Cartridge manufacturing system for game programs

Abstract

A game manufacturing process includes the steps of a customer's game selection being used to initiate the manufacturing process by scanning a bar code from an empty cartridge box to a selection slip. An appropriate cartridge is identified and erased. The manufacturing system then writes the game cartridge with the content data from a game storage computer and sends information to a printer for producing identification and instructional inserts for the game. The game computer has stored therein the game contents for all of the games. After a game-to-be-'burned' indicia is provided to the game storage computer, and a cartridge is installed, the sequence of loading the game and additional identifying information into a flash RAM contained in the cartridge is commenced. The manufacturing system functions so that if timely connections are not made between the game storage computer and a host computer, the game burner application time counter will not be reset by regularly transmitted and expected transactional data, and the system will only operate for a limited period of time and will then cease to function. The operator can request from the host computer a grace period to resume normal operation of the game burning application. This provides some minimum time between connections, but does not permit the game burner application to run without first transmitting sufficient support data to and from the host computer.