxiliary content during the playback of a given auxiliary content item, the time at which the invalidation occurs and the auxiliary content item is being played is recorded. It is important to play the record when the user is invalid, and then re-enable the auxiliary content. In this case, the record provides that the auxiliary content item is being watched at the time of the invalidation, so the auxiliary content is allowed to be restarted and the content item left at the end , In this case the playback record is updated.

Then at about the same time as step 549, in step 553 the auxiliary content is executed for playing together with the required main content. It should be understood that different modes for the execution of auxiliary content and main content can be thought of within the knowledge of those who are familiar with this art. For example, the auxiliary content can be played before the main content is executed, so that the user is not allowed to watch the main content until after the auxiliary content has been viewed, or otherwise execute its path, such as by interacting with the user in the case of interactive content effect. In another way, auxiliary content can be presented along with the main content, such as in a window, insert, or frame, while the main content is also being executed. The interaction between the main content and the auxiliary content is also possible. For example, in the case where the main content is an interactive game, the appearance of characters, scenery, or other data items in the main content can be used to trigger actions in the auxiliary content.

Fig. 6 is a graph describing the business model implemented in accordance with the disclosure of the present invention. The basic business model assumes two conditions. First, the downloadable main content 110 from the content database 30 contains a popular interactive game, movie, music or any other digital content worth paying for. Second, the content items stored on the detachable storage medium 80 are typically advertisements from different auxiliary content providers 100, which are typically commercial companies. In this case, if the user 120 chooses to view the auxiliary content provided on the detachable storage medium 80 together with the main content 100, the auxiliary content provider 100 may pay the download service operator 10 the fee 130a of the downloadable main content 110 .

In another way (shown by the dotted line in Figure 6), if the user 120 decides to skip the auxiliary content, as described in step 537 of Figure 5, the user will be charged for the main content 110 as the fee 103b for the download service operationBy10. Therefore, the user 120 does not need to pay the download service operator 10, as long as the user 120 views the auxiliary content contained in the storage medium 80 (triggered by the user's personal information).

According to the playback record generated in step 549 of FIG. 5 and uploaded to the download service provider 10, the download service provider 10 can collect fees from the user 120 and/or the auxiliary content provider 100, according to the number of times viewed by the user 120 The amount of content.

Obviously, not only the auxiliary content is provided through the detachable storage medium 80, but the system enables the link between the auxiliary content on the storage medium 80 and the specific downloadable main content 110, and the important information on the storage medium 80 , The storage medium 80 provides access to the main content 110. In this way, the auxiliary content provider, typically an advertiser, can direct the separable media 80 to the customer, whose motivation is to access valuable and popular primary media content, while the primary content provider uses important information The access to the main content can be additionally controlled according to a specific time period during which the storage medium 80 can be used.

In addition, in addition to being inspired to use separable media 80 to access popular primary media content, customers may be reluctant to provide personally identifying information if the impression is that the information is well known by the opposite of less well-known advertisers Collected or maintained by the main content provider.

The system can also enable a double-bundling method of advertisements, where the download service provider 10 can request to force the viewing of advertisements sent directly with the main content, and the advertisements from the auxiliary content provider 80 are provided according to the user's choice, thereby increasing as an advertisement Diversification of the system of methods.

It should be understood that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the following patent applications is not limited to the description presented here, but covers all the reasonable features of equivalents thought of by those skilled in the art.

As described above, according to the present invention, a storage medium such as a CD-ROM containing auxiliary content such as advertisements is installed in the console to access the server via the network. When users watch advertisements, users can watch movies or music downloaded from the server via the Internet.

In this case, the user can choose whether to watch the auxiliary content. If the user decides to watch the auxiliary content, the main content can be accessed at a reduced price or for free. If the user decides not to watch the auxiliary content, the full amount will be charged for access to the main content.

<p>10. . . server</p><p>20. . . Customer database</p><p>30. . . Content database</p><p>40. . . Local area network</p><p>50. . . Two-way network</p><p>60. . . Modem (network adapter)</p><p>70a. . . Portable digital assistant</p><p>71. . . LCD Monitor</p><p>80. . . Storage media</p><p>80a. . . Storage media</p><p>90. . . TV monitor</p>

Figure 1 shows the overall system configuration of a system for selective display of main media content and partially stored auxiliary media content according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a flowchart describing the functions performed by the main content server during communication with the online game console;

Figure 3 is a flowchart describing the functions performed by the online game console during communication with the main content server;

Figure 4 is a diagram of data content contained in a detachable storage medium inserted in a game console;

Figure 5 is a processing graph describing the steps performed in the game console during access to the main content server; and

Fig. 6 is a graph describing the business model implemented in accordance with the disclosure of the present invention.